Purpose Archives

Meaningful Millennials: On Purpose Beyond Profit

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Saja Chodosh

This is the fourth installment of “Meaningful Millennials”, our weekly series where we interview millennials on a variety of different subjects that are top of mind for us in the studio.

At Emotive Brand, we believe brands that connect with people on an emotionally meaningfully level perform better and matter more to people. We believe that every brand should be meaningful, empathetic, authentic, emotive, consistent, and purpose-led, and we work with brands to help them to act and feel these ways at every touch-point.

In the studio, the idea of purpose-led and purpose beyond profit are always in discussion. We are constantly talking about what it means to be lead by a purpose, and the impact and meaning that working for and towards a greater purpose creates for our clients.

So this week, as a millennial myself, I wanted to find out what millennials think about the idea of purpose beyond profit. What brands come to mind for millennials as being purpose-led? Do these brands mean more to them? Why?

I heard 12 millennials’ opinions and here’s what I learned.

Brands that stand for a purpose beyond profit matter more to millennials. They make us feel more connected to our world, and encourage us to make decisions that make it a better place. Millennials are more likely to buy brands that they understand are driven by a greater purpose beyond money. These brands make us feel good, and often make decision-making easier for millennials who are inundated with an onslaught of brands each day.

However, many millennials are skeptical and even untrusting of brands who make large, often philanthropic claims of changing the world. Above all, we crave authenticity, honesty, and full transparency. Purpose as a marketing tactic or as a trend is not a purpose worth buying into. True and earnest purpose-led brands don’t just make claims – they emote their promise in how they speak, how they act, how they look, and how they make us feel.

Read more about what these twelve millennials had to say…

“Our generation is thankfully one that seems to have heart, cares about global citizenship, and prioritizes greater purpose. We not only act on and contribute to these values, but we even leave room for them to trend. We have reached a place where connecting with other humans over vast distances is not only feasible, but valued. The combination of possibility and heart demands that we realize our decisions can affect other people in a way that makes a difference. Each decision is logged in a complicated network of human interaction and must be navigated carefully. Sometimes, these decisions manifest in purpose-led giving, where we give wholeheartedly, but fail to think about how this actually impacts the people and communities we care about. Is TOMS putting local shoe-makers out of business? Does FEED really provide decent meals to the people we think it does? Do these purpose-led brands propagate dynamics that further fraction society? Do they require an element of customer deceit to function? These questions stretch us to place ourselves, and our desires for tangible impact and heart-warmth. Above all, I believe we must honor the complexities and nuances of the world (of which there are many) and our engagement with them. To me, a brand is not inherently more meaningful because it is simply purpose-led, but because it is thoughtfully and carefully so.”

—Stellar Levy, Postgraduate Research Assistant, Yale Cancer Center

“Purpose-led brands are important because they exist to improve the lives of those using their product/services and therefore have a greater incentive to do right by their customers and employees. A brand that comes to mind is REI. On Black Friday this year, they started the #optoutside initiative where they closed all their stores to encourage people to get outside and get some exercise rather than spend a day bouncing from store to store. On one of the busiest shopping days of the year, they made a decision to sacrifice the profits they would have made to send a greater message and start a conversation aimed to benefit their customers. That made it very clear that their company values customer wellness more than profits. In general, companies that have preformed duties out of the typical scope to provide their customers the best possible experience always stand out to me and are much more likely to earn my loyalty.”

—Mellissa Gilkey, Professional Basketball Player and Captain, Virum Go Dream in Copenhagen, Denmark

“I think the concept of purpose-driven brands is tremendous and, overtime, could shift the way we view the benefits and results of commerce. But I do often wonder about the earnestness of such brands – especially since there numbers seem to be growing. Change and philanthropy shouldn’t only be used as a marketing ploy to convince consumers that a brand is cool or progressive. The end result may be the same regardless of the company’s sincerity, but unless it is deeply rooted in the culture and not simply a fad to lure socially conscious consumers, there will be little net societal change.”

