Trend 09
Purpose culture
Purpose culture
Beyond business existence.
Trend axes
- Core mission
- Ethical companies
- Belief-driven buyers
- Purpose-driven brands
Some figures
3,500
Companies worldwide with B Corp certification in the first quarter of 2021, a number that has tripled in the last 5 years.
87%
Share of consumers who believe brands have a more important role to play in society, according to Capgemini.
175%
Increase in value for brands with a strong purpose compared with those with a weak or non-existent one, according to Kantar.
78%
Of participants in research by Porter Novelli were more likely to remember companies with a purpose.
From product to purpose
A brand's purpose has gone from being just another heading in the corporate mission statement to becoming a fundamental pillar for convincing consumers who are ever more informed, aware and critical of the decisions they make about a brand.
After 2020, when every bet and prediction had to be cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, plans and strategies must be readjusted and designed from scratch, with a broader, deeper and more inclusive outlook.
This corporate purpose is no longer based only on doing no harm, but on having a positive impact across different dimensions, positively affecting the components of the value proposition: from shareholders to employees, customers and society as a whole.
How to activate this brand purpose, moving from theory to practice, is a real challenge, for which brands look to global initiatives (SDGs), social movements (Me Too, Black Lives Matter) and even philosophical concepts (Ikigai).
Expert view
Antonio Espinosa
CEO at AUARA
“Talking about corporate purpose means analysing companies as if they were people. What you look for in people, and what lets you admire them, is their integrity, not showing two faces. There must be consistency between what you are, what you say and what you do. Being honest and sincere.
Often it means going back to basics, which takes reflection and time… I see a rush to make an impression and get immediate results, which means things do not turn out well. You have to start with your own value chain, where you are involved, to avoid losing credibility with consumers and employees and win their long-term loyalty.”
Cases
01 / 03Zorraquino spotlights
- 01
Corporate purpose guides everything a company does, affecting all stakeholders in different areas of activity. It is built from the inside out.
- 02
Having a clearly set course is a clear competitive advantage, building connections with users, attracting talent and, ultimately, having an impact on the business.
- 03
These initiatives must be communicated and carried out with commitment and awareness. Poor execution can end up as criticised greenwashing.
Zorraquino playlist
- Cumbia para hoy hambre para mañanaRolando Bruno, Grupo Arevalo · 2019
- Tabaco y RonRodolfo y su Típica RA7 · 2015
- Me manipulasteMonterrosa · 2019
More on the trend
References
- Customers Seek Purpose Driven Companies Creating A Rise In B Corps
- Airbnb.org
- Supporting Career and Personal Goals
- Why purpose-led organizations are winning consumers’ hearts
- Brand purpose – How firms can activate their brand purpose from within
- Brand purpose: when good intentions aren’t enough
- This Sustainable Online Grocery Has Everything I Need, From Organic Laundry Detergent to Baking Supplies
- People are more likely to trust—and buy—purpose-driven brands
- Trends in Branding and Marketing for 2021 — Purpose-driven Brands
- Purpose
- Hive Brands Aims To Become The Whole Foods Of Sustainable Products
- Hive is an Online Grocery Store Only Retailing Conscious Brands
- Sustainable Development Report
- 'Ikigai': la filosofía de vida de los japoneses que llegan a los 100 años
- Show Us. It’s On Us.
- Jonathan Kurfess
Pages 166–182 of the report
