For Purpose Marketing to Work, Start With Invertising

As businesses realize the potential windfall from becoming more purpose-driven, such initiatives are increasing. There is no shortage of evocative statements coming from companies that had historically found pride in espousing naked capitalism and ruthless efficiencies.

These outward-facing messages and campaigns are imperative to look good in the eyes of the consumer and salve the shareholder itch for performance. And yet, there’s a massive disconnect between external communications and internal cohesion: No matter what good an organization says it does, it matters very little if it does not collectively align on and believe in the mission.

As ESG becomes the standard-bearer of a company’s purpose, it will increasingly need coordination and buy-in from all sectors of the organization—not just the marketing department. From finance to procurement, HR and investor relations, everyone needs to have the same ambition and drive for accountability.

It is said that a purpose-driven organization knows why it exists and who it is built to serve. If these two imperatives are not fully understood and embraced by everyone involved, then the company is in peril of falling flat at best and failing miserably at worst.

A study from Gallup that surveyed thousands of employees across hundreds of U.S. companies has laid bare the disconnect: Only 27% believe their company delivers on its purpose promise.

This is a staggering revelation. Despite the slew of corporate purpose statements, campaigns and leadership pledges that companies espouse, it is not registered by the very workers who must live it.

Organizations that unambiguously know why they exist and who they’re built to serve are indeed purpose-driven. The problem is where that knowledge is stored and activated. For most organizations, this understanding is housed and articulated only at the top and, unfortunately, rarely trickles down to rank-and-file employees.

How can leaders get their people to reflect on the purpose of the company, let alone their own purpose within it? How do the building blocks of an organization—business units, functional expertise, performance hubs, recruitment and development—get the autonomy and incentive to work more purposefully? How can purpose-driven actions like corporate social responsibility and philanthropy get integrated into the core of the business rather than remaining siloed and side-lined?