What is Your Brand Purpose?
“Every extraordinary business is driven by purpose,” writes Roy Spence, CEO of The Purpose Institute. Brands thrive when driven by a purpose of contributing positively to the world at large. A purpose is what can take a brand to the next level and can heavily impact how stakeholders experience the brand. The challenge is in uncovering the brand purpose beyond making a profit.
What do you stand for?
Purpose discovery is a powerful exercise. It motivates the brand to better serve everyone throughout the value chain. Brand purpose represents what the brand can give back to society and the environment while ensuring that it thrives—creating shared value sustainably.
“Tangible climate action needs the participation of every individual and business. We hope our Purpose inspires more to step forward – collaborating with us in making a better future. It is in this spirit of collaboration that you will see in the Purpose campaign we’ve launched, to convey ripples of positive change. Individual purpose and action can align with corporate initiatives!”
Adeline Ong
Senior Vice President, Frasers Property Limited
Our latest purpose work for Frasers Property
When a brand is driven by its purpose, the products and services offered can uniquely meet the demands of our world. At the same time, stakeholders are inspired by the proposition. The purpose encourages them to buy in and make them feel like they are a part of a greater sustainability initiative. Ultimately, the brand will enhance its competitiveness while simultaneously improving societal and economic conditions.
Beyond the business plan
The relevance of mission, vision, and value statements are coming under question. Although deliberated over extensively, these statements are often focused inward—all about what the business wants to achieve for itself and how it intends to achieve it by any means necessary.
A vigorous brand purpose is much more demanding. It is a rallying point, describing what the brand is doing to provide value to its stakeholders at every level. Considering the brand purpose flips the business rationale upside down and asks: why should the brand exist?
Purpose-led branding
Brand purpose drives behaviour change. Internally, the purpose motivates employees to exhibit the right behaviours and attitudes that eventually cultivate company culture. Externally, the purpose encourages the formation of stronger and more consistent relationships with stakeholders (ie. investors and consumers).
When the purpose is placed at the centre of the brand, it can generate powerful actions to drive shared value. Sedgwick Richardson infuses sustainability thinking with business strategy and brand building to build belief in the future with our partners.
Sedgwick Richardson is an Asian-focused branding and sustainability consultancy. From Hong Kong, Singapore, and Vietnam, we work with visionary clients across Greater China and Southeast Asia.