P u r p o s e f u l b r a n d s
Miriam Plon Sauer
Strategy director
miriam.plon@akqa.com © AKQA

W E E X I S T T O C R E A T E T H E F U T U R E W I T H O U R C L I E N T S .

Our claim:
B U I L D I N G B R A N D S F O R T H E F U T U R E
R E Q U I R E S A S T R O N G B R A N D P U R P O S E

This talk:
W H Y B R A N D P U R P O S E
H O W D O E S I T W O R K
T H E M O S T C O M M O N T R A P S
H O W T O O V E R C O M E T H E M

T H E W O R L D H A S C H A N G E D

W E U S E D T O H A V E R E L I G I O N ,
T R A D I T I O N A N D A U T H O R I T I E S W E
C O U L D T R U S T

N O W E V E R Y T H I N G W E K N E W T O B E
T R U E I S F A K E N E W S

S C A R C I T Y O F T R U S T

W E H A V E N O S O L I D R E F E R E N C E S
S O W E L O O K T O O T H E R P L A C E S F O R
G U I D E P O S T S

T H E C O N S U M E R S H A V E C H A N G E D

I W W I W W I W I

T H E A G E O F S C R O L L

T H E E X P E C T A T I O N E C O N O M Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUBtKNzoKZ4

B R A N D S A R E
T H E N E W B A N D S

5 5 % O F C O N S U M E R S B E L I E V E
B R A N D S A C T U A L LY H A V E A M O R E
I M P O R T A N T R O L E T H A N O U R
G O V E R N M E N T S T O C R E A T E A
B E T T E R F U T U R E
(Havas, meaningful brands, 2019)

W E E X P E C T B R A N D S T O H A V E A N
O P I N I O N

M E D I A A N D C O M M U N I C A T I O N
H A V E C H A N G E D

E V E R Y 1 0 M I N U T E S , W E C R E A T E
A S M U C H I N F O R M A T I O N A S T H E
F I R S T 1 0 , 0 0 0 G E N E R A T I O N S O F
H U M A N B E I N G S

T H E P O I N T O F E N G A G E M E N T A N D
T H E P O I N T O F S A L E S A R E M E LT I N G
T O G E T H E R

F R O M L I N E A R L O G I C A L C O N S U M E R
J O U R N E Y T O ‘ F LY I N A B O T T L E ’

T H E R U L E S O F B R A N D B U I L D I N G
H A V E C H A N G E D

W H A T D O E S I T T A K E T O B U I L D
B R A N D S F O R T H E F U T U R E ?

“A B R A N D I S T H E S U M O F
I N T E R A C T I O N S ( R E A L A N D
P E R C E I V E D ) T H A T A P E R S O N H A S
W I T H A C O M P A N Y A C R O S S A L L
T O U C H P O I N T S . ”
(Ekaterina Walter)

A B R A N D I S E S S E N T I A L LY
A C O N N E C T I O N .
I T S H O U L D B E P E R S O N A L

S T A N D F O R S O M E T H I N G

“Mission-led businesses outperform the
market by 9:1 ratio (1111%)”
– H A R VA R D B U S I N E S S R E V I E W,
N O V 2 0 1 2

W H E N B R A N D S A R E V I E W E D A S
G U I D E P O S T S , W H A T G U I D E S T H E B R A N D S ?

A C L E A R B R A N D P U R P O S E

1) W h a t i s t h e b r a n d ’ s r e a s o n t o e x i s t
b e s i d e s m a k i n g m o n e y ?
2) H o w d o e s t h e b r a n d c o n t r i b u t e t o t h e
w o r l d i n a p o s i t i v e w a y ?
A brand purpose answers two fundamental questions:

A brand purpose is a long-term aspirational
image of how the brand wants to be positioned
It provides clear directions for how the brand
should act to achieve that position
It helps making the right strategic decisions on
an internal as well as external business level

