Council Post: How Brands Can Use Their Power For Purpose
Elizabeth Talerman, founding partner of The Nucleus Group works with organizations to empower leaders, accelerate growth and catalyze change
Making Room For Innovation And Collaboration
When the pandemic hit, the messages of “we’re here for you” and “we’re cleaning around the clock” became repetitive, hollow and memed for our entertainment. Through quick thinking, some brands dropped “business as usual” to step up. From offering free mental health support to manufacturing PPE and hand sanitizer, there are countless examples of brands granting certainty, providing pathways for action and fostering connection as we all adjusted to a physically distanced world.
Leading By Intentionally Taking A Step Back
In a sea of good intentions, which brands can you look to in order to stand out in 2021? The answer points to those with an unwavering purpose, values that are enmeshed in their internal culture and responses to the pandemic that are genuine, demonstrating leadership.
Emphasizing Company Values
Mohawk, a paper company in upstate New York, harnessed its materials to address the Covid-19 crisis. Using Xanita, a sustainably engineered fiberboard typically employed for tradeshow booths, Mohawk designed and produced temporary hospital room kits (registration required), which can be built or taken down in minutes. Rooms with beds offered privacy and protection in field hospital settings, and the structures could be disinfected and reused or recycled back into paper pulp.
Inspiring Indignation Along With Indulgence
#BlackLivesMatter protests were reinvigorated by the killing of George Floyd over the summer. What followed was a continuous scroll of black squares on social media, donations to bail funds and businesses across every industry taking a hard look at themselves to interrogate diversity, equity and inclusion practices. At Reddit, board member Alexis Ohanian made space for black leadership by removing himself from the picture, an impactful moment that demonstrated deliberate purpose, and placing Michael Seibel on the board of directors.
Opening Doors For Civic Participation
Patagonia’s purpose is to create products that help people enjoy the outdoors and contribute to environmental preservation. Its values lead to actions that consistently go viral, including celebrating Black Friday with anti-consumerism measures. On the biggest-of-all shopping days, Patagonia closed its retail stores and advertised trading or repairing products instead of buying new ones. This year, customers also found a tag in its Road to Regenerative Stand Up Shorts that quipped “ vote those assholes out,” a message that was meant to encourage buyers to vote out politicians who supported anti-environmental policies. Fighting for its values is quite literally in the company’s fabric.
Making A Bigger Difference As A Brand
From climate change and marriage equality to calling out white supremacy, Ben & Jerry’s has gone beyond its product mission to embrace social imperatives. Unlike other purpose-driven brands, what it sells sits separately from its belief that business has a responsibility to society to improve quality of life in equitable ways for everyone. Ben & Jerry’s understands that while people may initially go for the punny, creative and delicious ice cream, they also return to leverage their voices (and buying power) for the greater good.
In March, the pandemic forced people inside, and many reemerged in the summer to reckon with injustice. Organizations forced to shutter their doors reopened them in support of civic participation. Arts institutions dedicated to the community, like The Public Theater and Atlantic Theater Company, shared the safety of their buildings (registration required) with protestors, offering water and a place to take a break. Other companies, like Live Nation and Footlocker, converted their offices and storefronts to make space for polling and voter registration.
Over the past many months, we all reckoned with the inequity of our nation and the world. Brands that do this with ongoing purpose, not momentary opportunism, can create a road map for 2021 and beyond.
* Stand for more than what you sell. A purchase is transactional, while purpose creates a foundation for continuous engagement, bonding and loyalty.
* When one door closes, creativity and innovation can open several more. Businesses will always face challenges and deal with constraints. Brands built on purpose are informed by core values that serve as a tool for their teams to use to navigate crises and identify opportunities that simultaneously benefit the bottom line and the communities.
* A point of view that tries to please everyone serves no one. This past year has been proof that brands that boldly define and stand by their values can gain the trust and loyalty of their audiences. Those brands against injustices inspired others with their dedication and determination to affect meaningful change.
* Being purpose-driven requires constant learning without sacrificing immediate action. Culture shifts around us each and every day. What is deemed appropriate today may well veer toward unacceptable in the future as words and symbols gain new meaning. The most resilient organizations dedicate time to continual reflection and rely on well-defined brand values for quick decision-making. They can recognize that values are more than platitudes hanging on a wall; they are tools honed with use and responsive to ever-changing economic, political, social and cultural realities.
What are the best examples you’ve seen of brands using their power for purpose in these challenging years, and how can you implement these types of qualities in your own company?
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Originally published at https://www.forbes.com.
