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Winning In The Purpose Era: The Forgotten Role Of Branding

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By: David Aaker, Vice-Chairman, Prophet and Author Of: The Future of Purpose-Driven Branding

Welcome to the purpose era.

Employees want to have meaning in their professional lives and they want to be doing something that benefits society. Generating profits or even “building insanely great products” is not enough, especially for the younger cohort. There are also customer segments that want a brand relationship that involves respect, trust, and admiration. There is value placed on organizations with a purpose.

An attractive and sometimes the only route to providing a purpose that resonates is to make sure that it and its supporting culture and values encourages programs that address societal challenges. This is a social purpose. It can live within a business purpose. Crayola’s, for example, is “To help parents and teachers raise inspired, creative children,” which provides a clear strategic direction that also encourages and guides social programs.

For some organizations, a separate side-by-side social purpose may need to be created, but it must align with the overarching business strategy. Tom & Jerry’s, for example, has a separate purpose (they call it a mission) for three areas labeled product, economic and social. The social purpose may also reside at the corporate or foundation level but should have equal status. Salesforce “empowers companies to connect with customers in new ways,” while its foundation asserts a belief that “technology, when used for good, can change the world,” which provides the logic for Salesforce software platforms such as the Nonprofit Cloud and Sustainability Cloud.

Many businesses are formally motivated to address society’s serious and visible challenges. They recognize the pressure from employees and other stakeholders. There is also the knowledge that societal challenges are serious and even scary, government actions are limited, and that they have the resources and agility to make a difference. For most firms, the question is no longer “whether.” It is “how.”

The answer:—there are two imperatives in creating truly effective efforts to make a difference in addressing society’s needs and issues. Both rely on branding strategies and tools that are critical but have been a missing piece in the social efforts of many organizations.

Find or create a branded signature program

The conventional social efforts typically involve a set of grants, volunteer programs and energy reduction goals without the guidance and inspiration of strong branding. Alternatively, they may focus on ESG reports checking the box on the hundred-plus dimensions such as the percent of minorities on the board or the conditions of the off-shore work staff. Neither is a route to social program leadership or even maximizing the impact of the social effort.

What’s missing is well-conceived branded signature programs. A signature program is motivated by a societal challenge that touches people emotionally, represents the purpose and values of a business, has a credible approach that impacts society and has earned a long-term commitment from the business. Having its own dedicated brand is critical because its brand will guide the program’s development and evolution, inspire employees and other stakeholders, and help communicate the program’s features and accomplishments. That is what brands do. The result is an attainable path toward real social impact.

The critical need is then to actively build the signature program brand. One approach is to use “signature program stories” that could involve a recipient, a volunteer experience or the founder’s insight. Stories can highlight the emotion behind the targeted social need and can break through the media clutter, information overload and audience skepticism. Another is brand communities, groups with similar interests, activities, and values. The result can be social and self-expressive benefits leading to a strong affinity for the signature program. A third is to brand a feature or process that makes the social program special. Lava Mae, for example, a nonprofit that provides showers to the homeless, branded their client service philosophy as “Radical Hospitality,” a brand that everyone relevant came to know and believe.

The signature program can be internal or a partnership with an external nonprofit. Hellmann’s Mayonnaise launched their internal program branded as “Make Taste Not Waste” in 2018 to reduce food waste affecting both those with food insecurity and the environment. On the other end of the spectrum, financial services firm Thrivent has partnered with Habitat for Humanity since 2005, creating $285 million in donations and 6.2 million hours of volunteer time. Partnering with an external nonprofit can come with an established, proven program and a strong brand, which means that much of the risk and cost of finding and implementing a program and its brand is avoided.

Enhance the business brand with the signature social program brand

There is general acceptance that a social program is more likely to thrive if it helps a business. It then will no longer be viewed as a dead weight program diverting resources from strategic and tactical business needs and opportunities.

When viewed as helping the business, the signature program is likely to enjoy the endorsement of a business partner brand generating hard-to-achieve credibility, ongoing financial support and access to firm resources including the communication program, fundraising efforts and volunteers. All of these are key brand builders for a branded signature program.

What is not so accepted is how a social effort can help a business. The cost savings from energy reductions and the profit potential of “social offerings” such as windmills or organic food are often at the forefront. However, a much higher potential, available to nearly any business, is to use the signature program to enhance the business brand.

Hellmann’s “Make Taste Not Waste” program helped enhance the overall brand strength of the Hellmann’s brand. This brand-building power comes from the signature program itself, which will typically have an emotional connection and an approach that impresses customers, as opposed to a business offering that is often “taken for granted” and without energy.

Hellmann’s, like every business brand, has three pillars: energy, image and engagement. Each of these elements can be positively affected by a signature program as the Hellman’s brand illustrates.

  1. Energy - One element of the “Make Taste Not Waste” program was a Super Bowl commercial in which a football player (named Mayo of course) tackled several ordinary people about to throw away leftover food, one of which was an adorable grandmother. Over 4 billion people saw this advertisement and supporting material online, most at no cost to Hellmann’s.
  2. Image - A key element of Hellmann’s branding, since its founding over a century ago, was making the use of leftover’s easy and tasty. This heritage message was updated and energized with a society-benefiting rationale and the added element of humor.
  3. Engagement - Consumers were invited to change their behavior. In fact, a survey found that the “Make Taste Not Waste” program in 2020 resulted in 200 million people reducing their food waste. Proven action results in a higher level of affinity with customers than just saying you’re going to do something.

Worth noting – sales of Hellmann’s, which competes in a rather static category, went up over 10% in both 2020 and 2021.

There is a catch. The signature program needs to avoid being perceived as self-serving, token efforts or greenwashing. The solution is to be authentic by demonstrating its passion, professionalism, thought leadership, and a long-term commitment with credulity and consistency.

Winning has two dimensions. One involves indicators that the signature program has impacted. The number of people who learned or changed behavior can be compelling but so can a feeling among employees buttressed by a flow of stories surrounding the program. The second is when the business brand has been energized and elevated, or stakeholder involvement has deepen. In addition to brand measures, there can be evidence that the business health has been given a boost because of the brand enhancement.

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David Aaker, vice chairman of Prophet and professor emeritus for the BerkeleyHaas School of Business at the University of California, has authored 18 books related to strategy and branding the latest being “The Future of Purpose-Driven Branding.”