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Developing and Communicating your Social Purpose: A Practical Guide © Verity London 2019. All rights reserved.

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Developing and Communicating your Social Purpose: A Practical Guide

White Paper 2019

#bebold #bereal #bethechange

https://veritylondon.co.uk/


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Foreword This white paper takes a deep dive into Purpose, Social Purpose, and what developing a meaningful brand, that creates value for your company and for society, might mean for you.

As well as reviewing published evidence and examples of good practice, we’ve conducted our own in-depth interviews with business leaders from companies including PwC, Aviva, Fujitsu, Pentland Group and Lemonade Insurance. The white paper will give you a better understanding of what to do, what not to do and what to think about.

Most importantly, this white paper gives you a wealth of practical ideas to help you understand how to uncover your brand’s Social Purpose - and how to communicate it effectively.

Part One • Charts the origins and drivers of purpose

• Examines the business case for Social Purpose

• Highlights the relevance of internal communication and engagement around Social Purpose

Part Two • Provides practical guidance on developing a meaningful Social Purpose for your brand or company

• Includes a series of unique case studies

Part Three• Gives best practice advice on communication and engagement around your Social Purpose

Debra SobelCo-founder and Managing Director

Karen BenvenisteCo-founder and Managing Director

We hope this white paper will encourage you to reconsider how your company or brand succeeds through making a positive contribution to society - and crucially - how you communicate a deep and meaningful commitment, actions and outcomes to all your stakeholders.

Verity London


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ContentsThe business case for Social Purpose

Introduction

The origins of purpose

The crisis of trust

Rising transparency

Purpose and business performance

Social Purpose and employee engagement

Social Purpose and millennial employees

Q&A with Fujitsu

Social Purpose and employee attitudes

Social Purpose natives and Social Purpose migrants

Developing your Social Purpose

Back to your roots

On a mission

Start inside

PwC case study

Single-minded

Real

Lemonade Insurance Company case study

Leaders

Aviva case study

Relevance

Intrinsic

Informed

Measurable

Pentland Group case study

Communicating your Social Purpose

Employee-driven

Integrated approach

The Happy Puzzle Company case study

Narrative-driven

Employee voice

Responsive

Pro-active

Conclusion

Part One

Part Two

Part Three


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#bebold

Part OneThe business case for Social Purpose

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IntroductionPurpose is everywhere. You can’t look at social media, check out the news, or turn on a TV without coming across a brand declaring it has discovered a newfound sense of purpose. Major companies are reshaping their entire business around the idea of purpose, with promising results.

According to Kantar Consulting’s ‘Purpose 2020’ report, brands with a high sense of purpose have experienced a brand valuation increase of 175% over the past 12 years compared to the median growth rate of 86%, and the 70% growth rate for brands with a low sense of purpose.

Driven by the financial crisis of 2008, by rising uncertainty, consumer cynicism and the availability of social media and instant mass communication, companies of all shapes and sizes are turning to purpose as the solution to all their market challenges.

So far, so good, but there is a problem. Companies who jump on a ‘purpose bandwagon’ are regularly being named and shamed.

Pepsi’s misjudged commercial featuring Kendall Jenner was condemned and ridiculed, with adverts suggesting that profound, long-term racial tensions between communities and the police could be solved with a soft drink. The ad was pulled within 48 hours. Starbucks #RaceTogether campaign, which asked baristas to engage customers on the same challenging subject, was lambasted for its inauthenticity, superficiality and hypocrisy and was swiftly canned. Even highly effective purpose veterans, such as Dove and Ben & Jerry’s, have been subject to criticism for specific actions or campaigns.

And it’s not just consumers who are taking direct social media action against those who ‘purpose wash’. Sites like Glassdoor offer the opportunity for employees to speak out against what they see as hypocritical or cynical purpose plays by employers - as they did with Etsy’s employee petition against its new mission and values.

If we take as a working definition of brand purpose: ‘a higher order reason for a brand to exist other than just making a profit’, then it is easy to see how purpose can go sour. In the absence of a ‘higher order reason for a brand to exist’, brands have used superficial campaigns to suggest a spurious attachment to important, high profile and complex social challenges - with predictable results.

Part One



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In a world where people are understandably cynical of politicians, authority and business, and have the power of social media at their fingertips, hijacking purpose as a marketing tactic does more long-lasting harm than good.

Companies looking at the potential risks might think it better to play it safe, or to not engage with purpose at all. But this would be a wasted opportunity. Verity London argues that brands have to go beyond brand purpose and look instead at Social Purpose. Social Purpose is where organisations make a positive impact on society through activities which are integrated and aligned with the core business of the company, and which contribute to long-term business growth.

In this sense, Social Purpose is very different to CSR. Lord Browne, former BP CEO and one of the original proponents of CSR, explains that CSR ‘started out as an attempt to improve businesses’ engagement with society, but it has become a sticking plaster over a company’s issues and an afterthought for the board on a Friday afternoon. That is why CSR has become damaging’. CSR may now be seen as compensating for issues created by core business activity, and very much a ‘bolt-on’.

For purpose to be authentic it must come from within the organisation, rather than being the latest engagement or marketing tactic. It should be the driver behind culture, organisational structure, products, services, supply chain, recruitment and retention. Only then – and once it is communicated in an engaging, relevant and consistent way – will a brand start to see the considerable business benefits that a meaningful Social Purpose can deliver.

Social Purpose means that organisations make a positive impact on society through activities which are integrated and aligned with the core business of the company, and which contribute to long-term business growth.

Verity London

Part One


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The origins of purpose Hot on the heels of the financial crisis of 2008, Simon Sinek started a movement to help people become more inspired at work, and in turn inspire their colleagues and customers.

Sinek’s idea was simple: he explained that people like Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs and the Wright brothers had little in common, but they all started with WHY. They realised that people won’t truly buy into a product, service, movement, or idea until they understand the WHY behind it. The idea took hold that the best brands and most innovative companies start with WHY, and let that drive their WHAT and HOW. 28 million people have watched the TED Talk based on the book Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action - the third most popular TED video of all time.

The golden circle

Part One


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Then in 2011, Jim Stengel, ex-CMO of Procter & Gamble published Grow: How Ideals Power Growth and Profit at the World’s 50 Greatest Companies.

Findings from Grow: How Ideals Power Growth and Profit at the World’s 50 Greatest Companies

Of course, there have always been ‘purposeful brands’. Unilever was founded by William Hesketh Lever in the 1890s. Sunlight Soap helped revolutionise hygiene in Victorian England. He wrote that he wanted ‘to make cleanliness commonplace; to lessen work for women; to foster health and contribute to personal attractiveness, that life may be more enjoyable and rewarding for the people who use our products’.

Today, the company’s stated purpose is ‘helping people to look good, feel good and get more out of life’. And, of course, William Hesketh Lever was not alone in having a higher purpose as a driver for the development of a company. As we will see, it is one of the reasons we advocate returning to a company founder’s original aims and ambitions to help uncover and develop a Social Purpose for today.

Most recently, writing in the Huffington Post, Richard Shotton, Deputy Head of Evidence at London-based consultancy MG OMD has comprehensively debunked Stengel’s methodology from a number of angles.

But, coming as it did after the financial crisis of 2008, Sinek and Stengel’s work lit a fire that seemed in tune with the other key drivers behind the need for purpose – a crisis of trust and the rise of transparency.

In 2018 Laurence Fink, CEO of investment firm BlackRock, published a letter to all CEOs which explained: ‘Society is demanding that companies, both public and private, serve a Social Purpose…to prosper over time, every company must not only deliver financial performance, but must also show how it makes a positive contribution to society’.

Society is demanding that companies, both public and private, serve a Social Purpose...to prosper over time, every company must not only deliver financial performance, but must also show how it makes a positive contribution to society.

Laurence Fink, CEO, BlackRock 2018

Part One

FASTER

x3These 50 businesses grew three times faster than theircompetitors

THE TOP

50The 50 highest-performing businesses are the ones driven by ‘brand ideals’ (Stengel’s term for Purpose)

MORE PROFITABLE

400%An investment in them would have been 400 percent more profitable than an investment in the S&P 500

45% 49% 62% 80%of people say their trust in a business increases if they believe it has contributed to the greater good(Edelman’s Trust Barometer)

of people are actively willing to pay more for products from a company that supports a cause important to them. This rises to 60% in millennials (MediaCom)

of millennials state they’d rather work for a company that is having a positive impact on the world(Global Tolerance Company)

of people can name a brand that takes specific actions both to increase profits and improve the social or economic conditionsof the community (Edelman’s Trust Barometer)

Social PurposeNative

brands with an intrinsic, overt Social Purpose deeply entwined with their product or service

Social PurposeMigrant

brands which have grown without a well defined purpose who are now

seeking to develop one


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The crisis of trust Edelman’s trust barometer has long charted a decline in trust in four main sectors: business, government, media and charity. The loss of trust can be linked to increasing global uncertainty and disruption. At its Winning with Purpose EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women Conference May 2016, EY summarised the five disruptive forces as:

1. Geo-political chaos: East vs. West, rising tensions with Middle East

2. Euro zone turbulence: Financial turmoil, separation risk

3. Increasing globalisation: Borderless and boundless

4. Demographic shift: Diversity, inclusiveness, GenY

5. Digital: Innovation, digital, ‘rise of robots’

Fears around globalisation, the pace of innovation, immigration, radicalism, corruption and changing social values are leading to cynicism about the leaders, institutions and systems that we previously accepted as giving structure to our lives.

Charities - long seen as the white knights in society - were hit by a number of scandals, both strikingly similar and as significant as any in the corporate world that they increasingly emulate, further eroding trust in institutions.

