What Is Your Brand’s Purpose?
If you’re just in it to win it, you are going to have problems with the new digital economy. Today’s consumers expect more from brands.
Consumers care that brands care, according to research by the Havas Meaningful Brands 2017 study. It found that 75% of global customers (70% of U.S. customers) expect brands to contribute to “our well-being and quality of life.”
The CEO of Accenture Interactive stated that “companies that strive to bring more meaning and purpose to experiences they create are destined to reap big business benefits in terms of loyalty, positive word of mouth, increased revenue and sustained success.”
A shoe company that donates shoes to needy people every time you buy a pair adds value to the experience. A sock company that donates socks to homeless people every time you buy makes you feel good about the purchase. It isn’t just the giving away; it must be part of the corporate culture. It is more than a meaningless donation.
Some of the causes that U.S. consumers want organizations to care about: job growth (94%), racial equality (87%), women’s rights (84%), higher ed costs (81%), immigration (78%), climate change (76%), gun control (65%). (Source: 2017 Cone Communications CRS Study)
The Cone study found that 84% of people surveyed felt businesses have a responsibility “to spur social change.” It is expected that you have a brand with purpose.
Mark Mathis
Mark wrote his first direct-mail fundraising letter in 1981 for the University of Iowa Center for Advancement. The effort raised a few million dollars in undiscovered wills and legacy gifts. From that day forward Mark discovered a love of the big idea that moves the needle.
After 12 years at KWWL, Mark became a business owner as a co-founder of ME&V — rebranded as AMPERAGE in 2015. After 25 years of leading creative teams in video production, graphic design, PR, writing and web development, Mark transitioned out of ownership in 2021. Today he serves in an employee role as special projects consultant.
He is creatively ambidextrous — son of an artist and engineer — and famous for distilling complex ideas down to a few words and a few visuals. Mark is a writer. When he found that many nonprofits struggled with complex branding puzzles, he wrote the book, “NonProfit-NonMarketing .” He also wrote a novel called “Reenactment.”
Mark is an active blogger OneMinuteMarketer® with nearly 1,000 readers each week on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter. One of his most popular YouTube videos is on “How to Look Good on Zoom.”
One of Mark’s fondest business memories was being named to INC 500 two times and attending the INC 500 conference with other winners. Mark is considered by some a Civil War expert (and that explains his novel). Mark also served as an adjunct professor in the business and in the communications departments at Wartburg College.
Mark is a graduate of the University of Iowa and is currently vice president of the University of Iowa Journalism and Mass Communications Advisory Board.
Mark is married to state Sen. Liz Mathis, and the two love to travel, even when it means being trapped by a volcano in the Czech Republic for three weeks.