The Pull Agency

ON THE 6TH DECEMBER 2018, PULL HOSTED THE SECOND OF ITS THOUGHT-PROVOKING FUTURE OF BRAND SERIES EXPLORING THE IMPORTANCE OF BRAND.

Around the world, the business environment is in a permanent state of disruption, trust in companies is at an all-time low. Today more than ever, companies are searching for a new ‘secret weapon’ that will help them continuously evolve and grow ahead of the competition. A new leading edge has appeared; those companies able to harness the power of brand purpose are driving performance and profitability and enjoy a distinct competitive advantage.

But what does Brand Purpose actually mean? Why is it important? And how is it making companies more profitable?

The Future of Brand round table allowed us to contemplate the importance of purpose and if it really matters at all. Purpose has been one of those words floating around with marketers for the past few years and is slowly moving up the agenda. But in recent years it was considered as companies looked to do well by doing good – a clumsy bolt-on, doing purpose for purpose sake.

At Pull we believe purpose is about creating a clear positioning based on your brand’s ‘WHY’, having a strong sense of not only what you do but of what your purpose is. A higher order philosophy, point of view or reason that the brand exists in the world. It should guide everything the brand does, providing both a vision to judge its activities against and a direction to guide future activity.

A clear brand purpose should be brought to life in the most compelling way which can often be the difference between success and failure. Savvy marketers are starting to understand that purpose doesn’t have to be lofty or out of reach, they don’t even need to push through some big societal change or environmental cause. The purpose should be deeply rooted in the brand itself and what it stands for and most importantly what makes it different. It’s about finding that ownable territory and becoming known for something - essentially finding the right brand positioning.

Two clear themes came to the forefront during our roundtable event; that purpose is not about incorporating a social cause, and that purpose needs to be human at its heart.

In recent times purpose has been synonymous with a company’s CSR program, connecting brands with good causes or false-fitting unconnected consumer values into a brand’s reason for being, for example Pepsi and Kendall Jenner. In reality this rarely works for brands because it doesn’t elevate the genuine reason why the brand exists. Social, community and sustainability causes should only be at the heart of your brand’s purpose if it genuinely exists to improve the world in terms of society, community or environment. In today’s globalised world consumers are savvy so purpose must be honest, believable and authentic.

As we know, defining a purpose should be inspired by why your brand exists. Evolving from your company’s values and culture, being inherent and true, to then inform the purpose. It can be simple and also functional, but we all agreed that first and foremost a purpose should inspire your staff. Ensuring you consider that human element grounds your purpose, and if your staff are inspired by it your purpose will live and breathe through all aspects of your business.

READ OUR BLOG – WHAT’S THE POINT OF BRAND PURPOSE

In summary when looking at your brand’s purpose, we at Pull believe it must first fulfil three guiding principles:

  1. Be ownable & distinctive
  2. Inspire your staff
  3. Be aspiration for the future

Ultimately marketers should be building brands behind robust meaningful purpose, to unlock long term growth as consumers and staff continue to engage and have passion for brands that they consider authentic and believable.

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