—JP Waldron, Gallery Assistant, James Cohan

“I’m more inclined to buy something from a company that is working towards some sort of change or that is donating money to a greater cause because it makes me feel like I’m part of better and bigger cause. Also, it’s important for big companies, or at least companies that are making a large profit, to try to have an impact because there are so many things that can be changed or bettered in the world and brands that make enough money should do something important with their funds. If a well-known brand does something selfless, others will follow. I hope the trend moves that direction.”

—Alexandra Rodriguez, Teacher , ITW David Speer Academy

“My personal take is that good business is sustainable and creates value for all stakeholders – they’re not mutually exclusive. For instance, Elon Musk’s ventures (Tesla, SpaceX, PayPal) have all had positive impacts on society, while still achieving financial goals.”

—Kunal Gupte, Business Analyst, Cross-Screen & Programmatic TV, TubeMogul

“I feel that purpose-led brands do not necessarily mean more to me, but I feel better when I purchase their products. For example, TOMS shoes. Everyone needs to wear shoes, so if I am going to buy shoes anyway, why not buy something that I need, and help someone at the same time? The same thing with Newman’s Own. I use salad dressing, so why not put money I am going to spend anyway towards a good cause?”

—Sasha Goldberg, Surgical Coordinator, Tufts University

“Purpose-led brands mean infinity MORE to me because they are bursting with passion. When someone genuinely loves creating an item, it illuminates from the object. You can just tell. I support many smaller businesses because I enjoy hearing the story behind their product and I want to support passionate makers. I am willing to pay more for items if I am aligned with the purpose behind the brand. For clothing, I’m obsessed with Everlane. They are completely transparent about how and where their products are created. Etsy for jewelry, accessories, and apartment finds such as Jujujust, who makes these radiant hand embroidered necklaces, and Frauklarer’s beautiful concrete vases that are great for candles or flowers. Shutters and Shuttles also weaves stunning blankets and scarves from their studio in Nashville. These brands work on a small scale, and it really does feel like each item is created out of a love and passion for the product.”

—Nicole Bell, Channel Marketing Assistant, John Wiley and Sons

“I definitely think purpose-led brands hold great significance for me. Since I want to have a positive impact on the world, investing my money in companies that serve the community and work towards a more sustainable world allows me to make that impact. When companies and brands share the same values I try to uphold, it makes me want to buy and support their products that much more. It gives the conscience consumer a peace of mind, and it personally makes me feel more compelled to continue making smart and beneficial choices. Whether that’s composting, buying Fair Trade, or purchasing a pair of TOMS for their humanitarian work, my values and sense of self are reified as I support the companies and brands to continue leading purposefully. I think it makes me strive to be more mindful when I buy things, and I think that ultimately makes me happier!”

—Chiara Jordan, Narrative Medicine Masters Program, Columbia

“I’ve always been scared of ending up in a Dilbert cartoon and spending my life trapped inside a cubicle, pushing the proverbial pencil to no greater avail, so purpose-driven brands are incredibly attractive to me. For me, work is about so much more than a clock-in-clock-out 9-5 rote existence that only makes money for money’s sake. It’s about feeling engaged with your work and coworkers, and collaborating for something greater than the almighty dollar, whether it’s through encouraging acceptance of bodies in the many forms they come like Dove’s marketing campaigns or paying it forward like Newman’s Own products.”

—John Schmidt, Assistant Editor, Corporate Insight

“I always think of TOMS first, and even American Apparel. I feel like a lot of people buy a product more for the message and brand behind it than the actual product itself. That’s why people buy local or Fair Trade coffee. It’s more about the impact than the actual coffee. It’s what your coffee choice says about you and how much you care about the world.”

—Spencer Soucy, Course Hero

“Brands like TOMS, Warby Parker, and Harry’s all do an incredible job at going beyond what it means to be a traditional brand. They not only offer affordable products to the consumer, but also take on another level of social responsibility by offering their products to those in need in a matching one-to-one model. While these efforts may not always be at the forefront of the consumer’s mind, this model of commerce helps create a sense of purpose and “feel good mentality” to those who engage with the brands.

