I was running though my LinkedIn feed the other day and a post on purpose-driven branding stopped me in my tracks. This is a popular conversation in my graduate digital marketing class and I’m always looking for new material on the topic.
In essence, there is a cacophony of marketing information in the marketplace. Brands, therefore, often serve as a “mental short cut” meaning it is much easier (cogitatively speaking) to make a decision on a brand we are familiar with and like. But can the those mental connections be much stronger if the brand is more than just a mental short cut? Can the brand be more top of mind if the brand was more than a brand and had a purpose-driven mission behind it?
As detailed in a Fast Company article, Porter Novelli (a communications consultancy) conducted a brand study with 1,200 consumers to explore this very question. Using a implicit association test, an experience where the subject gets less than a second to indicate their thoughts on a brand (i.e., favorable or unfavorable). An mplicit association test proports to be a truer representation of one’s evaluation because the test does not allow one to “over think” their response. For example, a brand name or logo will appear on the screen and words like “transparent” or “ethical” can be selected… or not.
And the results? They even surprised me. I was expecting to see an effect but not ones as strong as detailed. For brands with purpose-driven characteristics, consumers were:
- 75% were more likely to trust the company
- 78% were more likely to remember a company with strong purpose
- 78% were also more likely to want to work for the company
- 72% were more likely to be loyal to the company
- 72% were more likely to forgive the company if it made a mistake
- 66% said they would consider the company’s purpose when deciding what to buy
- 71% said they would buy from a purpose-driven company over the alternative if cost and quality were equal
- 62% said that they thought it was important to consider purpose even when making an impulse buy
In summary, being purpose-driven could be the difference whether a consumer buys your brand or not. But don’t forget, being purpose-driven is just as important for all the corporate social responsibility impacts the brand has on the community.
Something to share today…
Best
Dr. Dan-o
Daniel M. Ladik, Ph.D.,
Associate Professor of Marketing
Methodologist, Seton Hall Sports Poll
Stillman School of Business
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