While purpose is a powerful business force, different economies need different types and levels of purpose thinking and leadership. While many brands focus on social purpose, it is important to include all three elements of Environment, Sustainability, and Governance (ESG).
Unilever reported in 2019 that its purpose-driven brands grew 69% faster than its other brands, after shifting to a social focus at the holding company level. As a result, many of Unilever’s standard household names now actively communicate a clear social purpose. Sunlight supports small-scale women-owned businesses. Lifebouy runs an H for Hand-Washing program, which feels particularly relevant to the Covid-19 era.
The West versus the Rest
Interestingly, if you Google ‘purpose brands’ as a general concept, you receive a long string of returns, including pages of strategic analysis from consulting firms. But if you search for ‘purpose brands in developing economies’, there is very little to see.
This is due to the fact that developing economies are often the target in a global context. They are often right next to the environmental, ethical and production processes brands aim to fix.
Equally, in struggling economies with high unemployment rates, a brand’s social purpose doesn’t influence mass market purchase decision-making as much as price and utility.
This doesn’t mean purpose-led business is irrelevant to developing economies. South African society is an example of this. The majority of brands have a strong social component.
Hollard Insurance’s Big Ads for Small Businesses campaign typifies a common approach in the region. The company makes use of its advertising assets to promote 12 small businesses in South Africa. It uses its billboards and street ads, radio spots, digital advertisements, TV spots, and radio spots to help these small businesses grow.
Similarly, in Kenya, Nescafe’s purpose-driven approach benefits directly the farmers and communities that grow its coffee.
In 2011, a plan was launched to support local farmers and communities by providing training programs on best agricultural and processing practices and financial literacy programs. The plan has helped 50,000 farmers to start and sustain their businesses.
The plan features 8,000 women farmers to reflect the socio-economic importance and socio-economic benefits of empowering women. Nescafe won an award for best coffee in 2021, as chosen by Kenyan consumers – a fitting cherry on top of the purpose-driven cake.
Environment, Sustainability and Governance
Despite some notable exceptions, the dominant commercial view of purpose seems largely to be that of a marketing tool, which often involves percentages being donated to charitable causes. Brand-led sustainability efforts in developed countries often focus on ethical sourcing or climate risk.
Regardless of where you are in the world, it’s clear that social purpose is an ever-present commercial force, with a lot of organisations focusing on one, or perhaps two, of the three Environment, Sustainability and Governance (ESG) elements.
Because this fragmented approach is dominant in most markets to purpose, brands that are able to bring together all three ESG elements and achieve goal integration are likely to have a significant, long-term competitive edge.
However, moving past purpose fragmentation – a state where one aspect of ESG threatens to negate or dilute another – requires leaders willing to lean into complex social realities rather than look past them for quick marketable concepts.
Deep purpose is important
To my mind, the most powerful purpose-driven brand and marketing campaigns are likely to emerge – now, and in the future – as the by-product of an organisation’s more deeply honed purpose, with ESG tenets at the core.
In fact, I sometimes think ESG should be renamed GSE, as it’s the frequently overlooked Governance element that begets the Social and Environmental pillars.
According to S&P global the G in ESG refers to organisational decision-making and policymaking, as well as the distribution of rights or responsibilities among different stakeholders, such shareholders, managers, board members, board of directors and managers.
Developing countries often have unique socioeconomic histories and operating environments. Local and global organizations operating in these countries face the challenge of recognizing these realities and addressing them in a way that moves the organisation forward.
Integrating the whole organisation with a strong focus in Governance is key. Many organisations and their leaders must face the reality of deep, systemic change in order to achieve this integration.
It is possible, of course.
In today’s fluid global economy, compelling, competitive purpose brands think beyond simple purpose marketing and BBBEE compliance. They look at the whole organisational value chain and embed ESG thinking throughout; they partner only with organizations that share their impact vision.
This means that authentic brand purpose requires more than catchy catch phrases or socially oriented marketing campaigns.
It looks to craft solutions and purchase behaviours that impact society positively and sustainably over the long term, and that are also tailored to a community’s unique socio–economic challenges.
One thinks of the myriad new fintech brands offering money transfer services, whose products are so socially enabling in developing economies that they don’t require purpose-led marketing.
Recognizing that consumers want social change and that an integrated ESG ecosystem fosters it, is a great place for a start.
The next step is to empower consumers to champion social and environmental impact through marketing campaigns.
