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30 August, 2024

Infusing your brand with purpose and values

Posted by Megan Oldcorn

Infusing your brand with purpose and values tresco times 3x2

What does your brand stand for? If you’re not sure, it could be time to pause, reflect and reposition.  

To modern consumers, brands are far more than the sum of their products or services. Today, we buy into certain brands, both rationally and emotionally. They’re entities that we relate to, trust, and even recommend to others.

This transformation is driven by a fundamental shift in our expectations. We look for the substance beneath a brand’s style – we want to know that we’re dealing with those with integrity.

This is why, for modern brands, it’s essential to have a defined purpose and values. When a brand stands for something meaningful and consistently upholds its values, it signals reliability and integrity, which leads to brand trust and long-term loyalty.

Nixon books studio

Creating consistency

Brand consistency is one of the best and most important products of having a strong brand strategy. We often tend to stick to brands we can trust to deliver a consistent product or service – we return to them, come rain or shine, because we believe that they’ll be just as good, every time.

This is the reason the names topping the list of the UK’s biggest brands are ones we all know well: those like Cadbury, Fairy and Kellogg’s. We’re happy to pay a little extra for what we consider a reliably good product.

Standing out

In a saturated marketplace, distinguishing your brand from competitors is vital. A well-defined purpose and set of values act as differentiators, providing a unique identity that sets your brand apart. But this isn’t just about being different. It’s also about being memorable – resonating with your target audience on a deeper level.

Take TOMS, a brand that has created a point of difference through its commitment to social impact; donating a pair of shoes for every pair sold. This purpose-driven approach has made TOMS a standout in the footwear industry.

Engaging your team

A brand’s purpose and values are not just for consumers; they also play a critical role internally. A clear sense of purpose can boost employee morale, engagement, and retention. Work is given greater meaning, as even daily tasks can be seen as part of the bigger picture. For instance, B Corp-certified companies, which commit to high ethical standards, are more likely to attract top talent, resulting in a motivated and committed workforce.

Investing time in shaping your values also shows that you care what your employees think and feel – an important first step in effecting internal change for the better.

Tresco shelf

Supporting your story 

Purpose and values provide a rich foundation for brand storytelling. Stories that highlight a brand’s mission, its journey, and the values it stands for are more compelling and emotionally engaging. They help create a narrative that resonates with consumers, making the brand more relatable and memorable.

We can see this at play in the example set by LEGO. The brand is open about its values and promises, and it’s easy to see how these filter through to brand storytelling. With a focus on imagination, fun and creativity, and the mission to ‘Inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow’, the brand has created campaigns like ‘Rebuild the World’, which highlights the endless possibilities within creativity and play.

Where to start?

If you haven’t thought about these things before, it’s helpful to begin by asking yourselves a few initial questions.

  1. Who are our current audiences?
  2. What do they expect from us?
  3. Why do we do what we do?

This might sound simple, but really digging into each area can yield a wealth of useful information. From this, you can begin distilling everything into a set of values and a clear purpose.

The one drawback to considering your brand in-house is that it’s notoriously hard to find an objective viewpoint. Regardless of whether you’re the business owner, the marketing manager, or another team member, you’ll likely have preferences, biases and past experiences to draw upon. These can be valuable (your experiences, in particular), but they can also obscure your findings.

If things get tough, we’d always recommend working with an outside agency that really knows and understands the world of branding. This could be us (it’s a service we’ve honed over many years), but whoever you choose to trust, we’ve found that the more you invest in the process, the more you’ll ultimately get out of it. 

Brands that embrace and embody their purpose and values are more likely to succeed, and to leave a positive impact on their audiences, team members, and the wider world. As consumers seek meaning and authenticity in their choices, the importance of brand purpose and values will only grow stronger. So, what does your brand stand for?

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