On purpose
How to answer your business WHY and start to build a purpose-driven brand
Starting a new business or project can be extremely exciting, and all-encompassing. Running a business can be tough yet rewarding on so many levels. As entrepreneurs, we tend to spend a lot of our time on the end result of what we are creating, selling, sharing, but we can forget to focus on WHY.
Without having a clear sense of Why it can make it difficult for a business to navigate decision making or challenges ahead.
This is something we have witnessed many times with businesses, particularly those who have been running for a few years. It’s certainly not a bad thing to pause and reset, as it can offer the opportunity to refocus with clarity and renewed energy.
This article aims to help you to answer your business Why so that you are able to articulate and use your brand purpose as a tool to help you navigate times ahead and inspire others to join you on the journey. Over time your Why will turn into actions that others can see, and will also help you to build a purpose-driven brand.
If you are reading this as an employee, rather than a business owner, this should still hopefully be of relevance to you. By standing behind a company’s purpose you are able to act with confidence, challenge things that you do not believe to be in line with the overarching reason the business exists and also inspire others to act in a way that is for the greater good.
The importance of answering your business Why
Some businesses spend a significant amount of time and often money to understand and craft their ‘brand’ before launch. While others launch quickly to fill a market opportunity without really much consideration of brand creation. At some point, the latter business will need to take stock and understand why they exist, beyond making profit and supplying a market. If they don’t they will more than likely lose out to stronger brands, who manage to weather the storms of business by retaining market position.
There are three key questions that all businesses need to be able to answer. These answers are then carefully crafted into statements that become words to live by.
Why do we exist? This is our Purpose
How will we act on our purpose? This is our Mission
What will the world look like when we have completed our mission? This is our Vision
This article is focused on helping you to answer Why. In subsequent articles we will help you to explore your business How, and What.
By answering Why our business exists we can understand what we trying to change, improve or influence in the world. This forms the very core of our business, it is our Purpose. A company that has a strong sense of purpose, can use it every day as their North Star. (This isn’t to be confused with The North Star Metric, which is something related yet not something we will delve into now, but maybe be worth doing so another time).
A North Star acts as a guide to help navigate decision making and will help with business;
Direction
Clarity
Focus
Resilience
When we can understand and articulate our purpose we are can understand why we act in a certain way and we are able to stand confidently behind the decisions we make.
Does brand purpose matter to consumers?
Having a strong brand purpose has positive results from a business perspective, which signals that consumers are more inclined to support brands who are purpose-led rather than brands that are simply driven by output and profit.
The Purpose 2020 report by Kantar Consulting research gathered insights from 20,000 consumers and 100 brands to establish that purpose-led brands had seen their valuation surge by 175% over the past 12 years, versus a growth rate of just 70% for listless brands uncertain of their role.
Consumers are increasingly aware of Mission and Purpose Statements on company websites and use them to check if want the company is communicating aligns with their own values. In addition to this, Sustainability Statements are becoming more frequently shared by brands. The reason for this is two-fold. Firstly, consumers are demanding or perhaps even more strongly in some instances, boycotting brands who are not transparent about their brand purpose or sustainability credentials. Secondly, larger companies, in particular, are held accountable to shareholders and are required to provide assurances that will stabilise their market position. The need for consumers to believe in and continue buying from a brand is of huge importance to shareholders, and also business owners.
Robert Jan d’Hond, from Kantar, shared with The Drum: “Between revenue and social footprint many brands now have more power than elected leaders, and there is a clear expectation from consumers that this power is used for positive change.
If we consider power to be influence and contribution to GDP then we can see why brand power is so important.
Generation Z in particular tends to have a strong sense of purpose, feel connected to important causes, and 69% think brands should help them achieve their goals, according to PSFK research.
Brand extends way beyond a product and a purchase. Brands are facilitators of experience, tools to help our efficiency and effectiveness and also can support us on a journey to reach a higher purpose or status (whichever is valued more).
Examples of this could be:
Facilitators of experience - Oculus who facilitate shared and explorative experience via their VR headsets
Tools for effectiveness - Apple who help us to create the best work, in a streamlined simple way or Rimowa who help us to ‘travel smart’
Reach a higher purpose - House of Wisdom who offers a space to balance body and mind
Having a strong sense of ‘brand’ is incredibly important to consumers and often they can articulate a brand’s reason for existence with ease. Even if they do not call it your Why or Purpose.
