Do We Really Need Brand Purpose?
Evaluating the merits of brand purpose
A lot has been said about “purpose-driven brands,” both good and bad. Hailed as a heroic new(ish) way of approaching business. Exposed as marketing puffery without real commitment. Paraded across agency websites & name-dropped on industry blogs. Whatever it is, many in the marketing community are interested. But what role does brand purpose serve, and do we really need it?
Businesses have a reputation for being corrupt, money-hungry entities that don’t hesitate to prey on an unassuming public. It doesn’t reflect the entire business community, but it does have an impact on people’s perception of businesses, and sows distrust. I believe we can do better. But I also acknowledge a long history of businesses doing damage to people and society. If you want to look at where the hankering for “authenticity,” comes from, it’s probably rooted in a desire to distinguish brands from the many businesses who are caught lying or misrepresenting in some way, shape or form, combined with consumers’ appetite for transparency.
Some egregious examples of businesses caught causing great harm:
In the 1960s, the sugar industry funded research that downplayed the risks of sugar and highlighted the hazards of fat, per an article in JAMA Internal Medicine, and reported on by NPR
Between 2006 and 2015, Volkswagen faked emissions levels in the cars they sold, using a device to pass regulatory lab tests, when real-world driving showed emissions above the limit
In 2019, Purdue Pharma offered $10-$12 billion to settle opioid claims, since they were allegedly “responsible for starting and sustaining the opioid crisis”
In March of 2021, ProPublica reported that near America’s largest coal-fired power plant, toxins are in the drinking water and people have fallen ill, but a giant energy company is planning to avoid the cleanup costs
People are right to be skeptical of businesses.
With great power comes great responsibility
However, some businesses have chosen to use their power for good, not evil. They are actively pursuing a purpose greater than money alone. And some even want to change the world for the better. But can businesses really be about something other than money? And can businesses actually change the world if they have to make money while doing it?
Thinking of purpose beyond a singular reason
When people say “brand purpose,” I think one of the most limiting aspects about it is that it suggests a single reason for being. By definition, “purpose” is: “the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists” (emphasis my own). When you reduce it down to one reason, and one reason alone, I think it’s hard to say it’s for a social cause.
Patagonia’s evolving mission statement
For example, most people probably think of Patagonia as a brand that’s dedicated to the environment. For many years, its stated mission was: “Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.” This encapsulated both an intention to create good products and limit impact on the planet, even those ideas may be somewhat in conflict with each other.
But in 2018, founder Yvon Chouinard decided it was time to take a more aggressive stance, updating the mission statement to say: “we’re in business to save our home planet.”
Businesses need to make money
This still acknowledges that Patagonia is a business. If you don’t make money as a business, you can’t exist. It doesn’t matter if you have the greatest ideas for making the world a better place, you can’t advance them as a business, if you can’t keep the lights on. Money may not be your reason for existence, but it is a necessary means to an end.
This is one reason why businesses implement a brand purpose. To publicly declare that money is not the reason for existence.
Money is the means to Patagonia’s end - saving the planet
Patagonia’s reason for existence reflects a recognition that our planet faces an existential threat. On the product side, Patagonia is committed to sustainable materials and manufacturing processes. On the brand side, they’re using their platform to advocate for change. They write stories, make movies, sue the government, protect public lands, promote grassroots activists, make public declarations in national newspaper ads, and more.
Patagonia is arguably one of the largest, most powerful, and most vocal advocates. Website content such as, “What’s at Stake Is the Future of Humankind: An Interview with Yvon Chouinard,” makes it clear they’re very serious about the work they’re doing.
But even Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard recognizes that using your brand for advocacy is not the same thing as existing solely to help the environment. In 2019, he told Fast Company, “Everything man does creates more harm than good. We have to accept that fact and not delude ourselves into thinking something is sustainable. Then you can try to achieve a situation where you’re causing the least amount of harm possible.”
Creation & consumption aren’t impact-free
I’m not entirely sure I agree that “everything man does creates more harm than good” (really, even a trash clean up?), but the reality is that any time you are creating products, you’re setting the environment back. Even services are’t immune. Many technology companies have a big impact on the planet without ever creating a physical product, due to the energy required to run their technology (ahem, cryptocurrencies, NFTs, even YouTube!). The best thing for the planet is no new products, no more consumption. If Patagonia was 100% dedicated to the environment, they wouldn’t make any product at all.
Similarly, if your business is dedicated to any number of social causes, whether it’s poverty, gender equity, health, etc., wouldn’t the best solution, the purest purpose for being, the most positive impact, come from dedicating all of your resources to tackling the issue?
