One Question: Five Insights

Welcome to Edition 12 of the Friday Five at Five.

This week we asked five contributors a question we have a steadfast answer to: what comes first, purpose or brand?

It's always important to engage in a little lively debate and have your thoughts challenged.

Our belief at Bright Space is purpose precedes brand. Not necessarily in importance but in order of what's articulated first. Purpose should come first because it ensures you understand the value you deliver. A strong brand then acts as a bridge between a company's purpose and its stakeholders. Our step-by-step guide on getting it the right way around can be read here.

We posed the same question to our contributors from across the industry, here's their take on the chicken before the egg conundrum.

1. Graham Jerome-Ball, Director of Global Branding, Corporate Communications, Informa

"The whole 'Purpose revolution', which loads of CEOs and companies jumped on to try and make sense of what they were trying to do is still going but very seldom done well.

How many times have you seen the purpose being just a slogan around what they do rather than what they truly believe in - it's the 'How' and not the 'Why'.

For me, Purpose will always come first. If it can be articulated well it will provide the business and focus and drive all the other brand components such as Positioning, Proposition and Culture."

2. Lee Lam, Business Strategist, leelam.co.uk

"Purpose will always come first.?Without purpose, the business model and strategy has no central core to hang onto and it is the whole that then helps achieve the narrative of the Brand.?

Businesses that start with brand almost always lose their way as they grow, because it is not totally clear where they are going!"

3. Richard Clark, Chief Executive Officer, CFG Law

"In my mind you have to determine what a business is about.?Its purpose arises from that, and the brand is then shaped to reflect that purpose.?This applies when a new strategy is put in place.? An existing business continuing with an existing strategy may take a different view, but I would ask if it is therefore a business with a genuine purpose or one for marketing purposes only.? Controversial perhaps, but having observed the increasing adoption of ‘purpose’ I am left wondering how genuine the statements being made are.

Our purpose does drive everything we do from our colleagues and their development, how we support our customers and how we influence the marketplace we operate in."

4. Nigel Morris, Associate Director, Head of Brand and Creative, Arup

"At Arup, our purpose was always there, long before it was defined as a brand with the strap line 'we shape a better world' in the late 90s.

Purpose needs to be clarified and re-framed from time to time to maintain a strong brand.

Some organisations might see that a rework of their brand has helped define or rediscover a forgotten purpose. Like strong foundations though, purpose underpins a brand - without building on strong foundations, you're on shaky ground!"

5. Ingrid Brown, Principal, Bright Space

"For me personally I have had to work with many companies that have not defined their purpose or considered their narrative around why they exist. If you capitalise on your purpose and let it lead the brand development you'll get a more robust and meaningful result. One that will feel authentic and distinctive.

A narrative that supports your purpose is also a credible way to rationalise why your brand looks, feels and sounds the way it does. The two are symbiotic and can communicate the value a business can offer beyond just it products and services."

We're taking next week off, so you'll hear from us again in a fortnight. In the meantime, enjoy the bank holiday weekend,

The Bright Space Team.