The Problem

When scoping the project, the Client was struggling where to focus. Oscillating between “green” research and social justice, they admitted having already done research on both, but were still unsuccessful in gaining leadership support.

After a deeper discussion, I proposed a new topic: Brand Purpose. The Client was looking for something the company could stand on, but without coming across as a bandwagon follower. Many brands were green-washing product to make sales but, as a heritage brand, their authenticity was at stake.

The Future of Brand Purpose

Taking the Client’s initial interests into consideration, we chose to focus on how brands were supporting environmentalism and social justice from a core values standpoint. Seeing their struggle bringing company values to life, we included how brands were successfully and honestly showing up for in-the-moment causes.

The research was broken down into three parts:

Consumer Context
What consumers want, why they want it, what it means, and what brands can do.

In this case, the Client wanted a focus on Gen Z, but without ostracizing their core client base.

Brand Purpose in Action
Deep research on sustainability, social justice, and campaign activations.

Key Takeaways
Prompts for how the Client can implement new insights. Also exploring how “purpose” can go wrong — what happens when brands don’t think before they speak.

Wrap Up

During the post-presentation Q&A, a frustrated marketer raised their hand,

We’ve done some of these things. They haven’t worked for us. Now what?

This mirrored the initial concerns when we started the project. I had studied the Client’s website, social media, and brand presence so, for me, the issue was obvious: people didn’t know. The Client focused their content strategy on selling product, but the new consumer has expectations beyond product highlights — demanding real stories and authentic engagement.

This key insight led to a discussion for their next project: the Future of Storytelling.