Purpose Is The New Black
By now, we all know of Patagonia’s bold charge into uncharted purpose-driven waters with an undeniably crucial mission: saving the planet. They are defining for a generation what it looks like to reexamine a company’s founding purpose and drastically course correct. They’ve made a massive change in their organization, hammered a stake in the ground, and created buzz that seems to dominate content everywhere I look. (Including right here, heyyy!)
Hammering a stake in the ground with a defined and actionable purpose can of course create controversy too. But every brand worth its weight knows you can’t be everything to all people. Highlighting your purpose can pull a brand apart from other brands in a way that’s going to get talked about. These conversations lead people to either love or hate what you’re doing, while at the same time irradicating indifference (brand poison!)
There is of course a growing trend of brands playing it a little smaller by dropping Do Good content into the periferal of their brand content. Including tips, news, and stories about our impact on the planet in their marketing content, featuring changemakers instead of models to showcase their product, and creating give-back campaigns that target climate action and support sustainable practices are all great.
But if, as Yvon says in his now-infamous Patagonia shareholder letter, “purpose and profits are inextricably linked”, I believe we can expect more for-profit companies to lean further into purpose, making it a central cog in the complicated web of what they say and do.
Each year, Inc.com releases a list of the 20 most purposeful companies in the Purpose Power Index. “Compared with previous indexes, this year's top 20 includes more mainstream, billion-dollar businesses. This year, 10 companies are new to the top 20 spots on the Purpose Power Index, including Pfizer, Patagonia, and Zoom.” Doing Good is on the rise.
Purpose-driven companies make “commitments to a purpose beyond profit, to improving lives, and to creating a better society and world, not just for shareholders.” (1) Living and walking your purpose leads to a rock-solid identity that draws customers like a magnet. Customers love purpose. They love to be able to identify something tangible that links them to you. And that shared belief is the strongest kind of loyalty.
