Why brand purpose should make you feel uncomfortable
Recently I wrote down how I felt about the latest Gillette campaign, and someone had the bright idea of putting me on front of a camera to say more. Looking back at these thoughts, there is so much more I could say, but for now I’ll settle for asking when you last did something uncomfortable with your brand?
Having worked across many brand and companies I’d observe that often we (marketers for the most part) are focused on keeping everyone happy, so more people will buy our brand, our sales will grow and our bosses (and our shareholders) will be happy with us too. But I think this is too often where we go wrong. To keep people happy we present things that are comfortable, things that are palatable to as many people as possible – whether that’s inside or outside our organisation. There’s another word for this: average.
I don’t think anyone sets out to create something average, in fact, I’ve never yet met a marketer whose next launch wasn’t the best thing yet to happen on their business (although this addiction to innovation even when its lack of incrementality is clear is a different story). The reality, however, is that too often we end up compromising. Little by little we create something that’s a bit more average than we had intended. What I love about purpose is that when it's done well, finding it makes us feel uncomfortable precisely because it makes it harder to be average.
To have a clear purpose requires us to have a point of view, to take a stand (or share an opinion) and to be prepared to put that into both words and action. Having an opinion isn’t always popular but knowing what you think about something makes it very clear when you agree or disagree.
We should recognise that marketers love brands to be happy places, ones articulated through only the most rose tinted of glasses. Negatives or challenges exist only as functional problems to be swept away by the product benefits our concept boards articulate. This idea of disagreeing with people as a brand makes us uncomfortable but the clarity a clear opinion gives an organisation about what it should or shouldn’t do, or which ideas are worth pursuing is hugely empowering for teams. There is more creative fuel and greater focus so bigger (less average) things happen faster – though to be clear I’m not advocating for brands to be miserable, or to focus on the negatives as I’ve yet to see this be a successful strategy!
What I mean to say is simply that only thinking about the positives is another way we make ourselves (and our brands) comfortable. We don’t like to dwell on the negatives because they don’t sell so we’ve forgotten the power there is in understanding the real challenges in people’s lives, to dig into the insights behind them, to look deeper and harder at how people feel about these things. To find a great purpose we need to really start considering things that make us uncomfortable, whether this is #MeToo, racial discrimination, the unrealistic expectations the beauty industry sets or the damage that has been done to the environment. While all of these are real issues within them are a wealth of positive opportunities for brands to tell new, relevant and distinctive stories that can make a real difference. If talking about the issues that matter to your customers hasn’t made you uncomfortable I wonder if you’ve really found something truly purposeful at all?
The wonderful thing about purpose is that when it's done well it doesn’t just make us uncomfortable it simultaneously gives us the solution to uncomfortable decisions. Did the thought of challenging the way the beauty industry talks about beauty make the team working on Dove uncomfortable? I’m sure it did. Was it clear if the brand truly believed in its opinion about real beauty that it was the right decision to make? I’m pretty sure the results speak for themselves. Did the decision to take a view on the role men have in #MeToo make Gillette uncomfortable? I’m sure it did. But if there is a real belief in enabling men to be the best they can be was it clear what should be done, again I’m pretty sure it was. So while I’d be amongst the first to point out that the Gillette work isn’t flawless (yet) I’d also advocate for its future potential…
So I think we should all embrace being a little bit more uncomfortable, perhaps not every day, but when it really matters for your brand.
Ask yourself if you’re uncomfortable enough and whether your purpose is clear enough to help you make the decision anyway. If you’d like us to ask you if you’re uncomfortable enough let me know (though I suspect that’s the strangest sales pitch I’ve made yet...)