People want to align themselves with brands and companies that mirror their own images – honest, trustworthy, kind, and altruistic. Brands like TOMS, Warby Parker, and Harry’s are able to align with the consumer’s moral compass and provide products that benefit those in need. It’s pretty incredible that in an age of tightening margins and a desire to increase profits, that there are still brands that are able to look outside their pockets and give back to the world in ways that many brands fail to even consider.”

–Will Matalene, Account Manger, Skift

“Generally speaking, the concept of a purpose-led brand appeals to me. Purpose helps humanize a brand. In some cases, this might just be a savvy business strategy. TOMS vow of donating a pair of shoes for every pair may be an act goodness and also wanting to generate profit. And the two are often not mutually exclusion. Kids are still getting shoes because of their impact, which his more to be said for businesses that don’t embrace this strategy. I also think of Airbnb when I think of purpose-led. They allow a more interactive experience with travel and, in many ways, provide a more affordable option. It’s not just a room to stay, but also a way to interact, meet, and learn from people from different places. It also makes certain areas of the world more easily accessible.”

–Juliet Kinder, Primary School Teacher, Colegio Santa Monica in Palma de Mallorca

Here are our top-line findings from these millennials.

Purpose matters. Millennials want brands that mirror their own values, aspirations, and intentions.
It isn’t enough for a purpose-led brand to claim to have some purpose beyond profit. They have to live and emote their promise at every touch-point. We have to trust them.
Purpose-led brands help millennials make easier brand decisions. Loyalty to purpose-led brands creates positive feelings that make the brands automatically higher value to us. We don’t only get a product, we feel as though we are making a tangible impact with each purchase.
Although a lot of larger, more well-known brands came first to mind as being purpose-led — TOMS, Newman’s Own, and Warby Parker were reoccurring examples — it seems millennials also value the smaller, often less-known purpose-led businesses as well. These businesses exhibit passion, earnestness, and a humanness that makes us trust them. We feel we play a large role in something that personally and individually matters to us, and we are working to make the world a better place, even in tiny, immeasurable ways.

Next week, we will continue our “Meaningful Millennial” series on teamwork and collaboration in the workplace. If you are interested in contributing to this discussion, email [email protected]

Using Values to Build Engagement and a Meaningful Workplace

Posted on February 17, 2016 by Tracy Lloyd

Fifth in a series.

“People may not remember exactly what you did, or what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou

The goal of employee engagement is to drive employee attitudes, behavior, morality, and ethics in such a way as to improve their productivity, morale, satisfaction, and usefulness within the organization. However, many companies have struggled with converting their proclaimed values into compelling, work-changing experiences for their employees.

Often, the problems have been that the values are typically expressed with meaning-neutral (if not meaningless) corporate-speak, or that the values aren’t of a first-order nature. That is, they don’t touch on what truly constitutes the “good” for people inside and outside the organization.

Getting employees to live company values

As such, employees simply haven’t been able to internalize the values. If asked, they may be able to repeat the values verbatim, but their recitation will not be heartfelt. Furthermore, too often their conscious knowledge of the values does not lead to the desired changes in attitudes, behavior, morality, and ethics.

There is a way businesses can get employees to live the company’s values. Ironically, it is by never using the word “values.” Rather, it is by bringing people to the company’s values through feelings.

This is a new way of engaging employees in corporate values. It doesn’t ask employees to buy into potentially bland statements crafted in corporate-speak. Instead, it prompts employees to think about how they want themselves, and others, to be left feeling by the business.

To make this work, the business determines a set of higher-order feelings based on their ambition. These feelings are selected based on their ability to help propel employees in their pursuit of the ambition and their ability to serve as an employee-friendly way of deploying values through employee engagement initiatives.

Engagement built around feelings

The business then engages its employees around these feelings, using them to shape, change, improve, and make more consistent, the employee’s attitudes, behavior, morality, and ethics as it drives them forward toward the ambition.

For example, employees can be engaged in a process by which they explore how the business can better make them feel the selected feelings through changes and additions to the company policies and procedures.

At the same time, employees can affect change within by questioning how they, and the policies and procedures they control, can be changed or added to in order to make their superiors, peers, and reports more likely to feel the desired feelings.