Why clarity and consistency are key to forming trust between brand and consumer
To remain relevant in an increasingly competitive market, brands will need to ensure that they continue to act upon their purpose and communicate their beliefs, intentions and direction to nurture their communities.
Amongst marketers, there is an understood method, the Rule of 7 which states it takes an average of seven interactions with your brand before a purchase will take place. These interactions can range from an advert on social media to reading an interview with a brand’s founder in a publication that aligns with a consumer’s values. This is why a well-executed communications and marketing strategy can be a thing of beauty. As it can bring to life a business in a creative, effective way for others to see, and importantly reinforce trust in a brand.
Essentially, it takes 7 times to trust what a brand is saying. Seven instances of consistent, well-placed, messaging allows consumers to feel a brand understands who they are and they are true to themselves, which in turn enables consumers to commit to being part of the brand’s universe. When the right message is repeated over a long time period the brand begins to feel part of everyday life, for both people working in a business and those who interact with the brand externally.
Having clarity of voice gives a brand strength to stay front of mind and enable a connection over long periods of time. This is important when we consider consumers may not have the means to purchase right now, but perhaps in the future when they are able to do so, they will feel one brand over another has remained consistently by their side, this forms part of their ‘brand loyalty’.
What does a strong brand purpose look like in the real world?
If we take Nike as an example, which has a strong brand purpose, we can understand why they would act in a certain way.
Nike’s purpose is to unite the world through sport to create a healthy planet, active communities, and an equal playing field for all.
Their brand purpose comes to life in very compelling ways. Nike’s You Can’t Stop Us campaign series, which features a montage of 53 athletes across 24 sports, narrated by American soccer star Megan Rapinoe and created by agency Wieden + Kennedy. Among the clips in the 90-second commercial are; Colin Kaepernick and other athletes kneeling to protest police brutality and racial inequality, speeches by James and Rapinoe, shots of medical staff disinfecting stadium seats, and athletes wearing masks.
By supporting athletes who stand up for what they believe in, Nike makes it clearly known that they are part of a wide community of people who stand for the same values. They have potentially risked losing the attention of consumers who do not believe inequality. This maybe hard to imagine that not everyone would want to create an equal world. But, if we remind ourselves that Nike is an American company, we can also remind ourselves that not everyone stands for the same thing in life.
To look at Nike’s purpose analytically, they want to create an equal playing field for all. This can be seen through the campaign visuals and also written copy; We may start from different places, but together we’ll rise stronger.
It’s no wonder that despite a challenging economic climate Nike has continued to hold a strong brand presence as they have completely understood how to react to challenging situations. This possible because they have a firm understanding of their Why.
For the sixth consecutive year, Nike has claimed the title of the world's most valuable apparel brand, recording a 7% increase in brand value to US$34.8 billion, as of 1st January 2020.
Why build a purpose-driven brand rather than run a business?
Without a purpose, a business will not be able to become a brand. It will not be able to use that purpose to rise above solely exiting to create profit. Of course, all businesses want to make a profit, otherwise, they cannot employ people, give back to society through tax or charitable initiatives and create something that has the ability to support people to fulfill their dreams.
A purpose-driven business is one that stands for and takes action on something bigger than its products and services.
Once you are able to build a brand, and that brand sits above the product, rather than simply being a logo on a product, consumers are able to believe that whatever that brand makes it will express certain attributes. These attributes can be seen tangibly through aesthetics, functionality, level of quality and service.
A business becomes a brand when it transcends its original category. For example, Virgin Planes, Virgin Holidays, Virgin Money….Or for a fashion brand perhaps think of one that has a fashion offering, interior products, and a hotel such as Versace, Missoni….
If we are able to build a brand that transcends its original category we have the freedom to explore more creative outlets, make more profit or become more stable as a business.
Not all businesses want to produce products or services out of their original category, but even for those who don’t, they would still benefit from having the assurance that consumers trust whatever they make will have specific attributes.
Amber Valletta for Stella McCartney’s Fall 2019 campaign. Photo by Johnny Dufort
Brands leading by example
For a closer look at some of the brands that we may come into contact with we can turn to Stella McCartney, Burberry, Patagonia, Apple and Tesla.
Stella McCartney doesn’t have an externally facing Purpose Statement. This is not uncommon as businesses do not always share these externally, they may prefer to use only internally. However, Stella does share her Mission Statement which reads;
We are agents of change. We challenge and push boundaries to make luxurious products in a way that is fit for the world we live in today and the future: beautiful and sustainable. No compromises.
