The Purpose Report 2020

From Brand Positioning to Purpose Positioning

Your brand’s values are more than its value proposition. A groundbreaking survey shows marketers how to identify and communicate a corporate purpose beyond shareholder value. The Purpose Report 2020 will be released March 9.

Consumers are as passionate about the environment, civic engagement and social justice as they are about fitness, technology and other personal interests. This is a key finding of quantitative research published by Purpose Brand, an award-winning PR, brand and content marketing firm in Chicago.

The Purpose Report 2020 suggests why corporate purpose is more than a marketing catchphrase. Purpose Brand identifies consumer concerns, breaks down their demographics, and explains how their concerns are reflected in everyday buying decisions. The Purpose Report 2020 concludes that marketers must move beyond brand positioning to purpose positioning – to define a brand’s value not only by how it meets consumer needs, but also how it makes life better.

Purpose positioning gives brands the opportunity to connect to deeply held beliefs – indeed, consumers expect brands to align with their core values. Findings of The Purpose Report 2020 suggest that consumers readily accept the profit motive when coupled with an authentic embrace of doing well by doing good.

Marketers ignore these emerging decision-making factors at their peril. The Purpose Report 2020 explores where key market segments have common concerns, where their interests differ, and how consumer values align with the interests of employees, clients, suppliers and other stakeholders.

Among the key insights in The Purpose Report 2020:

Purpose Is the New Norm:
4 in 5 respondents to the survey agree that a brand or company should have a purpose beyond making money, and that brand purpose – marketing and investing in causes people care about – is a permanent part of U.S. culture.
Power in Points of Difference:
Demographic segments widely share the values of equal rights, access to basic services, sustainability and job growth. But their level of commitment often is bound by gender, age, race and ethnicity, or political affiliation. Women’s health was a concern for 86% of female respondents, but only 73% of males.
External Alignment Signifies Purpose:
For every group surveyed, cash donations were cited as the top indicator of a brand’s greater social purpose. Direct action is widely seen as more substantive than words–10 other indicators of purpose were chosen more frequently than a marketing mainstay, the corporate social responsibility report.

The Purpose Report backs its survey findings with marketing case studies and a framework for exploring purpose within your organization. The Purpose Report 2020 will guide a conversation that demands straight talk.

Purpose Brand agency is an award winning, full-service public relations, brand and digital content marketing firm in Chicago. Purpose Brand always puts purpose into practice–making brands relevant and communities stronger. Services include media and public relations, brand strategy, web design and development, content strategy, special events, video marketing and training. Working across disciplines, Purpose Brand develops and executes end-to-end purpose and brand initiatives that capture audiences’ hearts and minds. Contact Purpose Brand to learn more about its services or to set up onsite training in purpose positioning.