B r a n d
P u r p o s e
W h a t s e t s u s a p a r t
Differentiation, category, positioning
W h a t w e a r e
Credibility, legacy, brand/product truth
W h a t m a k e s u s r e l e v a n t
Consumer behaviour, human truth
W h a t w e w a n t t o b e c o m e
Support long-long-term business goals

C o - c r e a t i n g y o u r
B r a n d
P u r p o s e
M a r k e t
Category mapping
E.g. Market research
Positioning workshop
Mystery shopping
B r a n d
Brand mapping
E.g. Brand value workshop
Brand Architecture
TOV, key attributes
C o n s u m e r
Consumer insights
E.g. consumer research
Qualitative interviews
Insights workshop
B u s i n e s s
Business insights
E.g. stakeholder interviews
Objectives workshop
Business modelling

“ W e ’ r e i n b u s i n e s s t o s a v e o u r h o m e p l a n e t ”

To bring innovation and
inspiration to every athlete* in
the world
“
”

“It’s all about the athlete; you
have to keep them in mind all
the time, and that means
helping them realize their
potential. That is really what
we do.”
Nike CEO, Mark Parker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yO7xLAGugQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYP9AGtLvRg&t=19s

PURSUING YOUR OBSESSION IS NO FAIRYTALE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYZs0hIr2y8

B r a n d
P u r p o s e
C o m m u n i c a t i o n
I n n o v a t i o n
P r o d u c t s &
s e r v i c e s
D i g i t a l P r e s e n c e
P h y s i c a l P r e s e n c e
H U M A N
R E S S O U R C E S
C u s t o m e r s e r v i c e

Three reasons why it tends to go wrong:
1. S H O R T - T E R M I S M
2. I S O L A T I O N / S I L O S
3. T U N N E L V I S I O N

1 . S H O R T - T E R M I S M

S H O R T T E R M
V S .
L O N G T E R M

V O L A T I L I T Y
V S .
P R E D I C T A B I L I T Y

activation
brand building
short-term sales uplift
Long-term sales growth
TIME
salesuplift
Source: Effectiveness in the Digital Era, 2016, Binet & Field, IPA
SHORT-term Effects dominate～ 6 months
I N I T F O R T H E L O N G R U N

2 . I S O L A T I O N

B R A N D S T R A T E G Y I S N O T
A D E S T I N A T I O N
Positioning is a means to an end. It
should not be an end product in itself,
but a means to delivering across all
touchpoints
- Mark Ritson

W H E N T H E C O N S U M E R J O U R N E Y I S
N O L O N G E R P R E D I C T A B L E , T H E
N E E D F O R C O H E R E N C E B E C O M E S
C R U C I A L

B U T C O H E R E N C E I S C H A L L E N G E D
B Y I N T E R N A L S I L O S

T H E C O N S U M E R D O E S N ’ T C A R E T H A T S A L E S , M A R K E T I N G A N D
P R O D U C T D E V E L O P M E N T A R E D I F F E R E N T D E P A R T M E N T S .
T H E B R A N D I S E X P E R I E N C E D A S A W H O L E

3 . T U N N E L V I S I O N

W E K E E P U S I N G T H A T S A M E O L D
H A M M E R E V E N T H O U G H T H E R E A R E
N O N A I L S I N S I G H T

B R A N D S T O D A Y N E E D T O B E B U I LT
H O L I S T I C A L LY - B E C A U S E T H E Y
A R E E X P E R I E N C E D H O L I S T I C A L LY

A D V E R T I S I N G S T I L L H A S A R O L E T O P L AY.
I T I S J U S T N O T S T A R R I N G
- I T I S N O T E N O U G H T O T E L L A G O O D S T O R Y.
Y O U A L S O N E E D T O D E L I V E R O N I T.

O R I N O T H E R W O R D S :
M A K E T H E P U R P O S E C O M E T O L I F E
I N W H A T E V E R W A Y I T M A K E S
S E N S E

Craft a long-
term brand
purpose
1

Create cross-
company
ownership
2

Deliver
across all
touch points
3

The future inspires us.
We work to inspire.