5 Purpose driven Brand campaigns you can’t miss!
Times are a changing! You must have heard that adage before but from a marketing perspective, times are changing and that too, at a fast pace!
Much of the changing times can be attributed to the changing consumer behaviour. If you notice around you, people are more independent in the way they choose to plan a vacation, buy a product, consume a meal etc. In a way, Millennials (those born between 1980 and 1990) and Gen Z (born between 1990 and 2000) are making a lot of consumer led decisions. A couple of traits that they share is being ‘hands-on’ where service industry comes in and being ‘responsible towards the environment’ where a product purchase is involved.
Interestingly, in a survey conducted by Havas Media group in 2021 titled ‘Havas’ Meaningful Brands Report 2021’. The survey involved responses of almost 4 lakh respondents. Survey concluded that 73% of global respondents believe brands must act now for the good of society and the planet.
Moreover, 64% respondents prefer to buy from a company with a reputation for purpose as well as profit.
So, if a brand manufactures garment, the consumer wishes to know how much natural resources were consumed in making the garment. Additionally, the consumer would like to know how was the labour force treated while making the garment.
Consequently, brands have also improved their game when it comes to dispensing their functions responsibly. One of the most endearing and heart-touching methods for a brand is to execute Purpose driven campaigns. In a nutshell, Purpose-driven marketing campaigns demonstrate a brand’s reason for its ethos, it’s values, it’s mission and , it’s existence beyond making profit.
Impact of Purpose Driven campaigns on Brands:
There are broadly 4 purpose-driven campaign themes for a brand to showcase:
- Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: With a fast changing society and family roles, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion play a major role for a brand to align itself with its current and potential consumer’s thoughts. Later in this blog, we discuss a campaign by Doritos Mexic that focusses on LGBTQ rights.
- Human Value-laden campaign- In the hustle-bustle of life, people often lose touch with their loved ones and this becomes a cause for their loneliness and in some cases depressed behaviour. Through Purpose driven brand campaigns, brands play an important role in reminding people to connect with people for whom they matter. Nescafe has cracked this theme of purpose driven brand campaign as we see later in this post. Another version of such human value laden campaigns are Inspirational campaigns that urge viewers to take a stand or opt for a higher path in life.
- Animal Welfare: One heart-warming behavioural change that I have observed in the post COVID world is the fondness for animals and higher rate of adoption of pets. Consequently, the brands that align with these values internally and then project it for the outer world, tend to become a go-to brand for the consumers.
- Environment: Whether product brands like it or not, being environment is a pre-requisite given the hazards of climate change. With constant echo around environmental issues and rising global temperatures, consumers expect not only the respective governments to take decisive steps towards environment friendliness but also expect brands to do their bit in saving the environment. I am happy to share that we have featured one such environment-friendly campaign in this blog post! I will let you guess which one of the 5 is it.
Now, you have got a hang of what Purpose driven Brand campaigns are all about. So, without much ado, let’s dive in to the list of 5 purpose driven campaigns:
1. For the moments that matter – NESCAFÉ
One of my favorite Television commercials by NESCAFÉ. This advert gives an amazing value-laden lesson to all viewers while upholding the importance of coffee for forging a long lasting bond! The beauty in the advert lies in the way the speaker speaks through his high and low points in life to pinpoint the people who deserve to have a cup of coffee with him. You have to watch the advertisement to realise it’s importance:
2. Thank you, mom, and mom – Doritos Mexic
In 2021, Doritos Mexic launched a heart-warming campaign to display it’s support for the rights of the LGBT community. Interestingly, kids express gratitude to their mom and their other mother. The campaign emphasised that a family has love at it’s core and not the gender stereotypes.
You would enjoy watching this advertisement:
Read a written blog post on The Journey from a Cartoon Sketch to a Brand Mascot: Fido Dido
3. What if – IKEA Malaysia
Ikea is a brand founded by Ingvar Kamprad in 1943. It has positioned itself as a global home furnishing brand that brings affordability, design and comfort to people all over the world. In 2018, Ikea Malaysia came up with ‘What if’, a purpose driven campaign that created waves! It threw the audience into a frenzy of thinking what is possible and how we can best use our natural resources. It also pushes the viewer to build something that suits one and all! One of my favorite quotes from the video is “What if we make better sleep instead of better beds”. I am sure you would love watching the advert:
4. Future without Limits – NIKE
Nike never ceases to inspire, neither with innovation nor with getting the messaging right! I have been following the brand in Web3 space and the brand continues to maintain a coherent brand recall and inspire consumers to realise their true potential. This particular brand video will melt your heart. It will inspire you to explore your limits and break the glass ceiling, if need be!