For businesses and brands the crisis of trust is a significant challenge. Criticism of the power and dominance of global multinationals who appear to operate without due regard to legislation and the public good (Facebook), or the need to contribute to the societies from which they benefit in the form of taxation or reasonable employment policies, (Starbucks, Amazon, Uber) are seen as the downside of global corporates.

However, with people feeling that governments are failing to prepare for the future on issues such as retirement and infrastructure, and trends like #Me Too and ‘fake news’, society is increasingly turning to the private sector and asking that companies respond to broader societal challenges. Public expectation of companies to both deliver financial performance and make a contribution to society have never been higher.

Public expectations of companies to both deliver financial performance and make a contribution to society have never been higher.

Verity London

Part One


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Rising transparency Social media gives consumers the world over the capacity to call out brands (and others) for behaving hypocritically.

Writing in PURPOSE - Moving away from a celebration of intent to measurement of real societal outcomes by Dentsu Aegis Network, Sanjay Nazerali, Chief Strategy Officer, explains: ‘increased transparency has made it much easier for consumers to discover bad labour practices or environmental issues, and consumers – particularly younger ones - don’t approve of such behaviour. Hence, corporates are put into a situation where they have to clean up their own act to avoid being at risk, and therefore they are increasingly more purpose driven. What’s more important is that consumer groups, NGOs and journalists in particular will have the potential to hold corporates to their word’.

Companies also face pressure from activists, who have a greater voice than ever before. Historically marginalised groups, including women, ethnic minorities, the LGBT community and people with disabilities, can now use social media channels to leap on ‘woke-washed’ campaigns and insensitive or insincere messages. Memes and hashtags can quickly go viral, as H&M, Dove, Pepsi and others all discovered to their cost.

Brands are only a critical article and three tweets away from a trust crisis, so it will genuinely pay for them to keep their word.

Sanjay Nazerali, Chief Strategy Officer, Dentsu Aegis Network

The business case for Social Purpose There is increasing research and evidence to show that brands with purpose outperform those without.

Analysis of the key brands in the annual BrandZ study by Millward Brown, which links consumer views and opinions on brands with data on financial performance, shows that brands which make consumers’ lives better develop superior brand equity.

Back in 2010, Unilever launched its Sustainable Living Plan with a goal of doubling the size of the business while cutting its environmental footprint in half by 2020. The 26 Sustainable Living brands, such as Dove, grew 46% faster than the rest, and delivered 70% of the turnover growth. And purpose has grown their bottom line too. Since 2008, eco-efficiencies have avoided costs in their factories of well over £600 million, with over £200 million of savings coming from its waste reduction programme. Longer-term, Unilever’s purpose-led strategy is helping mitigate risks in energy security and agricultural supply chains.

Research from the EY Beacon Institute and Harvard Business School shows that purpose-led companies are more likely to be profitable. 85% of purpose-led companies have shown positive growth in the past three years, with 58% growing by more than 10%.

Part One


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SAP CEO Bill McDermott explains: ‘Today, people care as much about a company’s purpose, value, and global impacts as they do about its products, packaging, and prices’. SAP has what they call an ‘enduring cause’ - to help the world run better and improve people’s lives. Championed from the top, it includes initiatives in health, youth and sports.

The Meaningful Brands report from Havas Media showed the top 25 meaningful brands outperformed the stock market by 133%. ‘Meaningful brands’ that improve people’s quality of life and wellbeing also have a 46% higher ‘share of wallet’ – how much a person spends on a specific product – compared to low-scoring brands.

Today, people care as much about a company’s purpose, value, and global impacts as they do about its products, packaging, and prices.

Bill McDermott, CEO, SAP

The business case for Social Purpose

87% of people believe companies perform better over time if their purpose goes beyond profit.

Source: Winning with Purpose EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women Conference May 2016

The 2018 Cone/Porter Novelli Purpose Study: How to Build Deeper Bonds, Amplify Your Message and Expand the Consumer Base, conducted in the US, explains: ‘Purpose isn’t just the latest marketing buzzword or moment-in-time tactic. Not only do Americans expect companies to lead with purpose, they are ready to reward these companies in a variety of ways. In fact, companies that lead with purpose will stand to build deeper bonds with existing consumers; expand the consumer base and enlist those brand advocates to share the brand message’.

Part One

FASTER


THE TOP


MORE PROFITABLE












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Part One

The key findings of the study include:• 78% of Americans believe companies must do more than just make money; they must positively impact

society as well• 77% feel a stronger emotional connection to purpose-driven companies over traditional companies• 66% would switch from a product they typically buy, to a new product from a purpose-driven company• 68% are more willing to share content with their social networks over that of traditional companies

The study found: • 78% of people want companies to address important social justice issues • 87% will purchase a product because a company advocates for an issue they care about • 76% will refuse to purchase a company’s products or services upon learning it supported an issue contrary

to their beliefs.

As the study explained:

Companies must now share not only what they stand for, but what they stand up for.

2018 Cone/Porter Novelli Purpose Study

Social Purpose. Why is it good for business?

Poi

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tale

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Attra

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Conversation Generates

Increases starter

trustloyalty

Contributes

to society

Good for business

performan

ced

iffer

entia

tion

SocialPurpose


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Part One

Social Purpose and employee engagement A Deloitte survey found 73% of employees who feel that they work for a purpose-driven company said they are engaged; only 23% of respondents that don’t feel they work for a purpose-driven company are engaged.

High employee engagement has long been linked with higher productivity and profitability. A Gallup study survey of 23,910 US businesses found companies with higher employee engagement had higher productivity and profitability when compared to companies with low engagement. Alex Edman’s study of 28 years of stock market data found companies with high employee satisfaction outperform their peers – even after controlling for other factors that drive returns.

According to Bain & Company partners Eric Garton and Michael Mankins, writing in Harvard Business Review (HBR), productivity among satisfied employees is 100%, while engaged employees hit 144%, and inspired employees deliver 225% productivity. Garton and Mankins state that employees are motivated if they get meaning from their company’s purpose and are inspired by leaders in their company.

Inspired employees are the most productive

Covestro’s i3 Index of Fortune surveyed 1000 CEOs. It suggests people want to work for companies whose social values are similar to their own, and they want more opportunities to engage in Social Purpose projects while on the job.

The connection is clear: people are more satisfied and engaged when they have an opportunity to perform impactful work, and engaged people are simply more effective.

However, a Gallup survey of 2,341 US adults showed that 71% are either not engaged, or are actively disengaged at work. Low employee engagement is also linked to high employee turnover rates.

If employee engagement is both a significant problem and an untapped opportunity for business, can Social Purpose be the key that unlocks the opportunity?

Productive Output

71%

100%

144%

225%

Dissatisfied

Source: Bain & Company and EIU Research, 2015 © HBR.ORG

Satisfied Engaged Inspired


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People are more satisfied and engaged when they have an opportunity to perform impactful work, and engaged people are simply more effective.

Verity London

Social Purpose and millennial employees Trends show that the next generation of employees place increasing importance on getting a sense of fulfilment from their work. Over half (53%) of workers feel that ‘a job where I can make an impact’ is a crucial factor to their overall happiness, and 72% of students entering the workforce agree.

Research suggests millennials want their work to make a difference in their wider society, and they expect their employers to show them the way.

Millennials and work

The Deloitte Millennial Survey 2018, based on more than 10,000 millennials across 36 countries and more than 1,800 GenZ respondents, showed a clear, negative shift in millennials’ feelings about business’ motivations and ethics. Today, only 48% of millennials believe businesses behave ethically (vs 65% in the same survey in 2017), and only 47% think that business leaders are committed to helping improve society (vs 62% in the same survey in 2017).

Part One

2016 Cone Communications Millennial Employee Engagement Study

of millennials consider a company’s social and environmental commitments when

deciding where to work

of millennials would be more loyal to a company that helps them contribute

to social and environmental issues (vs. 70% U.S. average)

of millennials won’t take a job if a company doesn’t have strong corporate social responsibility (CSR) values

of millennials say their job is more fulfilling when they are provided opportunities to make a positive impact on social and environmental issues

64%

83% 88%

64%


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2017

65%

48% 47%

62%

0%

25%

50%

75% believe that businesses behave ethically

The Deloitte Millennial Survey 2018

believe business leaders are committedto helping improve society

2018

Millennial decline in trust of business and leaders

There continues to be a significant mismatch between what millennials believe responsible businesses should be doing and what they perceive the actual priorities of businesses to be. However they also perceive responsible businesses as being more successful, having more stimulating work environments and doing a better job of developing talent.

Millennials want their work to make a difference in their wider society and they expect their employers to show them the way.

Verity London

Part One


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Verity London Q&A with Fujitsu Debra Sobel, joint founder of Verity London, spoke to Duncan Tait, Corporate Executive Officer, SEVP and Head of Americas and EMEIA, Fujitsu, to get an understanding of his take on Social Purpose and why it matters to Fujitsu.

Fujitsu is the leading information and communication technology company in Japan, and seventh largest IT services provider in the world, offering a full range of technology products, solutions and services. Approximately 140,000 Fujitsu people support customers in more than 100 countries. Fujitsu has been included 18 times in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (World, Asia Pacific) in six consecutive years, included in the Ethibel Sustainability Index (ESI) since 2013 and in the Morningstar Socially Responsible Investment Index since 2004, and listed in the FTSE4Good Index Series for eight consecutive years.

Why is it important for companies or brands to have a Social Purpose?Social Purpose is important as it helps drive brand reputation. Companies which demonstrate a richer emotional connection to their brand are more resilient to the competition. For Social Purpose to be credible, brands need to think about how their values and skill sets can contribute to society, while making sure senior leaders are on board, and that the concept is economically sustainable. Social Purpose should be driven by strategy and be a pillar of a brand’s purpose, which the whole business is built around. It is important because it gives customers and stakeholders a reason to believe in you, and belief is enormously powerful in creating loyalty and advocacy.