Want to be totally dedicated to a cause? Be a nonprofit
If any brand can genuinely, accurately, and in the purest sense, claim social brand purpose, it’s a nonprofit. Now that you can focus entirely on the social purpose, you can be most impactful, right? In the U.S., there are approximately 1.5 million registered nonprofits, contributing an estimated $1.047.2 trillion to the U.S. economy, or about 5.6% of GDP, according to the National Center for Charitable Statistics.
Nonprofits play a hugely critical role in the U.S., especially since our government does not have as robust of a safety net as others do. They provide support for some of the most marginalized groups in society, ensure people don’t go without food and shelter, take bold steps to mitigate the climate crisis, care for animals, and tackle many, many, other important issues.
Even nonprofits need to make money
But there’s a catch: nonprofits still have to “make money.” And if they don’t make/acquire money, they also can’t operate. No matter how you spin it, organizations have to find ways to finance their operations. So even if you’re a big believer that “money is the root of all evil,” you can’t escape that money is also needed to scale any kind of operation, and if you want to make maximum impact, you’ll need it.
Just because nonprofits are by definition supposed to exist to do good, does not make them immune to the shortcomings of human beings. People make mistakes at nonprofits, too. They tell lies. They act out of selfishness. They steal money. They perpetuate ethnic and gender pay gaps. Nothing about being a nonprofit guarantees a purity of existence.
Intent vs. impact
No matter what kind of organization you have, it’s not enough to set out with the idea that you want to do good. Your actual impact is dependent on the actions of each employee, each day. Your impact is the consummate of a million tiny decisions that add up to a giant wave of change. The big decisions that fundamentally change the course of your business. The line in the sand that says, “this is worth protecting, and we’re going to defend it.” Ultimately, impact doesn’t come from ideas, it comes from action.
All organizations are ultimately powered by imperfect people. Which means that to create an organization (business or nonprofit) that creates a positive impact, you have to do more than just set out with a good intention, or a strong founding idea. You have to design systems, nurture leaders, and create a culture that will lead people to make decisions that align with your organizational values. Everyone likes to talk about brand purpose and reason for being, but your brand values are probably just as important, because they guide the decisions people make, and ultimately affect outcomes.
Where organizational structure really counts
We know both nonprofits and businesses can aim to create a positive impact, are run by imperfect people, and need to make money to stay in existence. But there’s a major difference between nonprofits and businesses. It’s likely a major motivating factor in the earlier examples of businesses doing harm to society, too. Why would you lie about the health impacts of sugar, addictive potential of opioids, or pollution? Because the most important thing, above all else, is making money.
Nonprofits aren’t optimized toward revenue generation. They’re obligated to make money, but that’s not what they’re optimized for. Businesses, especially companies who report to shareholders or venture capitalists, are incentivized to make money, at all costs. Money is the most important thing. And when money is more important than everything else, ethics often take a hit.
It’s not all or nothing
A nuanced approach is required: businesses need to be able to make money, within certain (often self-imposed, sometimes government-imposed) boundaries that prevent people from doing harm to people, animals, or the planet. There are formal options for ensuring you stay accountable to other stakeholders, such as becoming a B-Corp, or other designations that require a formal commitment to minimizing negative impact.
A brand purpose may be trendy, but it’s far from a guarantee that your brand will have a net positive impact. A brand purpose is a starting point (and may not even be a logical one if your brand is already here, and didn’t start on the foundation of social impact, but that’s a story for another day). Whether you have an impact-driven brand purpose or mission statement, that’s just the beginning of a journey toward making a positive impact.
Purpose in smaller forms
It’s worth noting that just because Patagonia’s purpose is to save our home planet, doesn’t mean there isn’t value in the products they provide. You can’t ski naked. Equipping people to enjoy the outdoors may not be directly saving the world, but it’s a noble pursuit nonetheless (and part of saving the planet is getting people to care about nature enough to protect it).
Key takeaways
First and foremost, leadership must agree and organize around a belief that the company exists for a reason beyond profit alone
This belief must be clearly articulated in a purpose or mission statement, so that everyone in the organization understands it and can rally around it
Leaders should explore whether or not formal structures, such as B-Corp status, are needed to protect the company’s intent to do good
Organizations need clarity about what their values are, and prioritization of those values, so that everyone who contributes to the organization’s mission can make decisions in alignment with the desired outcome(s)
Feedback systems are needed to continuously measure whether or not impact is matching intent, with the ability to make interventions when necessary
So, do we really need brand purpose?
If you want your business to have a positive impact, brand purpose is one tool in the toolbox for organizing around a belief that you exist for more than just making a profit. It’s not the only one, and it alone will not save you. But it’s certainly a good start.