By focusing on feelings rather than traditional value statements, a business instantly forges a fresh and new emotional connection with its employees. By using feelings as the platform by which it instills its values, businesses discover a better way to engage their employees and to get them to internalize both the business’ ambition (purpose) and its feelings (values).

Did you miss the first four parts of this series?

Read Being Meaningful: It’s the Key to Better Engaging Your Employees, Getting Employees to Respond Positively, Why Workplaces Aren’t Meaningful Now, and The Meaningful Workplace: It Takes New Ways of Thinking, and Acting.

This series is excerpted from a white paper titled The Meaningful Workplace that was first published at Emotive Brand.

The Meaningful Workplace: It Takes New Ways of Thinking, and Acting

Posted on February 12, 2016 by Tracy Lloyd

The Meaningful Workplace is the fourth in a series.

How do you build an workplace where people are willing to bring their gifts of initiative, creativity, and passion?” – Gary Hamel

You can’t build a workplace that is meaningful to people using the old mentality and outdated tools. Old techniques are no good if they have rendered your current workplace meaning-neutral or, at worst, meaningless.

To forge meaningful alliances with meaning-seeking employees requires new ways of thinking and acting. Familiar business constructs that have formed the foundation of employer/employee relations are being rethought and retooled to make business fit for the future.

Ambition is the new purpose

“The nearest way to glory is to strive to be what you wish to be thought to be.” – Socrates

Workplaces become meaningfully relevant when employees see the point of what they and their employers are out to do. This is the company’s why. It’s reason for being. It’s meaningful ambition.

When presented in a credible, inclusive, and authentic way, the company’s meaningful ambition is respected, admired, and embraced by employees. It aligns to their personal value. It satisfies their desire for meaning.

Employees can see themselves within their company’s meaningful ambition. They see how they can actively make it possible. They feel inspired to make it happen, and they come to work each day to make it happen. They discover a way of achieving a meaningful outcome for themselves, their employer, and the world in general. Ambition increases. Happiness increases, and meaning is naturally created.

Did you miss the first three parts of this series?

Read Being Meaningful: It’s the Key to Better Engaging Your Employees, Getting Employees to Respond Positively and Why Workplaces Aren’t Meaningful Now.

This series is excerpted from a white paper titled The Meaningful Workplace that was first published at Emotive Brand.

Emotive Brand is a San Francisco brand strategy and creative design consultancy

How Do You Define the Purpose of Your Business?

Posted on February 12, 2016 by Tracy Lloyd

Seeing Profit as a Consequence, Not a Purpose

Like many, you probably default to saying, “To make profits”. And while that is certainly an aim of every capitalistic enterprise, it falls short as a useful and motivating driver of an enterprise. Too great a focus on profits draws attention away from the triggers of success in today’s world.

Continue reading “How Do You Define the Purpose of Your Business?”

The CEO Challenge – Turning Corporate Vision Into Reality

Posted on February 2, 2016January 31, 2025 by Tracy Lloyd

The corporate vision statement

We’ve written before about the gaps between what business leaders believe and what their employees think when it comes to the company’s corporate vision and values.

Today we’d like to explore another gap. This is the gap between what the CEO sees as the company’s vision, and what employees are doing to help achieve that vision – often referred to as the Corporate Vision Statement.

In some cases, the gap exists simply because employees haven’t been informed of the vision.

As such, they are left to their own devices, pulling the company and its brand strategy apart because they don’t know how or why they’re meant to keep it together.

In other cases, the gap exists because the vision was delivered to the employees in a way that left them feeling less than enthusiastic.

Delivered in an alienating “corporate” way and not in a meaningful “human” way.

It therefore did not enchant, inspire or engage the employees.

It simply did not matter to them.

It literally “went in one ear and out the other”.

We help our clients turn their vision into a meaningful reality.

We get corporate visions to matter to employees, and employees align to the vision.

We do this by translating the “corporate vision” into a credible and meaningful “human ambition”.

We make the vision both personally relevant and emotionally important to employees.

They come away not only with a clear idea of what they need to do, but also with a profound sense of why they should help the company achieve its vision.

As result they are motivated to propel the company and its brand to a more meaningful position in the world – a position defined by the CEO’s vision and tempered by an understanding of what it takes to get people to care in today’s world.

