Three easy ways to avoid purpose washing in your content and campaigns

The Purpose – wash problem   

Here’s a dilemma.

86% of consumers say that authenticity is a key factor when deciding what brands they like and support*. However –  71% of consumers have little faith that brands will deliver on their promises**.

Bridging that gap in trust and belief isn’t only rolling our the right actions, but also creating spot-on content, communicated in a way that resonates with audiences and delivers on trust.

Get it wrong – and you could be accused of purpose-washing. Whether it be for internal stakeholders around employee engagement, or external communications through your marcomms content for the public, there’s growing cynicism in both camps that, whilst there’s probably a desire for Responsible Business, the reality may not always measure up.

Or, worse, that claims  may be a cynical abuse of the purpose agenda that aren’t authentically intended or actioned.

Such is the nervousness around bold Responsible Business statements and narratives that some brands choose not to tell audiences their ambitions for fear of falling short. In a PwC survey of 500 companies, 54% had a clear purpose, but only 13% of them had chosen to publicly share how they were bringing it to life within their organisation’s culture and operations.

Others communicate in a way that doesn’t feel aligned with their business, or at all genuine. If that happens, the shouts of ‘bandwagon’ will soon follow, causing reputational harm.

At worst, there are examples from brands such as Ryanair, Shell and BMW who’ve been censured by the Advertising Standards Association for purpose-washing their true realities in the sustainability space. 

Get it right however, and the rewards are greater consumer loyalty and sales, a more engaged workforce and an increased purpose to your organisation’s work.

A recent study*** showed how well-executed, purposeful advertising for example, is more effective than equally well done ads that don’t have a responsible business message at their heart. Which is why our next expert panel webinar is here to help you discover the secrets of creating content and campaigns that authentically engage rather than purpose-wash.

Here are just three of the topics we’ll be covering in more depth :  

1. Use the ‘define, implement and spread’ process to avoid the Responsible Communications Trap 

We see it many times with our clients, as we support them in this space. Business commit to Responsible Business and have a deep  awareness of the importance of getting it right.

Yes, often teams in this area are small and under pressure. Tackling stakeholder cynicism and finding a clear approach is the key to communicating creatively and with confidence.

In our webinar, we’ll introduce the ‘define, implement and spread’ process, a pathway to ensure you can roll out a robust purposeful approach wherever you are in the Responsible Business journey. 

2. Tell Effective Responsible Business Stories with Substance and Style 

Our panel will share best practices for both internal Responsible Business and sustainability comms campaigns and externally facing purposeful content.

The mantra is substance AND style as a way to ensure  authenticity and engagement that’s the hallmark of strong, purpose-led content. High profile fails come to us courtesy of Pepsi, with their Kendall Jenner ad  that over-promised on the power of a fizzy drink to solve a complex race issue.

And Gillette, whose Toxic Masculinity campaign proved to be divisive to its target audience rather than meaningful.

And that’s before we take the brands that have been accused of outright hypocrisy for saying one thing, and doing another.

Insight from our experts will include: 

• Balancing the importance of top down and bottom up representation in content. We know authentic purpose starts with your leaders. But how do you also incorporate a whole range of other stakeholders to ensure you’re telling the most authentic, creative stories for your brand? 
• Multi-platform approaches to engage audiences about the issues that really matter to them – and how you can become a champion through your narratives, based on your core business. 
• How delivering content – internally and externally – becomes inherently part of your commitment to Responsible Business. Start off with that promise and you can communicate with confidence. 

3. Measure your Responsible Business content and campaign success 

The success of your content and campaigns can only be considered alongside your broader Responsible Business agenda, measuring KPIs that are aligned with the strategy you already have in place.

Everything you promise in your content needs to be supported with evidence.  We often work with clients on their strategy first, mapping out clear goals which lead to content planning and execution, with narratives and creativity that offer real cut through and impact.

If your strategy is already clear, it’s then straight in with the content for your audiences, with aligned messaging targeted to reflect their questions and priorities.

Learning from our panel, we’ll discover what success looks like for them – and how they assess when they’ve hit the mark, in a way that demonstrates authenticity and protects against accusations of unsubstantiated purpose-washing.

Evidence your communications, be up front about anything that’s a work in progress, and you can honestly deliver content that’s at the very heart of your Responsible Business strategy.

👉Join us! 

We’re looking forward to hosting our next webinar, and offering insight on the very best practices to ensure content and campaign success in the Responsible Business space.

Our panellists will be announced over the coming weeks. In the meantime, register here to join us on Wednesday 9th February 2022 at 11am. 

* Stackla 

**Havas Meaningful Brands Survey 

*** Institute of Practitioners in Advertising