Can you define Fujitsu’s Social Purpose? Why have you chosen this particular focus? We define our Social Purpose as Human Centric Innovation. We are empowering people to build a better, more connected society. This has to be our focus – it’s not that we have simply chosen it as a snappy title! It has to be at the core of our beliefs. We live in a world where everyone and everything is becoming more connected. This is having profound implications on business and society alike. It is creating new opportunities and new threats. It demands that organisations adopt a new approach to innovation. Fujitsu has to ensure people are the centre of the IT revolution. Our technology is designed to make the world a better place.

How does Social Purpose differ from CSR activity?In simplistic terms Social Purpose describes what the organisation is about, built into its entire business belief. CSR ‘activity’ is more about how the organisation ensures it is doing the right thing across all its operating practices.

We have a Responsible Business strategy galvanised around five pillars, including, Diversity & Inclusion, Community Involvement, Wellbeing, Environment and Operating Practices. Having a clear strategy enables us to set goals, measure progress and report back on impacts. It helps us engage our stakeholders. It ensures we can attract and retain talent and operate in an ethical way. Our Responsible Business activity has clear roadmaps with defined outputs that ensure we contribute back to society in a positive way.

Our Social Purpose is not separate or different. Today, digital technologies are moving into the heart of everything we do, changing the way people work, live and how they innovate. In this new digital society, digital co-creation will become a business norm. Digital co-creation means blending business expertise and digital technology, and creating new shared value together to shape a different future. Putting humans at the heart of technology drives our innovation.

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For example, our D&I approach has a focus on Girls into STEAM subjects. Why? Because we want our AI and machine learning to be gender neutral, we want great diversity in our teams as we know this drives innovative ideas. We want great female talent. To achieve this, we have to do more to encourage girls in school to see IT as a career path. Our RB approach is supporting our Social Purpose.

How did you define your Social Purpose?The global leadership team champions our human centric innovation. Fujitsu has an 83-year history of being an ethical company. We have a global strategic vision called the Fujitsu Way. This sets out how we conduct ourselves as a business. Our Social Purpose is a collective view of how we innovate to find technology solutions to challenges that our customers and society face. Human centric innovation is a way of thinking rather than a process. Our Social Purpose is a culture that puts people at the heart of what we do. We believe in ‘One Fujitsu’ that gives a collective strength to our culture.

How do you ensure that Social Purpose is part of your overall business strategy? Our Social Purpose is central to our customer proposition to drive sustainable success. From using sensors to help farmers grow better crops to designing augmented reality software with field engineers, our approach is to work in partnership with our customers. It’s about combining customers’ business experience with our expertise in technology. This is what we mean by Human Centric Innovation – bringing together people, information and infrastructure to create real value from ICT. It’s about applying advanced technology to deliver new insights and value from information. It’s about seamlessly connecting devices and data centres through the cloud – ensuring that the right information is available to the right people, at the right time, in the right place. It’s about using technology to help people do what they do even better. It is core to our business strategy – a Social Purpose cannot sit separate from what drives our commercial success.

Why does Social Purpose need to be integrated into the core business strategy of a brand? Social Purpose must be inherent within the brand narrative. If a brand wants to create meaningful social impact, it has to be about doing things, not just saying things. Social Purpose has to be more than slogans and lofty ambitions. Strap-lines don’t solve the world’s problems. People and actions do. That’s why at Fujitsu, Social Purpose is integrated into our business purpose. We design technology with action and participation to have a positive impact on people and society.

For example, we work with Emory Healthcare in the US to empower medical staff – giving over 10,000 medical workers access to patient information in real-time and around the clock. Technology is there to help humans do a better job. Our cloud computing capabilities, server management solutions and mobile devices make this possible. With these, staff can access vital patient information easily and focus on better treating those in need. The result has reduced operational costs, increased efficiency and taken us closer to the future of health. That’s our business purpose.

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Is Social Purpose important to employees? As with all things, good internal communication strategies convince employees of the authenticity, importance and relevance of their company’s purpose and strategic goals. You can’t just announce you have a Social Purpose. Stakeholders must have tangible evidence that the organisation is committed to make society a better place. When colleagues feel proud to work for the organisation you can see this in staff turnover rates and employee engagement scores. I believe this comes from behaviour. How we all behave as leaders, managers and colleagues.

What does matter is that you establish relevance with employees in a way that makes them care more about the company and about the job they do. It should be at the core of all of your communications.

How important is good content when it comes to communicating Social Purpose?Author Maya Angelou said ‘People don’t always remember what you say or even what you do, but they will always remember how you made them feel’.

Content that inspires is what is really important. The content should demonstrate progress against goals, showcase benefits to customers, and be presented in a way that gets attention and signals importance. How you do it is less important than the impression that you want to leave with employees about the company. Whether you’re looking to build optimism change focus, instill curiosity, or prepare them for future decisions, you’ll have more impact if you stir some emotion and create a lasting memory. Content on Social Purpose must not be platitudes and fine words, but measurable examples that are real.

For example, Fujitsu, in collaboration with Microsoft and Digicel, have designed a buoy equipped with underwater sensors positioned to provide real time data and critical insight into levels of pollution and other changes to the marine environment. This means that we can better inform stakeholders about environmental incidents such as previously untraceable oil spills and previously inexplicable fish kills. It uses an Internet of Things (IoT) platform to filter and process all the information, provided by Fujitsu Caribbean. Through this device, real time water quality data collected by the underwater sensors will be sent to the Microsoft Azure platform for processing, and the data will be displayed on the smart phone applications and the iOS devices deployed by Globe Ranger. This is a great example of how we can create content on our Social Purpose.

What impact is your Social Purpose having? Our Social Purpose has a strong focus on the world’s mega trends. For example, the world’s population is ageing. The social costs of elder care need to be carefully funded. This is an area where digital innovation will become a powerful enabler, where technology helps the role of care sector workers helping to reduce social care costs. Fujitsu Laboratories, together with the Irish research institutions CASALA and Insight@UCD have implemented the KIDUKU Research Project. This is an initiative to provide health monitoring services and assisted independent living for senior citizens and patients who live in smart houses in Ireland. This project uses ambient sensors in a home, along with body wearable sensors, to collect a vast array of data relating to a person’s daily routine. With the insights of clinical specialists who support independent living, the partners are working to develop a system that uses ICT to support health management and everyday life. Care workers will be able to spend more time actually providing personal care where and exactly when it is needed, aided by smart data.

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Content that inspires is really important. The content should demonstrate progress against goals, showcase benefits to customers, and be presented in a way that gets attention and signals importance.

Duncan Tait, Corporate Executive Officer, SEVP and Head of Americas and EMEIA, Fujitsu

Social Purpose and employee attitudes A lot has been said about how millennials’ work and personal lives are intertwined and how they want to change the world and make society better. But does that mean Social Purpose is only relevant for millennials and Gen Z?

PwC’s 2016 annual global CEO survey reported that top talent is much more inclined to work for companies that have a demonstrated commitment to social issues, compared to ones that don’t.

The demand for purpose-driven companies

In Covestro’s i3 Index of Fortune 1000 CEO’s, the executives said that over the last five years, they’ve seen an increase in the number of Gen X (69%) and Baby Boom employees (46%) who have asked to have more opportunities to engage in purpose-driven work.

The vast majority of executives reported that the act of balancing profit and purpose is having a positive effect on their companies overall, and six out of 10 say it is having a radical impact on HR and talent management.

Part One

new hires current employees

customers regulators & policy makers

investors &shareholders

suppliers &vendors

otherstakeholders

77%

19% 23%

76%

30%

68%

40%

53%

40%

52% 50%44%

27%

61%

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New hires and current employees are the primary drivers of demand for purpose-driven companies, followed by customers, ‘other stakeholders’, regulators and policymakers, and then investors and shareholders. These stakeholders are expected to continue pushing companies to have more purpose in the coming decade.

The Gartenberg study, which included 500,000 people across 429 firms from 2006 to 2011, suggests that when purpose is communicated with clarity, there is a positive impact on both operating financial performance (return on assets) and forward-looking measures of performance.

People who find meaning in their work grow rather than stagnate. They do more - and they do it better. Employee desire for purpose is a strong driver which is changing corporate culture and impacting talent recruitment and retention.

The vast majority of executives reported that the act of balancing profit and purpose is having a positive, transformational effect on their companies overall.

Covestro’s i3 Index of Fortune 1000 CEO’s

Social Purpose natives and Social Purpose migrants Purpose isn’t the exclusive territory of organisations with large portfolios like Unilever, P&G and Kimberly-Clark. The scale and frequency of FMCG advertising means their brands might be some of the best known or most recognisable. However, it is worth understanding the difference between Social Purpose natives – those whose companies were set up with Social Purpose at their heart – and those who are seeking to migrate to being driven by Social Purpose.

Frequently cited Social Purpose natives include The Body Shop, Patagonia and TOMS. However, Tesla’s original purpose was summarised as: ‘Tesla’s mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable transport’. Tesla created a culture of technology, design and innovation, a series of innovative and desirable electric vehicles, as well as the entire infrastructure to support them. This was driven by the ambition to move the world away from polluting fossil fuels. Tesla founder Elon Musk explained: ‘Putting in long hours for a corporation is hard. Putting in long hours for a cause is easy’. Over time, the original purpose has changed. Tesla now says: ‘Tesla’s mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy’. Building on, and rooted in the original purpose, Tesla has moved from a focus on transport to the whole energy landscape.

