Albert Einstein
Brands are like people. To find meaning they need a clear purpose; an 'ikigai' that provides direction and fulfilment. This requires brands to look inwards to their history, competences and ambitions (Iglesias and Ind, 2020) and outwards to the delivery of value to all stakeholders (Williams et al., 2022). A purpose-oriented approach to branding can transform the role brands play in society away from simply promoting consumption to tackling important social and environmental challenges. As Golob and Podnar note (2020, p.125) “by addressing issues that matter to different stakeholders and people in general and which have the potential to change their daily lives, brand management research would be able to position itself more at the forefront of contemporary pressing problems faced by our global society”. From this perspective, brand success is the result of a well-enacted purpose that balances the short and long-term interests of the brand owner and its ecosystem (Iglesias et al., 2023).
The term brand purpose is widely used by managers and consultancies, but academic research has lagged behind (Hadjas and Kleczek, 2021). It is also sometimes conflated with corporate purpose while corporate brand and product brand purpose are intermingled. Overall, this has created a lack of construct clarity (Swaminathan et al., 2020).
The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines brand purpose as: 'a statement that sets out how brand management intends to achieve social impact through brand-related actions. It generally includes specific societal causes that will be supported through its day-to-day operations, non-business special events and lobbying efforts.' However, this definition positions brand purpose as unstrategic, focused only on social impact and tangential to the core of what a brand does. By contrast, Williams et al. (2022) argue that 'A brand's purpose is a long-term, central aim that is a predominant component of its identity, meaning structure and strategy, which leads to productive engagement with some aspect of the world that transcends the brand's profits.' (p. 703) This definition is closer to how corporate purpose is viewed, which has deep roots in the field of management (Barnard, 1938; Selznick, 1957; Bartlett and Ghosal 1994). Mirroring corporate purpose, brand purpose has come to the fore as brand owners have come to embrace a stakeholder orientation and to recognise their broader responsibilities to society and the planet.
Essentially, purpose can be seen as the fundamental reason for a brand’s existence (Williams et al., 2022; Iglesias et al., 2023). It can help managers make coherent strategic choices (Iglesias and Ind, 2020), provide additional motivations for consumers to purchase (Williams et al., 2022), energise employees (Keller, 2023) and business partners (Hadjas and Kleczek, 2021). However, another key characteristic of brand purpose is its ambition to positively transform society and the environment (Mirzaei et al., 2021). This has led Iglesias et al. (2023, p.8) to define a brand purpose as “an internal moral compass that defines why a (conscientious) brand exists and what its intended transformational impact on the world is”. Yet, as some researchers have observed there is often a gap between the claims of the words and the deeds that follow.
Another key challenge of purpose-driven brands (Kjeldsen and Schmeltz, 2024) is the exponential growth of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Indeed, brands with purpose must invest in developing transparent, fair, and accountable AI systems to ensure alignment with their core values (Taddeo and Floridi, 2018).
Despite the growing interest in the topic of brand purpose, empirical studies are still very scarce and there is a lack of construct clarity (Alegre et al., 2017; Hadjas and Kleczek, 2021). In fact, only a very scarce number of papers include the term “brand purpose” in their title or keywords (e.g., Hadjas and Kleczek, 2021; Mirzaei et al.; 2021; Kjeldsen and Schmeltz, 2024; Rudeloff and Michalski, 2023; Iglesias and Ind, 2020; Iglesias et al.; 2023). To address these research gaps and help stimulate the development of empirical studies on brand purpose and related constructs, brand purpose will be the theme of the 18th Global Brand Conference.
Potential research questions include:
We invite on a priority basis original research and in-depth conceptual papers on the conference theme (brand purpose). However, we also encourage submissions in other areas of branding, identity, and reputation research, including but not limited to:
Best papers presented in the conference will be considered for publication in the conference special issue, which will be announced soon.
Barnard CI (1938). The Functions of the Executive. Harvard University Press, Cambridge.
Bartlett CA, Ghoshal S (1994). Changing the role of top management: Beyond strategy to purpose. Harvard Business Review, 72(6):79–88.
Golob, U. & Podnar, K. (2019). Researching CSR and brands in the here and now: An integrative perspective. Journal of Brand Management, 26: 1–8.
Hajdas, Monika & Ryszard Kłeczek. 2021. The real purpose of purpose-driven branding: Consumer empowerment and social transformations. Journal of Brand Management, 28(4): 359–373.
Iglesias, O. & Ind, N. (2020). Towards a theory of conscientious corporate brand co-creation: The next key challenge in brand management. Journal of Brand Management, 27(6): 710–720.
Iglesias, O.; Mingione, M.; Ind, N. & Markovic, S. How to build a conscientious corporate brand together with business partners: A case study of Unilever. Industrial Marketing Management, 109: 1-13.
Keller, K. L. (2023) Looking forward, looking back: Developing a narrative of the past, present, and future of a brand. Journal of Brand Management, 30:1–8
Kjeldsen, A.K. & Schmeltz, L. (2024). The challenges of balancing ethics and competence for purpose-driven brands: An exploratory case study on social impact company Too Good To Go. Journal of Brand Management, 31, 310–330.
Mirzaei, Abas, Cynthia M. Webster & Helen Siuki. (2021). Exploring brand purpose dimensions for non-profit organizations. Journal of Brand Management, 28: 186–198.
Rudeloff, C. & Michalski, P. (2023). How corporate brands communicate their higher purpose on social media: Evidence from top global brands on Twitter. Corporate Reputation Review.
Selznick P (1957). Leadership in Administration: A Sociological Interpretation. Harper & Row, London.
Swaminathan, V., A. Sorescu, J. Steenkamp, T. O’Guinn & B. Schmitt. (2020). Branding in a hyperconnected world: Refocusing theories and rethinking boundaries. Journal of Marketing, 84(2): 24–46.
Taddeo, M. & Floridi, L. (2018) How AI can be a force for good. Science, 361,751-752.
Williams, P.; Escalas, J. E. & Morningstar, A. (2021.). Conceptualizing brand purpose and considering its implications for consumer eudaimonic well-being. Journal of Consumer Research, 32:699–723.
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