Today’s consumer is younger and more purpose-driven than ever before. The quality of the products and services they buy is no longer the be-all and end-all when it comes to creating purchase intention; they also want to buy into the values and mission of a brand. To cater to those newly socially conscious consumers, brands are increasingly baking their values and purposes into their marketing messages.
However, those consumers are ever-more savvy about spotting whether a brand’s messaging around purpose is authentic, and can and will punish the brands that don’t mean what they say.
The reality is that the rising tides of social inequality and environmental issues will force brands to address those issues, both to satisfy those discerning consumers and as outside forces impact their bottom lines. However, aligning those more long-term considerations with more immediate pressures around profitability and satisfying shareholders is an enormous challenge, and brands are consequently being torn between two priorities.
At the Cannes Lions Festival this year an expert panel will attempt to find a path through those challenges through examining the evidence, asking the question: “Does a brand’s purpose really impact sales?”.
Join Mars Petcare, chief marketing officer, Jane Wakely, alongside The Drum associate editor, Sonoo Singh to talk all things purpose, to ask whether brands are right to measure the success of purpose-driven marketing through sales metrics, and to discuss the meaning of ‘purpose’ when it comes to brands.
More brands to be announced soon.
Ruth Allchurch, managing director at WE UK, will also join the conversation.