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Vaseline recognised it needed to find new ways to connect with existing customers while educating a younger generation. Driven by the brand’s core attribute and tagline – ‘the healing power of Vaseline’ – the brand team conducted extensive research and discovered Vaseline was an indispensable part of emergency first-aid kits in refugee camps. In these difficult conditions, minor but common skin conditions such as cracking and blistering could become dangerous and debilitating. Petroleum jelly, and Vaseline in particular, was often a first line of care.

This insight led to a Social Purpose strategy around skin care for people living in poverty or emergency conditions. In partnership with the non-profit Direct Relief, The Vaseline Healing Project provides dermatological care, Vaseline jelly & medical supplies to help heal the skin of people affected by poverty or emergencies around the world. The Vaseline Healing Project has an ambition to heal the skin of five million people living in poverty or emergency situations by 2020. By returning to the brand’s core attribute and tagline – the healing power of Vaseline – the brand team are delivering commercial success and social benefit. By 2016 Vaseline was recognised by Nielsen Retail Measurements as the world’s No.1 brand in hand and body care having sold more units than any other brand. Nielsen looked at sales from 21 countries across Europe, Africa, the Americas and Asia. The Vaseline Healing Project is regarded as a key factor in the brand’s success.

Social Purpose native or Social Purpose migrant?

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Developing your Social Purpose So if you want to develop your Social Purpose, where do you start? Verity London has developed a specific methodology called JumpStart to help brands uncover and develop their social value proposition. JumpStart includes the development of a Social Purpose Canvas. It draws on the ideas behind The Business Model Canvas, a strategic management tool developed by Alexander Osterwalder, to quickly and easily define and communicate a business idea or concept.

In the JumpStart programme we look at how brands can benefit from incorporating a Social Purpose within their core business strategy; we work with your team to begin developing a Social Purpose fit for your organisation.

Through interactive sessions, you are challenged to think about societal needs and which are most relevant to your heritage and key customer segments; to understand the ways in which your Social Purpose needs to be integrated into core business practices and every aspect of your strategy and long term goals; to consider potential risk factors and investment considerations.

You’ll develop your own, unique Social Purpose Canvas to help discover the perfect Social Purpose fit for your brand.

The clarity provided by your Social Purpose Canvas will enable your Social Purpose to be integrated, consistent and coherent across your business, its activities and communications.

Back to your roots As we have seen from both social native and social migrant case studies, companies are often set up with a sense of a higher or Social Purpose. However with passing years, changes in company ownership, society and technology, competitive pressures and global economic development this original intent can be lost or overwhelmed.

It pays to go back to the company archive to look at the founder’s drive, purpose, ethos and principles and some of the seminal ‘stories’ that remain valid. Companies are often started by visionaries acting at a time of great social need or technological upheaval. Looking at founding impulses, values and principles can act as inspiration to make a positive impact in society. So, for example, Fever-Tree’s recent initiative with charity Malaria No More makes sense because the origins and purpose of their tonic water product align perfectly with the charity’s objectives.

In another example, Cadbury’s global brand campaign, launched in 2018, focused on ‘genuine acts of kindness and generosity’ as inspired by the principles of its philanthropist founder. Quoted in Marketing Week, Cadbury brand equity lead Benazir Barlet-Batada said ‘Our founder John Cadbury was a philanthropist, and there are so many examples of acts of kindness that he did. The best example is the creation of Bournville, where he provided homes for factory workers, there was a doctor’s surgery and cricket and football pitches. That was a real example of his generosity, and we want our new global brand platform to shine a light on our roots, but also shine a light on acts of kindness existing today’. The previous ‘Free the Joy’ campaign was focused around taste. It was meant to last for 10 years but has been pulled after six, in the face of falling sales amid anxiety about sugary treats. Barlet-Batada commented: ‘We wanted to move to a more down-to-earth positioning to celebrate our brand values, which have always existed’.

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Also quoted in Marketing Week, luxury watch brand Vitae London founder Will Adoasi was inspired by the story of his father, who grew up in Ghana and was the first in the family to read and write. ‘He broke a cycle of poverty that stretched back for decades’, Adoasi says. ‘I thought, the global luxury watch industry is worth something like $35bn (£28bn) so why hasn’t anyone started to give some of those profits back to poorer communities?’ Each watch purchased from Vitae’s classic range of watches supplies a child in South Africa with two sets of a school uniform, a bag and footwear to see them through the year. The items and outcomes are very specific.

Just pulling on someone’s heart strings and saying some of the money will go to a good cause is not enough. You need your own niche, and clarity (of what that is) is super important.

Will Adoasi, Founder, Vitae London

The same thinking can be applied to brand values, attributes or tag lines - as with the example of Vaseline described earlier. Exploring the implications of your vision, values and brand attributes and what they might mean to the world today can help in the development of an authentic Social Purpose.

Ask Yourself What were the founder’s original aspirations? What would the world look like if this ambition came true? How can we make this happen?

On a mission Here are some mission statements you probably recognise.

‘To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world (*If you have a body, you are an athlete)’

‘To create a better everyday life for the many people’

‘To organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful’

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From Nike, IKEA and Google respectively, you probably know these statements because they are well-publicised and belong to companies which are high profile and successful. However we are sure you have read examples (and may be working in a company) where the mission and values are so generic as to be meaningless. Created from empty platitudes, they could apply to any brand or organisation in your sector - or beyond! This happens when a mission and values are written to appeal to the widest possible viewpoint and with the express intention not to rock the boat or to be distinctive. Using these principles completely misses the point and cannot be applied when developing your Social Purpose.

As we have seen with Tesla, the mission statement can be a guiding star and subject to meaningful development in keeping with the original values, purpose and spirit. Rethinking your mission to guide a more distinctive and differentiated business that fulfills a relevant Social Purpose can be a great way to get back on track. In Kantar Consulting’s Purpose 2020 report, two-thirds of marketing leaders believe that purpose delivers long-term growth, just one-third believe purpose is a company-wide movement.

Ask Yourself What is the problem we are seeing in the world? What are we intending to fix? Why are we the right people to do this? Is our business specifically equipped to address this issue?

Rethinking your mission to guide a more distinctive and differentiated business that fulfills a relevant Social Purpose can be a great way to get back on track.

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Start inside It is said that great brands are built from the inside out; start with your employees, and their satisfaction and confidence will be mirrored directly onto your customers. The same applies for Social Purpose. Employees don’t just want to be told things, they expect involvement - especially when it comes to something as important as the societal impact a brand can make. You can draw on employee survey work and intranet chat forum material to gain a deeper understanding on what matters to employees. When then CEO of IBM Sam Palmisano wanted to know what employees valued, the company gathered more than 80,000 contributions through an online jam session.

However we also recommend qualitative work and conversations with your people. Nothing replaces empathy and the power of conversation to gain understanding and insight. Pose provocative questions, listen and reflect. You want to understand how your people feel and what is important to them; to engage their hearts in developing your Social Purpose – as well as their heads. We strongly recommend involving a consistent and representative group of employees in the development of your Social Purpose in order to help to keep it authentic and grounded in reality. Representatives from all areas of the business should be engaged in the process (and involved in a Social Purpose workshop) and contribute to the strategy in order to avoid ‘purpose wash’ or jumping on the latest band wagon.

Conduct an audit of your existing social and CSR work. Don’t be in too much of a hurry to throw out existing initiatives and start again; this may in itself cause reputational damage. Assess the positive impact your social projects are having already; consider how to deepen them and what would really make a long term difference or solve the problem for good. And crucially, if they can be integrated into a core Social Purpose strategy for the business. Use surveys and focus groups to understand what employees, stakeholders and community partners think of your existing impact and what is important to them. Discussions with your wider community and customers can provide surprising insights into how to develop your business, and result in new products, initiatives and collaborations, as well as contributions to society.

You want to understand how your people feel and what is important to them; to engage their hearts in developing your Social Purpose – as well as their heads.

Verity London

Ask Yourself What stories do our people tell about themselves and their work? What are they most proud of? What do our company values mean in action? What could these values mean in the wider world?

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PwC case study Verity London spoke to PwC’s UK Head of Purpose, Emma Cox. With 21,000 people working for clients spanning different industries and sectors, PwC is a complex and diverse business.

Emma Cox explains: ‘What binds all that we do in PwC is our purpose: to build trust in society and solve important problems. Our purpose sums up our ultimate role beyond profit generation and how we contribute to society more broadly’.

Originally developed in 2012, the purpose is a reflection of the firm’s belief that in a modern functioning economy, businesses need to balance the generation of profit with wider societal benefit, improve the public’s faith in business and be a force for good. The firm’s purpose is rooted in its heritage, building trust between a company and its stakeholders, but equally reflects the work it does addressing societal challenges, such as energy shortages, cyber threats and social mobility. Cox comments: ‘Purpose is at the heart of the firm’s UK strategy. It is owned at leadership level and we live our purpose through our client work, our core operations, our supply chain and our community engagement. Increasingly our purpose is the lens through which we consider what type of work we do, how we deliver that work and how we run ourselves as a business’.

In a blog, Kevin Ellis, Chairman and Senior Partner of PwC UK said: ‘In these turbulent times, when it’s often easier to point the finger than do, a business might feel a worthy purpose is tempting fate, and opt for one that’s easier to live up to. I believe there’s more reason than ever for businesses to aim high - even if it appears idealistic and risks scrutiny on that business and its leadership’.

Building trust and transparency both internally and externally, PwC were one of the first firms to publish gender and BAME pay gaps – some four years before regulation came into force – in order to shine a spotlight on workplace diversity and to focus on improvement.

