Research highlights that consumers are ready to embrace brands that care about the same things they do – and the benefits are huge, writes Julia Shepherd, insight director at MediaCom North.
Social purpose is at the top of the agenda. 2018 got off to an interesting start with Theresa May revealing her long-term strategy to eradicate avoidable plastic waste in the UK by 2042. In January, Iceland followed suit with their announcement of a five-year aim to remove all plastic packaging from their own brand products. Judith Woods, writing in The Telegraph, claimed that, ‘preaching about plastic won’t be enough to lure supermarket snobs like me.’ So now the real question is, does Judith speak in consensus with all consumers, or is social purpose starting to prove more influential in the purchasing decision?
Social purpose covers a broad variety of areas, including: responsible sourcing of products, supporting local communities, changing manufacturing processes, and showing compassion to disadvantaged groups. Brand purpose is essentially about contributing to the collective good as well as making a profit.
The benefits of having a social purpose can be huge for a business if it is properly marketed.
40% of people have stopped buying a brand or not bought a brand in the first place because of its values or behaviour according to research completed by MediaCom into public attitudes towards the social purpose of brands. These are the types of numbers that could lead to an undesirable impact on business wellbeing. Furthermore, 61% can name a brand that has had a negative impact on society, so consumers are likely to remember businesses they feel badly about. When brands are doing good in some way they need to talk about it.
