Purpose driven marketing has become one of the hottest topics in today’s marketing lexicon but does it really work and what happens when it goes wrong.

We know that consumers are more ethically and socially conscious than ever before and faced with a borage of well-intentioned yet inconsistent brand messaging (you’d be hard-pressed to find any company today that hasn’t experimented with the concept) they are becoming weary; if not cynical.

Armed with more information than ever before and a deeper awareness of “do-good” marketing tactics, consumers have started to question whether brands are really being genuine with their sentiment or if they are looking for a quick hit to mirror the shift in societal values and behaviour.

Recently Coca-Cola launched a well-intentioned campaign announcing that their bottle tops will no longer become part of the global plastic wastage crises and whilst the campaign is new, the backlash is quick and often fierce .

"Omg this is .. soda-pressing," chimed one consumer online. Another jibed  "Just put the cocaine back in it already and the world will be a better place."

Whilst this call for change is relevant, it is more of a messaging coat slapped over an existing architecture than a credible expression of why the organisation exists i.e. its purpose

Although more than 55% of consumers consent to being inspired by a brands intentions to do good, alarmingly 47% admit that they would walk away from a brand in frustration and (17% ) never come back should a brand fail to take action on their words.

In today’s landscape it is imperative that a company and its brand tries to leave the world in a better place. Patagonia, Tods and even Nike have introduced long-term strategies to ensure there is a credible and tangible mechanic that delivers on their respective purpose, however purpose-driven marketing has become a catch phrase for any and all things charitable and altruistic. Often there is zero correlation between the brand and its professed purpose. Essentially not every brand can credibly deliver on their professed purpose.

To get purpose driven marketing right a brand needs to do an honest audit on three factors.

Vision – is the organisations brand messaging aligned with its commercial vison? Can it express this credibly? Can this be done as a long-term strategy?

Resources – does the organisation have the financially and human resources required for a long-term commitment? Can this be delivered against the consumers expectation?

Permission – is the brand in a position of authority to speak on this issue ? Is it distinct? Does it match with the consumers ‘needs?

The litmus test to determine if your purpose-driven marketing is relevant is to determine if your corporate values can be applied to culture with authenticity and impact and placed before profit and perception .

Purpose is a long-term solution and requires a long-term investment.