The PwC Building Public Trust Awards are designed to inspire organisations to report and communicate more openly. Cox comments: ‘I work on a portfolio of very societally impactful projects, in areas like climate change or women’s economic empowerment, and I get the chance to see first-hand the positive impact that my projects have. We’re working with the World Economic Forum looking at how technologies can help solve some of the world’s biggest environmental problems, and with the Global Solutions Summit – where we can work with others on the bigger picture agendas’.

Further important activities include Tech She Can, a programme to increase the number of women in technology roles. Cox explains: ‘The Tech She Can Charter is a commitment by organisations to work together to increase the number of women working in technology roles. Our research with over 2,000 A-Level and university students shows that the gender gap in technology starts at school and carries on through every stage of girls’ and women’s lives. We initiated this, but the whole point is to work together with other organisations, who sign up to the commitment. It’s a great example of turning words into action’.

Cox confirms big picture agendas have to connect with what people in PwC believe and how they behave. As Kevin Ellis explained in his blog: ‘Only if employees believe in it, do businesses have a chance of getting the outside world to do the same.’

Cox explains: ‘Communication is incredibly important. There’s little point having a purpose if it’s tucked away somewhere and no one talks about it. But communication has to be meaningful and backed by action. It’s easy to communicate the work that fits neatly with your purpose, but it’s sometimes more powerful to talk about the issues and decisions that are more complex. Encouraging partners and leaders to talk about purpose in the context of their everyday work is an incredibly important focus for us’.

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Cox believes it’s important to have local nuance within a global network. As for measuring impact, Cox explains: ‘were doing a lot of thinking around impact measurement – we want to be able to assess progress, and also recognise that measurement can help with engagement. But not everything is tangible or quantifiable, so there’s a balance to be struck’.

‘I would say to any company looking at Social Purpose that there is a place for business to think about its role and move beyond money to looking at the broader impacts it drives’. Cox suggests to ‘think about what it’s about, why do you exist?’

As for PwC, Kevin Ellis explains: ‘We can get people together to think about some of the biggest issues that the world is facing and we work with clients who themselves are facing problems that are affecting the way that the whole of society operates, and if we think positively about that, we can not only deliver a really great economic return for ourselves and for our clients but we can do that in a way that is sustainable and drives longer term positive change’.

We can not only deliver a really great economic return for ourselves and for our clients but we can do that in a way that is sustainable and drives longer term positive change.

Kevin Ellis, Chairman and Senior Partner, PwC UK

Single-minded An often quoted story of the power of purpose is that of President John F. Kennedy walking around NASA in 1962 when he saw a cleaner carrying a broom. When asked what he did, the janitor responded: ‘Well, Mr. President, I’m helping put a man on the moon’. It showed how the purpose was understood by everyone at NASA. However it also shows the value of simplicity. The aim could be summed up in a sentence, it was tangible, easy to understand – and everyone would know what it looked like when it was accomplished!

Non-profit TED (which stands for Technology Education and Design) has perhaps the shortest mission statement: ‘Spread ideas’. They go on to say: ‘TED is a global community, welcoming people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world. We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and, ultimately, the world’. And the same simple theme is captured in their strap line: ‘Ideas worth spreading’. The clarity and simplicity of this mission is a great strength.

Some companies have attempted to show their credentials as corporate citizens by jumping on a variety of issues. But making statements about issues that are not connected to your core business can create confusion and mistrust amongst stakeholders. Consider the burning questions. Align your brand with a clear, single-minded Social Purpose.

Ask YourselfWhat one cause could our business address and why? Does our Social Purpose have an obvious connection to our business? Is our Social Purpose unique in our category? Are there any existing CSR partnerships we can develop?

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Real When developing a Social Purpose we guide organisations not to automatically jump onto the latest or most visible causes. Ask where your business can truly add value. Consider whether the issue or need already has so many powerful players involved that your voice and efforts will be lost. Remember that all societal needs have a political dimension. You must be prepared to engage – not just for positive publicity and photo opportunities – but during times of difficult debate and political tension.

Many companies produce statements on issues such as diversity and inclusion. But the test of being real rests on their willingness to be vocal on contentious issues. Tech giants including Google and Facebook stood up to complain about the US Muslim travel ban, but were later shown to have taken millions of dollars in anti-immigrations ads. This showed the extent to which their bottom line interests overtook their social or political stance, and was met with widespread cynicism and mistrust. Being real or authentic is closely linked to integrity and ‘doing what you say you will do’. This means keeping the promises that you make, and providing a clear explanation if you are unable to do so.

Putting your head above the parapet on purpose may mean getting your house in order across a range of good practices. This can only be of benefit to the long term health of your brand or organisation. Authenticity will be supported by working with experts in the field. In defining how their Social Purpose programmes will create value, managers should partner with organisations and individuals that are actively working on the front lines of the social issue. This ensures that the brand’s capabilities are focused on the most pressing need in a relevant and useful way.

Putting your head above the parapet on purpose may mean getting your house in order across a range of good practices. This can only be of benefit to the long-term health of your brand or organisation.

Verity London

Ask Yourself Can we make a difference? Are we happy to shout this cause from the rooftops? What do we need to stop doing? What do we need to put right?

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A flat fee torun everything

We pay claimssuper fast

If there’s money leftover,we give it back to causes

$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $

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$162,135Giveback

$53,174Giveback

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How Lemonade worksLemonade reverses the traditional insurance model. We treat the premiums you pay as if it’s your

money not ours. With Lemonade, everything becomes simple and transparent. We pay a flat fee, pay claims super fast, and give back what’s left to causes you care about.

Lemonade Insurance Company case studyLemonade is an American property and casualty insurance company headquartered in New York. Registered as a Public Benefit Corporation, the company has a stated mission of ‘transforming insurance from a necessary evil into a social good’. Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder Daniel Schreiber, says: ‘We’ve designed Lemonade to bring out the best in people, while giving society a push for the better. Social good is baked into the core of our business model’. As the Lemonade website says: ‘Social impact is part of our legal mission and business model - not just marketing fluff’.

The company was set up in 2015. Schreiber explains: ‘My Co-founder and I didn’t come from the insurance space, and this gave us an advantage because we can look at things with a fresh set of eyes. One of the things that fascinated us was how distrusted insurance was. At its core, insurance is a social good. Insurance helps the weakest at their time of need. But the perception of insurance couldn’t be further away from this if you tried. It’s adversarial, opaque, deeply distrusted and distrustful’.

Lemonade created a new business model for insurance based on behavioural economics and technology. The company uses artificial intelligence and chat bots to deliver insurance policies, and handles claims for its users on desktop and mobile without employing the use of insurance brokers.

Schreiber continues: ‘We had intellectual curiosity about it, especially as insurance is so essential to the economy. No doctor will operate without it. No plane will take off without it. But there is a conflict of interest at the core of how insurance operates. We took a look at game theory. If this is a game, then incentives matter a great deal and you can predict an outcome on how the game is structured. Some insurance sectors take offence to how I describe this, but it’s not about the players but about the game. As I see it, we needed to change the rules of the game’.

Duke University professor, author and economist Dan Ariely is Chief Behavioral Officer at Lemonade, with much of his research on behavioural economics integrated into the DNA of the company. Changing the game included the Giveback, the charity component of the business model which is also an attempt to mitigate fraudulent insurance claims. When users sign up for Lemonade, they select a non-profit or charity that will receive pay outs on an annual basis from the unclaimed premiums (also known as underwriting profit) of their respective cohort.

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Schreiber explains: ‘It’s no longer a bilateral relationship. Us versus you. We choose a non-profit you’ve chosen to give money to each year, so if you’re going to screw us, you screw the non-profit. If we screw you, it makes no sense, because we don’t get to keep the money anyway. It goes to the charities. That’s why we have a flat fee model. Why would I screw you…if I don’t keep the money anyway? We’re not trying to do good inherently, but we’re re-thinking how social impact can neutralise social distrust.

Consumers like the idea of Lemonade, while technology and innovation analysts appreciate its use of technology and customer centricity. As a Certified B Corporation, Lemonade has to meet certain standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency. ‘We’ve been vocal on other social things too’ says Schreiber. ‘We published a blog post about being the first American insurance company who won’t invest in coal. We announced we’re putting a limit on the guns we’ll insure. We’re taking positions which insurance companies don’t typically take.’

The company is developing healthy market share among millennials, and infuriating the competition with its disruptive message and marketing. Schreiber concludes: ‘If a company is interested in developing a Social Purpose, I’d say the way to conceptualise it is to do it in your enlightened self-interest. If you think you’re sacrificing customers, or product or profit for social good - that’s bad and not been architected well. Social good has to be framed as ‘our good’. Not for short term wins - but with a longer term focus’.

Social good is baked into the core of our business model.

Daniel Schreiber, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder, Lemonade

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LeadersIf your leaders and leadership team do not endorse and embody your Social Purpose, aren’t prepared to debate, discuss, defend it and advocate for it internally and externally, and understand its value in relation to the commercial development of the company or brand, then it simply will not work. Your leaders and SLT should be the primary ambassadors for your Social Purpose. Your SLT is essential for ensuring your purpose has impact company-wide. Leaders need to know they have the support of their board and that internal policies and structures are in order before going public and becoming open to scrutiny.

The Body Shop renewed the focus on mission when it acquired a new owner, Brazilian cosmetics manufacturer Natura Cosméticos. The first thing the Natura CEO did when he visited The Body Shop’s offices in London was sign the ‘Forever Against Animal Testing’ petition.

The World Economic Forum has described this type of activity as the New Age of CEO activism and is encouraging CEOs and their companies to take more interest in addressing social problems around the world. In the Harvard Business Review, Aaron K. Chatterji and Michael W. Toffel pointed out that the more CEOs speak up on social and political issues, the more they will be expected to do so and that, increasingly, in the age of Twitter, silence is conspicuous.