This example is a clear way of saying who they are and how they are going to go about making their purpose come to reality. At a guess, Stella’s purpose would be something along the lines of; Challenge existing boundaries, embody beauty and cause no harm.
Burberry’s Purpose Statement is as below, however it could be argued that this is not their purpose, but more of a statement of how creativity will be a tool to interact with their customers. It may well again be their Mission Statement.
Our strategy focuses on rooting Burberry firmly in luxury fashion. We believe that by fostering the creativity that has driven our brand since its inception, we will introduce Burberry to new customers while delighting our existing customer base.
Burberry’s purpose maybe something along the lines of; Foster creativity to enable the discovery of craftsmanship through unique experiences that delight people worldwide.
Another brand that most people working in our outside of sustainable fashion have most likely come across is Patagonia. Their purpose is;
Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.
More recently Patagonia has come under fire due to the fact they although they are thought to be pioneers of sustainable business, they are also a brand that produces large quantities of clothing. This leads us to question, can a high-volume producer ever really be sustainable?
One brand that everyone worldwide will recognise is Apple. Who has a very clear purpose, perhaps that's why their brands are so strong.
To empower creative exploration and self-expression.
It’s interesting that self-expression is a key driver for Apple, as in reference to an earlier point, self-expression we could consider Apple as an enabler of people being able to explore and share something very connected to their vision of self. Their identity, their inner being.
“It takes a lot of hard work to make something simple. ”
Tesla’s mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable transport. Nice and simple. The use of the word accelerate implies speed, which is very fitting. Also by using the word ‘world’s’ it leads us to believe Tesla may well be working on modes of transport that are accessible to all income levels; bus, train. Their purpose is clear, sets out no matter what they do it will be sustainable and yet still allows for room for growth.
“Putting in long hours for a corporation is hard. Putting in long hours for a cause is easy.”
Whilst not all brands appear to have a well-defined statement, perhaps because it’s not shared externally or they do not have one, it is clear to see that those who have answered their Why and can articulate it are in a strong position to stand firm within their market.
What about smaller or new brands, can they still be effective?
The short answer is yes. However, like anything worthwhile, it doesn’t come easily and can take time to be impactful.
One brand that appears to have a good sense of self, or understand their purpose is Riley Studio. Who has a lovely tagline, or you could even almost consider it to be a purpose statement;
We are Human Kind. We are on a mission to change mindsets and make conscious consumerism the norm.
In a Q&A with Riley Studio we touched on their mission and asked;
What does Human Kind mean?
For us, Human Kind represents the collective power we have to make a positive impact and encourage us all to do what we can to make the world more sustainable for people and the planet. Our focus is about encouraging slow living, and those mindful choices we can all make that are kind on the planet.
From this, we can understand that Riley Studio does not only consider themselves as makers of clothing, but that clothing is part of a wider lifestyle choice that aims to be kind on the planet. Although Riley Studio currently makes gender-neutral ‘basics’, yet we wouldn’t be surprised if in the future they made anything from homeware to furniture.
If at a glance you can understand a brand, why they do what they do, you can project what that may look like in the future. This reassures consumers, employees and investors.
It’s interesting to piece together that Riley Studio has worked with one of our favourite brand identity practices, Duzi Studio, who have also created the identity for two wonderful brands Nula Carbon and Birdsong London. Good things certainly come from the small yet perfectly formed Duzi Studio.
We can see that big doesn’t always mean better.
Whatever stage your business make sure you step back and try to remember what drives you to get out of bed each day.
Being able to answer WHY is your first step towards being able to build a brand with integrity.
In summary
Make sure you answer your ‘Why’ before your ‘How’
A niche can be a good thing. It’s a space for you to grow into
You cannot be everything to everybody
Be clear and consistent so you can own your space
Aim to serve your community from a position of deep understanding
Make sure your brand name, visual identifier (logo) and tagline are something you can stand behind, feel proud of people can understand easily
If you feel you’d like to explore your brand purpose in more depth, let us know, we’d be more than happy to help. Drop us an email.
Brand positioning exercises
Create a brand positioning map. A good example can be found here.
Further reading
Simon Sinek, Start with Why
Bernadette Jiwa, Story-Driven: You don't need to compete when you know who you are by
Wally Olins The Brand Book
Wallace "Wally" Olins, CBE (19 December 1930 – 14 April 2014) was a British practitioner of corporate identity and branding. He co-founded Wolff Ollins and Saffron Brand Consultants and served as their chairman
Al Ries and Jack Trout Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind
11.01.2021