Have you been involved in any programs where this has been executed well? If so, we’d love to help.

If you have a “corporate vision” that has not yet been articulated into a meaningful brand narrative that employees can rally around and believe in, let us know. We can help!

You might enjoy reading more about our ideas around Brand Promise by visiting our blog.

We are launching a new solution entitled “Path to Purpose”. This is a 6-week program that was developed for senior leadership teams to get aligned around the value of a corporate purpose statement, how to articulate it, what it means to your business, and how it can align your entire organization around it meaningfully. If you are interested in learning more please contact Co-Founder, Tracy Lloyd.

Emotive Brand is a San Francisco brand strategy firm.

Inspiration from Purpose-Led CEO of Givesurance, Jennifer Rasiah

Posted on November 25, 2015 by Tracy Lloyd

We had the pleasure of sitting down and speaking with Jennifer Rasiah, founder of Givesurance and the Emotive Brand epitome of a purpose-led leader.

Starting as a claims evaluator at Prudential Financial and working her way up to Senior Executive at Hub International, Jennifer had 15 years of experience in the insurance industry under her belt when she decided to make a change. A meaningful change. She wanted to make a real difference in the world and saw an opportunity to leverage her deep knowledge of the insurance industry and her innate desire to give back. So, Jennifer created Givesurance and altered the insurance industry as we knew it.

Instead of spending 50% of commission on acquiring and retaining customers through agents, Givesurance leverages the company’s established partnerships with charities to pass along donations to non-profits.

Operating as a funding platform for these charities, Givesurance allows charity supporters to return up to 5% of all monthly insurance payments as donations to the partner charity of their choice through their existing insurance payment. Essentially, people can help the world at no additional cost to them. By supporting a diverse and constantly expanding range of causes from global development non-profits to local food and clothing banks, Givesurance produces a personalized sense of giving for both individuals and businesses.

Jennifer’s deep-rooted need to give back was evident in the very way she discussed the astounding potential of Givesurance. We were so inspired by Jennifer’s meaningful vision that we decided we needed to share Jennifer’s words, stories, and goals with you.

We hope this inspires all leaders to lead with their purpose, shedding light on why creating a meaningful brand not only matters for business performance, but also for fostering social good and impacting the world at large — our world.

The following is an excerpt of our interview with Jennifer:

How would you define a purpose-led leader?

To me, a purpose-led leader is someone who isn’t bleeding his or her passion out for everyone else to see. It’s someone who can’t stop until they have made the difference they need to.

Why did you start Givesurance?

After gaining an in-depth understanding of the insurance industry, I realized I could assist insurance companies while doing good for non-profits. The business is a culmination of my passion and professional interests. We’ve built relationships with more than 225+ insurance carriers and 60+ charities. Givesurance started working with our partner charities to help them spread the word and raise money for their organizations and those they benefit.

What are the biggest challenges facing today’s purpose-led leaders?

Building a sustainable business that continues to support your endeavors so you can continue doing the good work. It’s almost like you need gravity to be standing here, or you’ll be floating all over space. We need to always evaluate limitations. You can’t just say you want to give back to the community and give everything you have if that’s not within your means.

How is your business redefining the industry?

Givesurance is connecting insurance and nonprofits for the first time, giving insurance customers an option to do something good with their monthly premiums. Beyond our founding notion, Givesurance engages with a number of audiences that need our help. Just recently, we’ve been focused on providing newer companies with an opportunity to give back to their local communities via corporate social responsibility programs — and they love it!

Why does Givesurance matter?

In this economy, consumers are financially strapped in every area of their lives. They want to make the most of their dollar. Givesurance lets consumers do just that. With the donation wallet, app users become philanthropists at no additional cost. The impact of their giving attitude extends to the many disadvantaged communities within our world.

What impact could you have on the world?

To know that $25 in Givesurance donation credits could provide 100 meals to the underprivileged or 125 books for children in rural parts of Africa is why we began this business in the first place. We have the ability, for example, to the gift of education or sustainability…to increase the quality of life for many people across the world.

Why do you think brand is important for purpose-led companies?