When a leader communicates the purpose with authenticity and constancy, employees recognise his or her commitment, begin to believe in the Social Purpose themselves and can start to behave accordingly. The change is signalled from the top, and catches fire from the bottom. Every organisation has a potential pool of change agents at all levels of the organisation that usually goes untapped.

When a leader communicates the purpose with authenticity and constancy, employees recognise his or her commitment, begin to believe in the Social Purpose themselves and can start to behave accordingly.

Verity London

Ask Yourself What are our leaders passionate about? What is their story? What causes are dear to their hearts and why? What change do they want to see in the world?

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Aviva case study Aviva, a large-scale, multi-line insurer in the UK with a strong international presence in selected markets in Europe, Canada and Asia, is strong on Social Purpose. Claire Barraclough, Group Corporate Responsibility, Aviva explains: ‘at Aviva Social Purpose is important at a senior level and throughout the entire organisation. We aim to have Social Purpose embedded into our overarching corporate strategy and priorities, into products, services – into everything we do’. The company states: ‘To defy uncertainty, we use bright ideas to tackle the important issues of our time for you, your communities and our world’.

Barraclough can pinpoint the way that Social Purpose and a responsible and sustainable approach is integrated across all touchpoints for Aviva.

‘Trust in government and politics is decreasing and so people are looking to business to play a role in the world we want to live in. Taking up issues around human rights and climate change has become more important, and consumers and employees want to see brands engaging with those topics.’

‘We know from our own research that trust is a big issue in the insurance industry. We pay out on 98% of our claims, but we want to go beyond what an insurer does and prevent those claims ever happening in the first place. For example, our work with Macmillan enables people going through cancer treatment to have support to settle claims easily and quickly, and research work to help prevention.’

The company provides sustainable and green funds for investors so that consumers can make pro-active choices about where to invest their money.

However Barraclough is clear that Social Purpose is not just important to customers. She says: ‘our people tell us it is important too. There’s massive internal engagement around our sustainability policy work. We had a recent town hall on our policy work in this area and 96% of people who attended said it made them proud to work for Aviva.’

She also points out that Social Purpose is not the preserve of the leadership. ‘We have questioned, is Social Purpose personality driven (and coming from the leadership), or is it something the company sees as a priority? And the answer we’ve got is that we’ve been investing in sustainability and Social Purpose for a long time and will continue to do this as it is part of our DNA. It is absolutely critical to the world and if we don’t do something about climate change, we can’t insure the world on a personal level.’

Aviva has won the UN Leadership Award for the role the business has played in supporting the UN’s sustainable development goals. The company is the first one to be recognised in this way. In September 2018 Aviva, Index Initiative, and the United Nations Foundation announced the launch of the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA), with the aim of helping businesses do more to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The WBA will develop free, publicly available benchmarks which rank companies on their contributions to achieving the SDGs.

Barraclough also explains how important Social Purpose is when it comes to recruitment, talent development and retention: ‘We’ve done a lot of work around flexibility, parental leave, and living wage. Being a good employer is important’. Aviva is also conscious of the demands and consciousness of millennials. ‘Our work around plastics in the work place and supply chain has had massive engagement’. New graduates are challenged to see themselves as the ‘sustainable business leaders of the future’.

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Aviva also supports and encourages volunteer Social Purpose across the group; citing an activity which took place in Indonesia, where Aviva employees mapped previously unrecorded roads and bridges to help local communities.

Because Social Purpose is so integral to Aviva, Barraclough explains that a lot of attention is paid to a continuous feedback loop with employees – making sure that employees are aware of the impact of Social Purpose and the activities going and asking for their feedback, input and ideas. She comments: ‘We do a lot through our intranet and we have an initiative called ‘uncut’ – live interviews with leaders once a week on different subjects’.

On external communications Barraclough explains: ‘We are not invested in Social Purpose just as a PR or marketing exercise; of course it is important to communicate our activities both externally and internally. We know that it is really important for consumers and our own people to know how we are making our business responsible and sustainable, so we do want to communicate it more and we do want to demonstrate tangible outcomes because that is what it is all about’.

She concludes: ‘We have a phrase we use internally all the time - ‘good growth’. Growth that is good for the business, for our people, for customers and the communities we serve. That’s our watch word. Good growth makes sense for everybody’.

We have a phrase we use internally all the time - ‘good growth’. Growth that is good for the business, for our people, for customers and the communities we serve.

Claire Barraclough, Group Corporate Responsibility, Aviva

Relevance Your Social Purpose needs to be relevant to all stakeholders – especially your own people and customers. And it also needs to be logical to the brand. The more your purpose begs the question ‘why is (your brand) involved with this?’ the harder it will be to explain your purpose and build traction. During the JumpStart process we help brands explore their key customer segments and consider what they know and understand about them, their key concerns and values. Articulating purpose to drive business growth depends on a having a cause that is relevant, unique, meaningful and well measured. Consider where you can offer a unique perspective and build a consistent, proactive and distinctive Social Purpose plan that is relevant to your most important stakeholders.

Ask Yourself What issues have most resonance for key customer segments? What are their causes?What are our direct competitors doing? Will consumers be able to associate our brand with the Social Purpose? Will it inspire positive associations with our brand or organisation?

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Intrinsic While two-thirds of marketing leaders in Kantar Consulting’s Purpose 2020 report believe that purpose delivers long-term growth, only one third of them believe purpose is regarded as a ‘company-wide movement’ within their organisation. Developing a Social Purpose is as fundamental as any work you will do on strategy, mission and values for your brand and company. As we have seen from the long-term purpose native examples in this white paper, when Social Purpose is not just a marketing ploy but a driver of business practice across the organisation it delivers effective results for brand, consumers and society alike. It must be long term and at the very least have the potential to be baked in to the organisations processes, organisation and supply chain.

Ask Yourself What problems make our consumers frustrated? What issues make our consumers dislike or mistrust our industry? What if we re-thought to focus on delivering outcomes rather than processes? What if we focused on solving the societal issues that lead to a need for our products / some of our products?

Informed Nothing will engender cynicism and mistrust of a brand more amongst consumers than one which wades in on a complex social issue in a superficial and misinformed way. You must do your research, become well-educated on your chosen burning issue, and involve experts in the development of any programme. As we have seen in the examples in this white paper, many of the most effective examples involve partnerships with foundations, charities and educational organisations who are long-term experts in the field. Long-term expert partners can help channel and amplify your activities and keep them relevant, real and targeted. Investing in research can be a great way to shine a light upon issues, demonstrate your long-term commitment and provide a platform for action.

In the same way that you have taken it upon yourself to become informed, an important part of your role can be to inform, educate and raise awareness amongst others around key issues.

Ask Yourself What do we need to know to understand this issue? What does the public need to know?Who are the experts in this area? What do they think will make a difference?How can we support their work? How can we rally people around this cause?

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Measurable If you cannot measure your Social Purpose impact then be prepared to be seen as ‘purpose-washing’ or virtue signalling. The Body Shop had a target of 8 million signatures to present to the UN in its ‘Forever Against Animal Testing’ petition to get animal testing in cosmetics banned worldwide. It was a clear, simple measure and each week the campaign team shared information on social media engagement, the number of meetings secured with politicians in a bid to drive policy change and details on how each country is performing. The Body Shop also reports on 14 targets in the ‘Enrich Not Exploit’ corporate responsibility framework.

To make your Social Purpose tangible provide regular feedback on goals, priorities, and promised actions.

Only 40% of those corporates who communicate a purpose alongside the focus on selling products and building brands, are attempting to measure what the actual outcome on society is, whilst 60% of the campaigns have not included any metrics to comfortably measure what the campaign set out to change.

Harvard Business Review

Ask Yourself How do we plan to make things better? What goals can we set?How can we get consumers, suppliers, partners and others involved? What can we action as well as raise awareness?

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Pentland Group case studyVerity London spoke to Stephen Rubin, Chairman of Pentland Group plc. Pentland is the name behind a number of high profile active clothing and footwear brands, with annual sales of USD $5 billion across 190 countries. They own Speedo, Mitre and Red or Dead among others, and are the global licensee for Karen Millen footwear and Kickers in the UK.

Stephen Rubin explains, ‘We’re a family-owned group, with a history dating back to 1932. We retain strong family values and our heritage gives us our authenticity, integrity and trust. As a business we’ve always believed in the principle ‘in good conscience’. I think you’re either a responsible company or not. If you’re saying man’s purpose on earth is to do good, then surely that encompasses everything. It doesn’t matter whether you are an individual or protected via limited liability’.

For example, Pentland brand Speedo has a Social Purpose programme Swim Generation, designed to reduce incidents of accidental drowning worldwide – according to the World Health Organisation at least 372,000 people losing their lives to drowning every year. Acting as a catalyst for change, Speedo’s Swim Generation provides practical support in the form of financial funding, as well as Speedo products, skills and expertise to projects in operation across the globe. It works with established charity partners at home and abroad, such as the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) and Centre for Injury Prevention and Research Bangladesh (CIPRB.)

Rubin continues: ‘Social Purpose is important because it’s at the very heart of a company. It’s something you should do, because it’s the right thing to do. And it’s good for business. We maintain that every product we have has to be good for all our stakeholders as well as our shareholders, and by this I mean the people who buy from us in the shops through to the people who work for us in the factories. That’s called humanity. And that started in year zero’.

Pentland has set goals along three criteria – to build brands with Social Purpose, to futureproof the supply chain, and to respect human rights and tackle inequality. In the 1990s, as President of the World Federation of Sporting Goods Industry (WFSG), Rubin led the way pushing for a best code of practice, setting industry standards in the field of the environment, human rights and improving working conditions and fair trade. Rubin says: ‘We made a phenomenal difference to eliminating child labour in India and Pakistan’, with Pentland’s leadership and actions resonating purposefully in the textile and sporting goods industries.