5. Project Nayi Umeed- Bisleri
Bisleri’s World Water day campaign for World Water day was based on Rainwater harvesting via Behavior change. Bisleri has constructed and restored over 200 check dams across Gujarat and Maharashtra since 2001. The project has helped irrigate about 9638 acres of land, turning barren land into fertile farms. This has in turn, benefitted close to 12,000 families of farmers in over 125 villages. During the campaign and on ground efforts, the project replenishes 1.08 litres of water for every 1 litre drawn from the ground. In a nutshell, Project Nayi Umeed has helped turn barren land into flourishing agricultural fields and transform the lives of thousands of farmer families.
Purpose-washing in Purpose driven campaigns
While purpose driven might sound like a must-do and a highly coveted approach for brands, all examples shared above have arguably, brought about a change in consumer behavior. Nonetheless, today’s customers are street sharp in recognizing the real purpose driven campaigns from the fake ones. Indeed, Purpose-washing happens when brands use a social cause to promote their products and services without purposeful intent and with the lack of a clear action plan. Consequently, this has a negative impact on customer loyalty and the trust in other purpose driven brands also gets eroded. Afterall, as a shopper or consumer, I don’t wish to consume a brand only for superficial purposes, right?
It is important to remember that purpose-driven marketing is a long-term commitment and strategy on behalf of the brands. Through this blog post, I have tried to list down a few Purpose driven advertisement campaigns above. However, I am sure that there are scores of other purpose-driven advertisement campaigns that deserve a mention. I would be happy to know which one’s I have missed out in the comments below.
I was inspired by the following sources on purpose driven campaigns:
Source #1 | Source #2 | Source #3 | Source #4 | Source #5 | Source #6
A very well researched and very well written article. Congratulations to Ambuj Saxena for wring such a good article on the subject! It shows his wisdom in his field of Branding!!
Thank you so much sir. I can’t express how important is mentorship to me and you are one of the most supportive mentors I have had! Thank you for your kind words. feeling blessed!
That is so true! Today’s generation is so much more interested in something that makes sense and feels right.One of my most favorite purpose-driven campaign is the dove real beauty campaign!
Thank you for explaining it so well and enlightening us with the term “purpose washing” This was very new.
Dove campaign is indeed beautiful and though I couldn’t cover it in this post but this post is just part 1 of the Value laden advertisement campaigns. Thank you for pointing out.
If I speak of purpose driven campaigns, it becomes mandatory to talk about Purpose Washing as well. I am glad you appreciated my post and I hope to get comments from you on my future blog posts.
I think the human-value laden ones are really the best, because you can truly connect with people through them.
We wont be human without human-values isn’t it? The beauty of advertisements is on display when these values are shown without adulteration.
These are fantastic campaigns, thank you so much for sharing. They’re all very good but Nike’s stood out for me.
Can’t blame you for picking NIKE! Nike has a habit of leading the charge!!
I enjoyed reading this article about the changing landscape of marketing and the rise of purpose-driven campaigns. It’s fascinating to see how consumer behavior is evolving, with Millennials and Gen Z leading the charge in making socially and environmentally responsible choices.
Good observations, Ramil. Advertising is a result of the changing socio-economic dynamics of a society so the advertisements have to reproduce the same
You put together a nice blog post. It’s true more than ever that we want to support a brand that has purpose and heart.
I think purpose driven brand campaigns are very important. Great article! I learned a lot about the impact of purpose driven campaigns.
I am glad that you liked the blog post. Purpose driven campaigns are usually aimed at change in consumer behaviour
This is a goldmine of inspiration for businesses with heart! The examples and strategies are spot-on. BTW, I also like Nescafe ads too.
Aptly said! Btw Nescafe ad is my personal favorite too!
I’ve seen a few of these campaigns (i am in advertising). They’re all amazing….The Ikea one is fantastic…
Thank you for presenting the information in a clear and concise manner. It made it easier for me to grasp the key points. For more details, click here.