Purpose Takes Center Stage

Tapan Singhel Jan 03, 2022

In my younger days, I remember seeing advertisements mainly in newspapers or on hoardings with simple aesthetics as its primary appeal. Those days you got what you saw with the limited scope for any false marketing. What also used to draw our attention were the distinctive taglines or jingles which we hum to this day. Over the years, marketing practices have transcended from traditional advertising like face-to-face sales to using the printing press to then the television and radio to the current digital transformation age that has changed the entire landscape of marketing. Everywhere you look now be it at your mobile devices, your smartwatches, apps that you use, while browsing the internet, etc. advertising is everywhere, progressed in a way to be available at every customer touch-point. What drove this massive evolution of marketing was the purpose of organisations to keep driving attention to their brand, emphasising the uniqueness of their offerings amidst the saturating competition.

Need For Purpose-Driven Marketing

Back in the day, the focus was primarily on product-centred marketing based on facts about their products, their features, and the benefits that the customer can get from buying their products. Famous personalities were roped in to echo the same brand ethos of the organisations adding that touch of authenticity which the brands wished to achieve. This also led to competitive marketing where brands pitted their products against each other claiming to be superlative compared to the other, in the end losing out of the humble advertising aesthetic.

We are in unprecedented times with the global pandemic, where it has become more important today to listen to what your consumers want and provide them adequate solutions to their needs in order to endure the current crisis. Today with the advancement in digital capabilities, hyper-personalisation has become a key trend since customers’ needs have evolved greatly. The narrative from what products customers must purchase to why they must buy has started to take a prominent center stage.

Why Purpose-Driven Marketing?

We are in an age of marketing where the customer is not buying your products based just on your marketing strategies but progressively the new-age radical consumer wants to associate themselves with brands that are driven by purpose with the eventual mission and vision to contribute to the betterment of humankind. We are gradually seeing a pattern of how companies are making changes in their processes to eventually contribute and support in helping the planet or towards the betterment of the imminent climate change crisis or the precarious COVID-19 virus. Organisations must know their target customers well and understand what causes or purpose they relate to. Building your campaigns around this would mean that your audience also connects with your purpose thus making them an integral part of your company’s overarching mission. However, it’s important for the purpose that your brand endorses, be in alignment with the company’s brand fabric as well. The intended purpose and your business proposition must be an effortless amalgamation and must not be opted for since it may seem like a popular trend. It is recommended that your purpose be driven by authenticity which resonates with your brand values as well.

Implementing Purpose-Driven Marketing

As a purpose-driven organisation, we realised that consumers are burdened by everyday financial worries relating to their health, their home, their vehicles, their assets, etc. We launched our ‘Caringly Yours’ campaign with the simple thought that our customers must be happy on a day-to-day basis and want them to live a worry-free life by providing them with holistic solutions for all their needs that encompass not just insurance but a lot more. We wanted to provide a frictionless customer experience to our customers at every touchpoint albeit with care as our value proposition. Insurance is always a misunderstood industry and with this campaign, we wanted to humanise it and make people realise the good that this industry actually does for society.

We also recently launched our #Care4Hockey campaign which is our endeavour to take an off-beat path towards connecting with our customers by showing genuine care for the great underrated sport of hockey by supporting the development of the sport from the grassroots level. With these campaigns we want to establish that profitability or revenue is not the principal drive for us as a company but our purpose is about improving the lives of all our stakeholders and contributing towards causes that need our support and attention.

Purpose-Driven Marketing is Here to Stay

With a gradual polarised consumer mindset, purpose will continue to be a vital catalyst when consumers choose products or services of your brand as their preferred choice. Purpose-driven organisations tend to innately attract the right customers and the right talent for your organisation. When organisations are driven by a strong sense of purpose and making a difference to society, their objectives lie greater than profitability and hence they tend to have a stronger and loyal customer base. Even your employees become brand ambassadors for the company since they too appeal towards the vision of the company.

If your brand currently exists means you already have a vision and purpose, it’s just about connecting to your customer’s passion which resonates with your company’s own objectives which will keep you thriving. Being a purpose-driven organisation gives your customers an insight into the organisation that you are; it tells them that you can see the bigger picture and are making conscious attempts at providing towards those causes too. With purpose-driven marketing goals, your brand not just gains credibility and authenticity but also can help build business since other business entities will be interested in associating with your organisation as well. A timely driven campaign that focuses on issues that need attention but also resonates with your brand identity will also greatly help your brand amplification.

Always know that no matter how genuine your purpose is, it is about connecting your brand with the society in form of stories and narratives which will create the desired impact. As a brand, if your heart is in the right place and you’re on the righteous path, business is incidental. Be authentic, be genuine, be consistent, associate with the right entities and together make a difference towards the betterment of humanity.