'Purpose washing' in times of crisis

It is dangerous for brands to jump onto a new bandwagon every time there is a "purpose" on the horizon

The virus is here and may not go away any time soon. I am sure every other brand manager out there is trying to see how they can link their brand to the ongoing crisis. Can we reposition our brand on a health platform? Can we speak of the germ-kill properties of our mattress (don’t laugh, more than one brand has tried this angle)? Can our toilet brush remove hidden viruses from the loo?

Brands that had nothing to do with health or hygiene are jumping onto the health bandwagon. True, some of them are finding traction while many are becoming a bit of a laughing stock in the market.

Daniel Goleman calls this “Purpose Washing” in his blog post on Korn Ferry Institute website. He is the guru of emotional intelligence. And when he speaks, we listen. He points out that consumers are looking for brands that stand for a purpose and those brands will win the long-term game. For instance, American consumers, almost 80 per cent of them, say they are more loyal to purpose-driven brands. Nearly 75 per cent are willing to defend them. 

But marketers have a core business to transact and that may not embody a “purpose”. What can a beer or a washing machine or a motorcycle got to do with “purpose” you may ask. Read on.

Myriam Sidibe in her podcast on HBR Ideacast speaks of the dangers of purpose washing. But she is quite vocal that if you look hard enough you could find a purpose that your brand can take on. While her work with Unilever/Lifebuoy on handwashing is aHBS case study now, she points towards how the beer brand Carling Black Label embraced the cause or purpose of preventing violence against women in their South Africa marketing initiative. Her point is that just embracing a purpose is not enough. I will interpret that as just calling your agency and creating a video is not enough. You need to do more than just an ad campaign. You need to do activities on the ground. You need to work with NGOs and government bodies. If you do that diligently you will be able to infuse a purpose into even a product like beer, according to Sidibe.

Should you be purpose washing your brand or infusing a purpose into your brand?

Interestingly, even celebrities are figuring out how to purpose wash their personal brand. While Akshay Kumar gave away Rs 100 crore to the Covid-relief efforts it is the lesser known Sonu Sood who won the PR mind space on purpose driven celebritydom. Taking a leaf from Sidibe’s article in HBR [Marketing Meets Mission], which I am sure he has not read, he roped in local authorities, transport operators and media in his “let us take migrants back home” operations. The purpose washing of Sonu Sood brand was done under the glare of media. It was a commendable operation but the pay off was that Pepsi signed him on. In social media, the debate is should such purpose washing be praised or condemned. From what I have learnt talking with people working in the social development sector, all help is welcome. So Akshay Kumar’s Rs 100 crores is welcome. So is Sonu Sood’s 100 buses to ferry migrants to their villages with all the media attention, as long as media attention does not hinder the relief work.

When you are running a brand, you need to be a little more careful if you want to embrace a purpose. I am now tempted to point to two tea brands who have embraced purpose-driven marketing communication, but from two different starting points. Tata Tea is about waking you to become a more conscious citizen and their “Jaago Re” is an outstanding example. Not to be left behind in the climb towards higher purpose, Brooke Bond from HUL has been doing some outstanding advertising about how a cup of tea can bring us together and forget our differences. Two different purposes have been embraced by two different brands and both are doing a great job.

Brands can find a purpose if they look hard enough. But it is dangerous to jump onto a new bandwagon every time you see a “purpose” on the horizon. This inane effort at purpose washing your brand will be called out. First in social media and then by genuine consumers. So before you greenwash or pinkwash or in the current environment, healthwash your brand, answer the following questions: Is the connect of your brand to the purpose relevant tenable, believable? Can you stay with that purpose for the next three or five years? Will the embracing of the purpose help the brand attract more consumers, increase loyalty? Will the top management support the purpose-driven effort?

If you have a positive answer to the four questions, go ahead and do genuine purpose-driven marketing. But be ready to be called out for “purpose washing” the brand.

The author is an independent brand strategist & founder, Brand-Building.com; he can be reached at ambimgp@brand-building.com