Getting Brand Purpose Right in an Age of Scrutiny.
Why purpose can’t be performative if you want it to matter.
Purpose has moved from being a “nice-to-have” to a baseline expectation. Audiences, especially younger generations, now see it as inseparable from a brand’s DNA.
Research confirms this: global consumers are several times more likely to trust and buy from brands with a strong, authentic purpose than from those without one.
But there’s a catch. As demand has risen, so has skepticism. Consumers have little patience for purpose that feels opportunistic or bolted on. Getting it right requires discipline, self-awareness, and genuine alignment.
What Purpose Is (and What It Isn’t)
Purpose is not the same as corporate social responsibility. CSR programs often sit in a silo, run as initiatives to meet compliance targets or showcase charitable giving. Purpose, by contrast, is existential. It’s the brand’s reason for being, a belief system that informs every choice.
That distinction is critical. A campaign about painting schools or posting solidarity messages might generate a brief spike in attention, but unless it reflects the deeper “why” of the brand, it risks looking cosmetic. True purpose isn’t seasonal. It’s embedded in everyday decisions, behaviors, and communications.
Why Purpose Matters More Than Ever
Relevance in a values-driven world
Younger audiences, particularly Gen Z and Millennials, want to back brands that reflect their own beliefs. Studies show that as these groups gain purchasing power, brands without a defined purpose risk being ignored altogether. Social media has amplified this pressure, there’s no hiding from consumer scrutiny or cultural missteps.
A force for good (and accountability)
Purpose adds societal value. It signals that a brand recognizes its role beyond profit and is willing to contribute positively. In an era of climate anxiety, systemic inequities, and cultural polarization, brands that don’t step up are quickly seen as complicit, or irrelevant.
Impact on performance
Purpose isn’t just a moral stance. It influences buying, loyalty, forgiveness in times of mistakes, and even recruiting. A strong purpose draws talent who want more than a paycheck. In competitive labor markets, this makes purpose both a business asset and a magnet for culture-building.
Five Principles for Getting Purpose Right
Fit with Brand Values: Purpose must be native to the brand. Dove’s “Campaign for Real Beauty” resonated because it aligned with the brand’s focus on authenticity and natural care. Gillette’s attempt to pivot toward redefining masculinity faltered because it clashed with decades of messaging. Alignment matters more than trendspotting.
Relevance to Audiences: A purpose must speak to the people you serve. Blueskies, a juice and fruit supplier, connects its business directly to community investment and supplier wellbeing. By tying product to purpose, it demonstrates how values show up in everyday outcomes, not just in marketing copy.
Consistency in Communication: Messaging must match behavior. Amazon’s sudden pivot to purpose-led advertising rang hollow against its track record on labor and environmental issues. Compare that with The Body Shop, whose mission of ethical, cruelty-free products has been consistently reinforced in every campaign, every SKU, every store.
Mutual Benefit: A credible purpose benefits both the brand and the community it engages. Lego’s Everyone Is Awesome set is a good example, it wasn’t performative, but a personal, meaningful reflection from its designers that celebrated inclusion while strengthening Lego’s cultural relevance.
Beyond Marketing: Purpose must go deeper than campaigns. Performative gestures during moments like Black Lives Matter have backfired when companies didn’t address systemic issues within their own walls. True purpose requires policies, behaviors, and measurable action, not just hashtags.
Bottom Line
Purpose is not a bolt-on. It’s the compass that guides decisions, communication, and culture. Brands that approach it as an afterthought risk backlash; those that embed it deeply gain loyalty, differentiation, and long-term relevance.
As Afdhel Aziz puts it: “A clear purpose brought to life in compelling ways is often the difference between success and failure.”