In 2002, Rubin was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to business and human rights. In 2015, Pentland Group, together with Lancaster University launched the Pentland Centre, a research unit dedicated to solving sustainability challenges faced by businesses. And in 2017, Pentland Brands published its first Modern Slavery Report. Rubin says: ‘Companies need to be setting responsibilities, challenging business, looking to do things in better ways for society’. He goes on: ‘Social Purpose shouldn’t be looked at from the point of view of risk i.e. if I don’t do this good thing, people will stop coming to my shop or buying from my brand. It needs to come from the idea that everyone within a business should innately behave and look after their fellow people’.

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For Rubin, this idea comes down to trying to ensure that all 41, 000 employees are happy and engaged with their company values and vision too. Of their office building in North London, with a gym and swimming pool in the basement, he says, ‘if I were a company consultant, I could find ways of saving money within this building, and make a lot more profit, but as a family, in the Clark or Cadbury tradition, we’re happy to see everyone enjoying life… this is self-serving, helping us progress in business year on year’. And it’s clearly worked, with Pentland coming 8th in The Sunday Times Top Track 100 in 2017 and voted one of the Best Workplaces in the UK in 2016, by The Great Place to Work Institute.

As part of a display on the wall in Pentland’s reception area is a timeline showing key milestones and developments. The last one states that by 2030, millennials will represent 75% of the global workforce. With a recognition that millennials want to work for socially purposeful businesses, Rubin explains that: ‘as well as the warm welcome new employees receive, we want to include them in the good we do and unite them in our values’.

This year Pentland has five new charity partners, all chosen by employees with their messaging embodying its family business principle of, ‘in good conscience’. Each resonates with Pentland as a company and has an impact on the countries where they operate. Charities include Panathlon, which provides sporting opportunities for over 17, 500 young people with disabilities each year and The British Council, who Pentland will work with to support the development of online learning resources to enable more young people, especially women in Thailand, to access the craft sector.

It’s important that any socially purposeful work we do is closely aligned with our brands and the products we sell. Good conscience has always been within the Group’s DNA, and it’s even more important today, when we don’t know what on earth is happening any more politically, especially with Brexit. It gives us a competitive edge in certain areas, and a good reputation, but ultimately it helps us sleep better at night. Social Purpose is just the right thing for business to do.

Stephen Rubin, Chairman and Co-Owner, Pentland Group

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Part ThreeCommunicating your Social Purpose


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According to Kantar Consulting’s Purpose 2020 report, 76% of marketing leaders think their organisation has a defined purpose, but only one in 10 has a corporate purpose statement supported by a meaningful plan to implement it.

Investing in clear, consistent, integrated communications is an essential part of your Social Purpose plan.

When working with clients to communicate their Social Purpose we recommend starting with employees. And even though it was conducted in 2009, the research led by David MacLeod and Nita Clarke into the enablers of high employee engagement and performance still provides excellent guidance. They concluded that strategic narrative, engaging managers, employee voice, and integrity all have to happen to make engagement work – and that is equally true to make Social Purpose communication work.

Powys County Council took its understanding of vision and values by employees from 13% to 90% through a combination of engaged leaders, strong visuals, video and committed, frequent conversations supported by newly trained managers. The senior management team went back to the floor to understand employees’ points of view – and used video blogs of their experiences as well as video updates and employee perspectives and case studies.

76% of marketing leaders think that their organisation has a defined purpose, but only one in 10 have a corporate purpose statement that’s backed by a meaningful activation plan.

Kantar Consulting Purpose 2020 report

Employee-driven Every employee is a brand ambassador for your company. If your people are uninformed or disinterested in your Social Purpose why would consumers be inspired? Transparency around the goals and achievements of Social Purpose campaigns helps you bring the wider team along with you, and in turn helps consumers see it as a genuine effort.

Internal communications deserve the same level of thought and creativity as external communications. This means that your most compelling narratives should be aimed at engaging your employees. Your teams, including HR and marketing, should be aligned in developing the messaging. If you can’t or don’t convince your employees to understand and get behind your Social Purpose, they will not become effective and enthusiastic advocates.

However a 2015 survey by Involve across 150 CMOs, marketing directors, brand and customer service directors within a cross-section of industries and sectors – FTSE 100 & 300 organisations, UK branches of multinationals and UK-headquartered non-FTSE 350 organisations - showed that the importance of employee communication is still widely misunderstood or not acted upon. 50% of respondents admitted that they are failing to engage employees.

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Communicating your Social Purpose The average spend on employee brand engagement is only 2% of the marketing budget while 60% overall said that if they were given an extra million pounds for a product launch, they would spend less than 5% of it on internal engagement. There was a general consensus among respondents that internal engagement was ‘less exciting’ than external marketing activities.

Verity London provides advice and support across organisations to help internal communication get the visibility and priority around Social Purpose it deserves.

Every employee is a brand ambassador for your company. If your people are uninformed or disinterested about your Social Purpose why would consumers be inspired?

Verity London

Integrated approachWhere consumers are most receptive to brands communicating positions on social/political issues

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SproutSocial SproutSocial.com/brandsgetreal

Social Media

58%

Digital Advertising

21%

Television or Radio

47%

Billboard

18%

Website/Blog

38%

Direct Mail

14%

Print Advertising

25%

SMS/Text

6%

Newspaper

24%

Phone

4%

Email

21%

None of the Above

12%


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Social Purpose and the clarity of a Social Purpose Canvas is a great way of encouraging integration between marcomms and internal communication functions. Your message must be consistent across all the platforms you choose, and for all stakeholders.

Use your high-profile advertising campaigns or hero content as a platform to motivate and enable your employees as well as your consumers or wider influencers. Behind the scenes films, exclusive access to events and announcements by employee purpose ambassadors can help ensure everyone is engaged and committed.

Until recently internal communications would send information using as many channels as available. Potentially this resulted in a deluge of disconnected, frequent communications that leaves employees disengaged. The opportunity is for internal communicators to create a holistic story using an integrated communications channel approach.

The CEB/Gartner’s Internal Communications Summit in London reported that 80% of time on mobile devices is spent using an app, and concluded that using apps to give employees instant access to company news gives more potential for an integrated approach which is easily accessible, visual, entertaining and brief. Siemens created an app to help employees travel around the company, highlighting real employee stories from around the world and experiences in VR. As a result, 98% of survey respondents said they understood more about Siemens and 98% felt a renewed sense of excitement in their work.

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The Happy Puzzle Company case study The Happy Puzzle Company is a UK leader in educational games, toys and puzzles. Gavin Ucko, Founder and CEO explains: ‘We’ve been in the business for 25 years and our ethos has always been based on promoting family play and developing thinking skills. Recently, and in an increasingly cluttered market, we recognised the importance of standing out from the crowd. How do you give your customers a reason to shop with you, rather than rivals? As a company, we wanted to identify, pinpoint and articulate a message which focuses on what sets us apart from the competition, through the impact we believe we make on society. Through a Social Purpose’.

At the end of 2018, The Happy Puzzle Company’s senior team were taken through Verity London’s JumpStart programme. Ucko says, ‘The real value of the programme is the way in which it focuses a team bubbling with ideas and enthusiasm. On a day-to-day basis, we ourselves understand what we do, but we quickly realised that developing a Social Purpose would enable others to see what we see, and in so doing, give them a reason to jump on board as loyal, engaged customers’.

The company currently works with over 13,000 schools in the UK and has specialist experience in helping children with dyslexia and dyspraxia, as well as gifted and talented children seeking a greater challenge.He continues, ‘I don’t think any of us expected to end up with the Social Purpose we did. But it’s brilliant and we’re all excited to move forwards with it. Like any strong mission statement, we believe it encapsulates what we do and why, but more importantly, ties seamlessly into the very core of our business. It is relevant to our products and addresses a very real and important societal concern for our customers. The organic way in which the JumpStart programme develops, enabled us to strategically sift through a mountain of ideas until we reached where we needed to be. It’s not something we could have achieved alone’.

Ucko reflects: ‘The JumpStart programme needs to be seen as an investment and a journey. It’s a process that works, but it needs a team that is engaged and prepared to think inwardly and outwardly in equal measure. The brilliance of the programme is that you realise that your Social Purpose is sat in front of you every day, doing great things, yet not necessarily underlying your daily existence.’

The Happy Puzzle Company is continuing to work with Verity London on a plan for implementing and communicating its new Social Purpose.

Ucko concludes: ‘All of us expected Verity to deliver - I don’t think any of us could have foreseen how powerfully what we discovered would come to underpin everything that we do.’

Discovering your Social Purpose is not about finding your USP. It’s about tunnelling through every aspect of what you do in order to find the absolutely beautiful picture which lies at the core of your business.

Gavin Ucko, Founder and CEO, The Happy Puzzle Company

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Narrative-driven People are hard-wired to appreciate stories. Frame your Social Purpose – why you developed it, the origins, drivers, needs, rationale, triumphs, set-backs - as a story with a beginning, a middle and an aspiration. Your Social Purpose story can provide a common language that everyone in the company can understand and be inspired by. Think of it as a great box set where everyone looks forward to the next episode.

And of course, a story is not just about facts – fundamentally a story is about feelings and identification. It is not surprising that video is such a popular medium – and the best next to face to face communication – for telling multi-dimensional stories that enable people to understand and engage with your Social Purpose. Consider the characters in the narrative. Get as close as possible to the people most involved and tell their story. Empower people to tell their own story in their own way rather than framing it through your brand voice. Telling inspiring stories will inspire others.

Frame your Social Purpose - why you developed it, the origins, drivers, needs, rationale, triumphs, set-backs - as a story with a beginning, a middle and an aspiration.