Brands are the reason people associate with a cause, and without it, there’s no identity.

What inspires you everyday? What are your aspirational goals?

The people around me who encourage me to do my best are so inspiring and truly impact my work. In terms of what I aspire to, Givesurance is focused on partnering with even more charities to generate awareness. If all U.S. households could get 5% of their insurance payment back as a donation credit, then more than $100 billion would go toward charities. We want to spread the word to as many households as possible and become licensed in all 50 states.

What are the most important values to you when you do business? Why? How do these play out both in long-term and day-to-day practices?

Never give up — the minute you give up is the minute you fail. Appreciating the people around you and the work they do is also extremely important in business. Without believing in yourself or those around you, your business won’t function.

Interested in learning more about Purpose Beyond Profit? Download our white paper.

Emotive Brand is a San Francisco Branding Agency.

Why Leaders That Matter Look Outward

Posted on November 5, 2015 by Tracy Lloyd

One of the biggest challenges for any leader is to maintain a holistic perspective of the world.

Too often, the pressures of the market, of shareholders, and the organization, keep the leader looking inward.

This inward-looking behavior extends to the rest of the organization, because people “follow the leader”.

As a result, the organization continues to spiral down into egocentric, myopic and self-serving behavior.

Unfortunately, this self-serving attitude, and way of being, puts the organization in the class of “most” businesses, and therefore, dilutes whatever uniqueness or differentiating power it may have.

People on the outside of the organization, from customers to partners to suppliers to investors, see the organization as one that is more about itself, and less about them.

They see it as “just another” organization in the gray mist of sameness.

People within the organization find the work less and less meaningful, as it becomes obvious that, to survive, they need to go against their nature.

They start to look for new jobs.

Leaders who preempt this slide down the slippery slope of self-serving sameness, take their organizations to a better and more unique place.

They orientate their entire organization’s purpose, intent, attitudes and behavior around the needs, values, interests, and aspirations of people both inside and outside the organization.

They set a standard, develop a culture, and manage their organizations in ways that elevate the organization’s status as a purposeful and meaningful entity.

In their interactions with people, they don’t focus on “what” they do, or “how” they do it; rather they focus on the “why” of what they do.

And they don’t simply talk about “why” they do it; rather, through their attitudes and behavior, they actively demonstrate their unwavering commitment to their “why”.

Hence, everything they do helps the people vital to the organization’s success feel more capable, more enriched, more connected, and more gratified.

Not through hollow promises, but through concrete actions, heartfelt gestures and empathetic attitudes.

Of course, leaders that matter continue to look inside the company, always ensuring its financial and operational success; but their thoughts and actions are always driven by a broader perspective of what truly matters.

It isn’t always easy to do, but for any leader who wants to prevail in the marketplace, there is little choice; and huge opportunities.

For further reading on the subject of purpose-led brand strategy, we suggest reading: Why you should aspire to have a meaningful brand:

Emotive Brand is a brand strategy firm.

Purpose Beyond Profit – A Shift in Perspective

Posted on November 2, 2015January 28, 2025 by Tracy Lloyd

At Emotive Brand, we’re big on the concept of Purpose Beyond Profit. Apparently, people interpret this phrase in interesting ways.

Some jump to the conclusion that it means “purpose instead of profit.” That’s a valid approach for B-Corps, perhaps, but most companies – including this one – would prefer to make some money.

Some people think the phrase means “profit plus being good to the environment.” We’re okay with that definition, but it’s still too easy for many brands to dismiss for one reason or another.

The deeper definition applies to all brands, if they can make a simple shift in perspective.

There’s a teaching story about perspective used in the field of psychology. A Buddhist psychologist and a Freudian psychologist meet at a conference. The Freudian asks the Buddhist to explain how their approaches could be different. Aren’t the things that make people unhappy the same everywhere, and don’t psychologists have to deal with those things to get people back to normal?

The Buddhist says, “Yes, with one difference. In Buddhist psychology, the goal is not getting people from negative 5 back to zero. The goal is to go beyond zero to plus five, to plus ten, to a hundred.”

The point of this story for psychologists is that they can do much more than undo deficits.

