I’ve always encouraged brands to define their purpose- their reason for being. We hear about values and personality from marketers, which have their place in defining the emotional connection of a brand, but without the reason to be there, they lose their relevance.
For a while, the idea of a brand having purpose got tangled up in social or environmental purpose, so I stopped referring to it in its more fundamental context as it got confusing. That trend passed as too many brands tried to get on the ‘do good’ bandwagon with purposes that had little or no relevance to the product. As a result, they were seen as cynical marketing ploys and did more harm than good to those brands. I’m all for brands doing their bit for people and planet, but not when it’s just a marketing tactic. I’m therefore pleased to say it’s time to get back to basics and encourage brands to define their purpose, i.e. what the product does and why.
So, what do we mean by purpose? Let’s start with a simple, tangible product. It’s easier to define the purpose of a tool as its functionality, as practicality explicitly expresses its operation to do a particular job. For example, we all know the purpose of a pair of scissors is to cut thin material like paper. Could that same brand make heavy axes for chopping wood or perhaps even lawnmowers? We would likely think not. They are all sharp tools, but a scissor brand’s credibility of functional precision and finesse with customers would drop off ‘sharply’ if they ventured into heavy-duty or electromechanical products.
Purpose is more nuanced in the consumer goods world, where emotional connection plays a strong role. However, successful brands like Coca-Cola never forget the basics. They know the one reason you grab a bottle of Coke is because you want refreshment – that icy amber product shot in their ads may not be unique, but it lands refreshment perfectly, every time; its purpose is clear. Their purpose does not make them distinctive or unique; for that, they need values and personality. These three elements work together. The soft drink market is crowded with brands looking to carve out a niche through their attitude, imagery and messaging, but without referencing the stable stakes of refreshment, they will all be non-runners.
A clear definition of purpose helps rein in marketing hyperbole. Marketers need to keep their brands top of mind, so they have to constantly look for something new to say. Social media only exacerbates the scale and challenge of this activity. As time goes on, the result can be messaging that gets further and further away from the core. Having a firm grasp of the purpose will help keep messaging aligned and focused.
Growing a brand requires the addition of new variants and ranges that address emerging consumer needs. This is not an easy task within a limited category, so there is often a temptation to look beyond for other categories to explore. In this case, the brand purpose can be used to check if there is a role to play both from a consumer’s permission to be there, but also a credible technical competency to perform in this new space.
In a supermarket, it is easy to find brands of different purposes, as the retailer kindly lays out their store by product function, but online, it’s a different story. We often complete market research in our industry by reviewing our competitors’ websites. It amazes me how many don’t say what they do on their landing page, yet in design, there are many different roles to play. Their prospective clients will search by agency purpose, so this should be the first thing they see on the home page. Prospective clients will move on to the next on the list if they don’t immediately see that they are in the right place.
Defining your purpose is one of the easiest things to do in branding, so why not make sure it’s the first thing you do – your marketing will be the better for it.