Verity London

Employee voice Giving your people a voice demonstrates that you trust them and are listening. Giving people a voice is empowering; giving them ownership around Social Purpose even more so. At the early stages of developing your Social Purpose, gather employee ideas on how best the purpose could be developed, implemented and communicated across and beyond the organisation.

Recent work has shown how employee ambassadors sharing stories they are proud of via their own social networks (earned media) is likely to have much greater reach, penetration and effectiveness than paid for campaigns.

Consumers hearing direct from employees and seeing employees engaged in authentic communication builds trust and encourages a positive feedback loop.

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Responsive Short, frequent, visual, snack-able content will encourage buy in from stakeholders and consumers.

Speaking on a panel at the Festival of Marketing in 2018, Simon Coley, Co-founder and Creative Director of soft drinks brand Karma Cola explained that sharing the brand’s story and purpose has given consumers something to think about, which is helping it compete with sector giants such Coca-Cola. Through the Karma Cola Foundation, the brand ensures the communities that support the production of its products benefit from its sales. Karma’s authentic story, sharing and visuals have inspired consumers to create their own artworks. Coley comments: ‘If we’re prepared to let go some of that control and make it a co-creative process then it creates an exciting opportunity for us. We’ve realised we’ve just got to watch what comes back to us rather than force unnatural behaviour.’

Pro-active Put your Social Purpose at the centre of your communications. In particular, develop engaging content that raises awareness of the social challenges behind your Social Purpose. In this way you inform and inspire stakeholders and audiences, avoid the trap of self–promotion and create better connections with your chosen partners, whether they are charities, NGO’s, educators or other corporate partners.

In addition, add calls to action to your communications. Calls to action are a common feature of movements and charitable activities, yet too few brands realise that mobilising all their stakeholders to get involve and contribute to a Social Purpose can deliver results, realise potential and build stronger connections and commitment. When Social Purpose native Patagonia responded to President Trump’s order to reduce the size of two national monuments in Utah, they replaced their website’s usual homepage with a confrontational headline, followed by the company’s stance on the issue, further information and suggestions to donate. As well as being at the heart of Patagonia’s Social Purpose it gave people resources to use and actions to take.

Provide data, tools, entertainment and education. The problem you are addressing may be large and complex but don’t leave people feeling overwhelmed and apathetic. Help people understand exactly what they can do to make a difference.

Calls to action need to be simple and explicit, but are all part of raising awareness and putting your brand at the centre of a wider and important conversation.

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Conclusion Developing authentic Social Purpose within brands and organisations is one of the strategic and communication challenges of our time. Get it right – and the rewards are good for society, for employees, and for company growth. Both consumers and employees want to associate with brands that have genuine Social Purpose - and to see them succeed. Every brand can discover its unique social value proposition. All it needs is the passion and drive to get on board.

Verity LondonVerity London is a Creative Content agency. We help brands uncover, communicate and share their Social Purpose. Intelligent brands are realising that to grow and succeed they must have a deeper relationship with people and communities. Now, more than ever, organisations must be authentic and ethical to win consumer respect and loyalty.

With a track record of effective campaigns and content for business, charities and the public sector, we combine inspiring creative with innovative strategy. We bring people and brands together to drive positive social change.

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ReachOut Inspire people with your Social Purpose

Bring your Social Purpose to life with brilliant content, powerful messages and authentic, creative storytelling.

We develop themes, brand narratives, concepts and editorial to create integrated, multi-channel campaigns that engage your varied audiences, build advocates for your Social Purpose and support positive social change.

#bethechange Talk is not enough. Brands, charities and individuals have to be the change that communities need.

StepUp Integrate your Social Purpose with brand and marcomms

We explore the implications of communicating your Social Purpose, taking into account existing brand, marketing and communications.

We roadmap objectives, timelines and resources and assess risk factors and in-house capabilities. Content planning ensures relevant and effective comms across different platforms and channels.

#berealTrust has to be earned.Ask the right questions.Find authentic stories.Understand what matters.

JumpStart Your Social Purpose journey starts here

We look at the impact your brand or organisation can make on society, identifying where you can add value as a business, how and why.

Research, competitor analysis, audits and facilitated strategic work with your teams capture ideas and enable you to uncover a Social Purpose integrated with core business activities.

#beboldThink big. Generate thought-provoking, original, relevant ideas that capture people’s imagination.



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Client comments ‘Over the last twelve years Verity London has helped us bring our brand and purpose to life, through innovative content strategy and storytelling. Together, we have developed a consistent and strategic approach to our communications across channels. Their creative thinking and planning has allowed us to build awareness and change perceptions of our brand, and engage with audiences we’ve been previously unable to reach. They are passionate about our purpose and their collaborative way of working makes them feel like an extension to our team’

Head of Brand and Creative, Butlin’s

‘ The team…have been instrumental in helping to enhance our digital communication strategy. Most recently, they have helped us pioneer videos for our global customer base, spanning multiple languages and cultures…and helped us build deeper customer engagement. Their vision, production expertise and professionalism has been invaluable’

Head of Marketing and Direct Sales, AXA PPP International

‘ The brilliance of the JumpStart Programme is that you realise that your Social Purpose is sat in front of you every day, doing great things, yet not necessarily underlying your daily existence. I don’t think any of us expected to end up with the Social Purpose we did. The organic way in which the programme develops enabled us to carefully sift through a mountain of ideas until we reached where we needed to be. It’s not something we could have achieved alone, but it has been priceless. I don’t think any of us could have foreseen how powerfully what we discovered would come to underpin everything that we do’.

CEO, The Happy Puzzle Company

‘ Way beyond our expectations and exemplified our vision. The levels of professionalism, commitment, innovation and ingenuity are superb’.

UK Marketing Director, CGI

‘We are extremely pleased with the final content you have created for us! It has been a pleasure working with you as you have listened to our requirements and helped us achieve some great video content for our website. Extremely professional and great attention to detail’.

Digital Marketing, Clarion Housing Group

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References 1. Purpose 2020, Kantar Consulting 2018

2. Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone To Take Action, Simon Sinek 2011, Penguin Random House

3. Grow: How Ideals Power Growth and Profit at the World’s 50 Greatest Companies, Jim Stengel 2011, Deckle Edge

4. The Problem With Brand Purpose, Richard Shotton 2017, HuffPost

5. 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer, Edelman Intelligence 2018

6. Purpose Marketing - Moving away from a celebration of intent to measurement of real societal outcomes, Dentsu Aegis Network

7. www.marketingweek.com/2018/01/12/cadbury-ditches-joy-positioning/

8. 2018 Cone/Porter Novelli Purpose Study: How to Build Deeper Bonds, Amplify Your Message and Expand the Consumer Base, Cone 2018

9. The Deloitte Millennial Survey 2018, Deloitte

10. State of the American Workplace, 2017 Gallup

11. How Millennials Want to Work and Live, 2018 Gallup

12. 28 Years of Stock Market Data Shows a Link Between Employee Satisfaction and Long-Term Value, Alex Edmans 2016, Harvard Business Review (HBR)

13. Engaging Your Employees Is Good, but Don’t Stop There, Eric Garton and Michael Mankins 2015 Harvard Business Review (HBR)

14. Covestro i3 Index - A view from the top: U.S. Fortune 1000 CEOs and C-Suite Executives on Social Purpose and its impact on business , SSRS and Covestro LLC 2018

15. The Future Of Work: Corporate Social Responsibility Attracts Top Talent, Jeanne Meister 2012, Forbes

16. 2016 Cone Communications Millennial Employee Engagement Study, Cone 2016

17. PwC’s 19th CEO Survey, PwC 2016

18. Corporate Purpose and Financial Performance Claudine Gartenberg, Andrea Prat and George Serafeim 2016, Harvard Business School Working Paper No. 17-023

19. Business Model Generation, Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur and Alan Smith and 470 practitioners from 45 countries, 2010, John Wiley & Sons, Inc

20. Engaging for success: enhancing performance through employee engagement: A report to Government, David MacLeod and Nita Clarke 2009, Office of Public Sector Information

21. The CMO Survey 2015, Deloitte, the American Marketing Association and the Fuqua School of Business 2015

22. Championing Change in the Age of Social Media, Sprout Social 2017

23. Brand Activism: From Purpose to Action by Christian Sarkar and Philip Kotler, 2018, Idea Bite Press

24. www.cebglobal.com/marketing-communications/internal-communications-awards.html

25. The New CEO Activists, Aaron K. Chatterji and Michael W. Toffel, 2018, Harvard Business Review (HBR)

26. www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

27. www.inc.com/john-hall/7-social-media-trends-brands-need-to-know-to-prepare-for-2019.html

28. 2016 Workforce Purpose Index: Purpose at Work, 2016, Imperative and LinkedIn

29. www.marketingweek.com/2018/10/11/karma-cola-competing-coke/

30. BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2018, Kantar Millward Brown 2018

31. The Business Case for Purpose, Harvard Business Review Analytic Services Report, 2015 Harvard Business Review (HBR)

32. www.meaningful-brands.com/en

33. www.marketingweek.com/2018/04/25/brand-purpose-internally/

Part Three

Contact Verity London to see how we can help you uncover, communicate and share your Social Purpose.

Verity London We Hub2b Redbourne AveLondon N3 2BSUK

T+ +44 020 8445 8324 E [email protected]

www.veritylondon.co.uk

Know someone else who might like to learn more about Social Purpose? Invite others to download this white paper.

©Verity London Ltd 2019

This white paper is for general information purposes only. Any use of this information is at your own risk. Verity London may have patent or patent pending applications, trademarks, copyrights and other intellectual property rights covering the subject matter of this publication.

#bebold #bereal #bethechange


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