Facebook wants brands to find purpose

Thoughts on brands finding purpose in 2020 and Facebook is insisting too.

Recently someone on LinkedIn asked - How would you define the year 2020 as a marketer?

I will settle with the word “Purpose.”

Empathy is my next favourite.

I have never seen marketers so gung ho about the word purpose and stitching it into marketing. It was always there. We ignored it because we were too busy making profits and not bothering what the consumer really wanted.

My quest for the purpose has been for a while. It started with my earlier startup where I would keep asking myself every day why does my startup exists and what problem it is solving.

Even humans have a purpose. I am still nowhere close to finding it. So I have settled with Viktor Frankl’s version (Man's Search for Meaning) - working on my immediate responsibilities.

2020 - the year of finding brand purpose

Coming back to purpose and organisations - “Purpose-driven companies inherently understand why they exist and who they are best built to serve regardless of what they sell today. While most brands are mulling over how to reposition themselves and best serve their stakeholders, some are positioned to remain steadfast in one key dimension—their purpose. These companies inherently understand why they exist and who they are best built to serve—from their customers and workforces to the community— regardless of what they sell today.”

Promisingly, people are taking note of these brands.

In Deloitte’s 2021 Global Marketing Trends survey of 2,447 global consumers, 79% of respondents recalled instances of brands positively responding to COVID-19 to help their customers, workforces, and communities.

“We saw this manifest in countless ways: financial institutions pausing overdraft fees and deferring loan payments; shoe companies donating thousands of pairs of shoes to nurses healing their communities; and many companies shifting their long-standing corporate policies to better support the workforces that drive their business.”

According to the GWI Trends 2021: “Brand building is more tightly wound with brand purpose than ever before.” It further says, “In the next 12 months they need to consider the next stage of their COVID-19 response, bolstering their support of large-scale initiatives and social causes with a more empathetic approach to their customers on the ground.”

This is a recession as well as a pandemic, and previous recessions have shown us the importance of the brand-building to future prosperity. In today’s environment, brand building is more tightly-wound with brand purpose than ever before.

Along with purpose, promoting social responsibility has become the new normal. Consumers want their brands to be doers rather than watchers. Supporting social causes, becoming eco-friendly, offering value for money are some of the things that consumers would look for going forward in 2021.

After the world emerged from the strictest weeks of quarantine, consumers’ support of community welfare initiatives jumped. The portion of consumers in Europe and North America that want brands to support local suppliers has grown from 31% in Q1 to 37% in Q2. 

Support for social welfare initiatives has grown most where the virus has hit hardest. Support for brands that donate to charity has grown 16% in Brazil, and 10% in the U.S.

GWI mentions that: “Brand purpose in 2021 should ideally combine these two initiatives. Promoting big-ticket social causes on the one hand, and demonstrating empathy in everyday interactions with customers on the other.” 

Consumers highlighted the below concerns most when deciding to buy from a brand. Bad customer service leads followed by bad media stories about the brand or rather true stories about a brand. Now you understand why Indian honey brands are pumping money into advertising to prove that their honey has no added sugar.

Facebook wants brands to drive meaningful business

Who understands brand purpose better than Facebook.

Right?

“The official stated purpose of Facebook is to make the world more open and connected.”

Since it is an open platform the company has had the known trait of taking half-hearted measures against pages and posts propagating falsehood, hate, violence, and conspiracy theories.

The latest US election is an excellent example. “The coronavirus pandemic has left us living more and more of our lives online. But the place where we chat with friends, get our news and form our opinions is full of vile and dangerous conspiracy theories,” writes Guardian for Facebook and QAnon conspiracy theories.

The problem for Facebook is that the QAnon rabbit hole doesn’t work like other conspiracy theories. Rather than laying out the conspiracy, with a call to arms for believers, it instead offers a far more compelling instruction: “Do your research.”

Sometime in early November, Facebook finally took action to remove FFTCUK “for violating our dangerous individuals and organisations policy”.

Coming back to brand purpose once again Facebook thinks that the future of social good is bright. It says: “Change the world, drive a meaningful business.”

How do you do that? “Achieve your business goals and create meaningful change by leveraging Facebook tools, products, and insights.”

To lead its initiatives for social good for business it has launched a set of resources under a  new website. So that brands can make an impact.

Armed with resources on how brands can plan a social initiative, adapt a marketing strategy for COVID-19, and prepare for social good, the portal has compiled examples of purpose-driven brands moving their business forward.

Bombas - The eCommerce sock company launched a unique Pride campaign using lookalike audiences and special Facebook ad creative, which helped drive donations of more than 460,000 pairs of socks to homeless LGBTQIA+ youth.

It partnered with The Ally Coalition, an organization focused on making a positive impact on the lives of LGBTQIA+ homeless youth, to direct 40% of all sock donations to the organization in honor of Pride month. Obviously, it is a Facebook success story.

The new portal happily connects with Facebook’s drive towards peer to peer fundraising.

The new initiative by Facebook asking brands to find a purpose for a greater good to mankind ties up with it’s the larger goal towards Social Impact. “Social Impact fosters a community that cares by empowering people to make the world a better place through tools that have positive real-world impact.” 

I wonder when will Facebook make the social network a better place. Looks like even CEO Mark Zuckerberg can’t fix Facebook.

As I was writing this article one part of my brain was working really hard to recollect brand stories that might have connected with me during this pandemic. “After reading these numbers I closed my eyes to see if there is an Indian brand that stood out for its purpose during the pandemic in 2020. I tried hard but none came into my mind.” 

Maybe this year is not for brands it is for nonprofit organizations. Not only have they worked during the pandemic, raised money, and made an impact on the grounds. All this while battling the challenges of going digital and the crisis of funds.

If you don’t have the WHY then you are dead and waiting for your time to come.

Armed with all these reports, data, and trends marketers would look forward to jumping in 2021. Working along with the purpose is desired but if you align with a social good or a cause. Make sure you do justice to it, don’t do it for the social media or PR. Don’t just cut a check for the regulations but go out and try to see if you can make an impact on the ground to the last mile. It isn’t difficult.

By the way which Indian brand is supporting the Farmer Protest?

We are all the same. Now on with physical masks.