The point of this story for us is that most people in business would say that their goal is the same as the Buddhist. They want to get their profit beyond zero to plus five, or plus ten, or whatever the target might be.

They would be half right, like the Freudian. The shift in perspective for brands is recognizing that the customer is still stuck at zero.

Most of the time, we pay for things and get what we consider equivalent value. We trade money for something else we need, like food or clothing or travel. We take a chance that we’re getting roughly equal value for our money, and if we do, we’re even. Zero-sum game.

In other words, no brand loyalty. Nothing for the brand beyond the profit.

The best brands generate loyalty – and higher profits – by getting us way past zero, so far that we feel like we won a prize.

Think of a brand you identify with, one that beats zero for you personally. (This may take a moment.) When you identify them, there are almost certainly two reasons. First, the brand means something to you because of who you are. Second, that “something” is not about a product or service. It’s the way the company approaches its products or services.

People who love Southwest Airways love it because of how democratic it feels. Actually flying an airplane safely has nothing whatsoever to do with democracy. But it does make customers feel that they are treated equally, by their equals, without a lot of pretenses. People who value those qualities feel good about themselves when they fly Southwest.

People who own BMWs used to drive me nuts the way they talked about the cars – until I got stuck with one as a rental. It hit me with physical force that people were not talking about the car. They love driving itself. A company that gets who they are, and makes them feel more alive behind the wheel, gets their love for life. Turns out I am one of those people. After I drove the car, I bought one. I went from sneering at BMW snobs to thinking of them as my brothers and sisters.

Again, you don’t have to love driving to build a car. But to make your customers feel something meaningful beyond the machine, you have to approach that engineering in a particular way.

To take the best-known example of all, look at how Apple relentlessly changed the emphasis in IT from technology to us, the people who use it. We humans don’t love technology, or technology brands per se. We love expressing ourselves, and technology that magically, invisibly makes us more expressive is beyond price.

It’s also beyond profit, even if Apple makes a ton of money. Steve Jobs’ legacy is a company that doesn’t care how hard something is, doesn’t take its cues from what other people are doing, doesn’t let conventional thinking limit what it does or where it goes.

And that’s only partly because he studied Buddhism. It’s also because we all want to be like that at some level.

We all have a best self we know we want to be and express. We want brands to recognize and speak to that best self — not just to the zero-sum consumer who needs to put food on the table and keep a roof overhead.

Purpose beyond profit means reaching into people’s hearts for where their sense of self lives, and lighting it up.

If you have your own examples – brands that take you past zero with what they mean to you – let us know and we’ll share.

Download our White Paper on Purpose Beyond Profit to learn more.

Download White Paper

Emotive Brand is a San Francisco branding agency.

Is it Time for Your Business to Embrace the Purpose Economy?

Posted on July 21, 2015 by Tracy Lloyd

According to Aaron Hurst, we’ve moved from the Information Economy to the Purpose Economy. He states that this is a natural evolution, which is taking us from the first levels of human organization, the hoe-and-plow Agrarian Economy, through the smokestacks of the Industrial Economy, to the data farms of the Information Economy, and now to the human-centric Purpose Economy. Each of these economies been built on top of the proceeding, and represent evolutions more than revolutions.

In his book, Hurst states:

“When I say purpose, I mean more than serving others and the planet. Service is certainly at the core, but in speaking with hundreds of professionals and reading thousands of essays, I’ve discovered that there are two other key sources of purpose people seek: a sense of community and the opportunity for self-expression and personal growth. In other words, they pursue personal, social, and societal purpose.”

Continue reading “Is it Time for Your Business to Embrace the Purpose Economy?”

Purpose Becomes Ambition in a Meaningful Workplace

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Tracy Lloyd

“Ambition” is the new “purpose.” Workplaces become meaningfully relevant when employees see the point of what they and their employers are out to do: the company’s “why”, it’s reason for being, it’s meaningful ambition. When presented in a credible, inclusive and authentic way, the company’s meaningful ambition is respected, admired and embraced by employees because it aligns to their personal values and answers their desire for meaning.

Continue reading “Purpose Becomes Ambition in a Meaningful Workplace”

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