Pitch CMO Summit: ‘It is important to tie the purpose with the DNA of the brand’

At the Pitch CMO Summit 2021, the first panel discussion explored the topic ‘Creating A Purpose-Driven And Resilient Brand’. In the current market, consumers are increasingly looking at investing in brands that reflect their values, companies that lead with purpose and are built around them can achieve continued loyalty, consistency, and relevance in the lives of consumers.

The panel highlighted the challenges in articulating the brand’s purpose and how it can be used as a unifying compass for business transformation and growth. The session chair for this panel discussion was Rathi Gangappa, Chief Executive Officer, Starcom India. The members on the panel were Amitabh Pande, Marketing Head, IKEA India; Esha Nagar, Managing Director, Nepa India; Manoj Agarwal, Co-Founder, Chief Product & Operating Officer,  Xoxoday; Pankaj Sharma, Director, Consumer Products Division, L’Oréal India; Ritu Gupta, Country Marketing Director, Dell Technologies - India and Sidharth Pal, Head of Marketing - India, Under Armour.

Starting the conversation on brand purpose, Nagar remarked, “Due to the pandemic, everything has changed from the consumer’s perspective. At Nepa, we have seen the shift both in the consumer narrative and also in the brand narrative. We were breaking norms along the way on what we prioritize our day with. Consumers have become very socially conscious and it has become very challenging for brands. The challenges have been to understand the new purchase pattern, purchase cycle, and break in the new consumer sentiment in terms of how we are thinking altogether.”

Pande, talking about how IKEA is anchoring brand purpose, said, “For a brand like IKEA, it has purpose right from the word ‘go’. For us, brand purpose for the last 75 years has always been business as usual. From a customer point of view, our purpose is built into the commercial idea. Our vision and purpose since we launched in the Indian market is to create a better everyday life for many people. Giving high-quality great design products to consumers at affordable prices is at the heart of our customer proposition. From a co-working perspective, we are 50-50 men and women across all functions and levels. That is by design, even in functions like logistics we make sure we have a 50-50 balance in gender. Coming to sustainability it is right from the design of our products to the sourcing from the backend and including the finishing product and lastly encouraging people to live sustainable lives at home.”

Gupta, sharing her perspective, said, “Dell technologies is a 27-year-old brand. The whole brand was built on the passion that everyone, everywhere should have easy access to technology. This ideology forms the basis and how we define our purpose. Our vision is defined as delivering a better tomorrow. We also believe that technology can address a lot of complex societal issues whether it is education, healthcare, sustainability, or even the digital economy. Technology brands are doing major commercial marketing to demonstrate the value of their product which would eventually help in technology education to the consumer. Technology education is even imparted to teachers in schools by us in different avatars for more than five years now. Making teaching more interactive and curating lesson plans through technology. We believe that we are combining technology with the human spirit that is where the combination comes through and would like to nurture. The behavior shift towards technology was one of the major impacts of the Covid-19 in the Indian Markets.”

Sharma talking about Garnier’s sustainable actions and L’Oréal brand initiatives shared, “The strength of the brand is very much based on the purpose. The kind of crisis we have had in the last four years has accentuated the need to have a very sharp purpose. Today, in the world we live in, consumers are demanding much more from their brands. Before we could sell a brand on its performance, power, and saliency. But in today’s world that is no longer enough. COVID has made this trend more prominent, and secondly digital communication. It is a two-way street now, the consumer can have a meaningful dialogue with brands. Today, no brand can hide and is pushing the boundaries for brands. An example from one of our brand initiatives is that Garnier has set a target to be zero-virgin plastic in all packaging by 2025 with all of it either reusable or recyclable material. It has also been certified by cruelty-free international for its commitment against animal testing. Similarly, for L’Oréal Paris we have taken a very strong cause of street harassment educating a bystander on how they can prevent it and the action that can be taken. It is important to tie the purpose with the DNA of the brand.” 

Pal taking us through Under Armour’s brand journey and his plans to bring brand purpose to life said, “We are a 14-year-old brand from the ’90s. We are fairly young. In India, we launched in 2019 and opened our first store. What COVID has made us realize is that you need a bigger purpose if you are a brand or personal as well. Sports helps you to be better. Team sports make you learn many things. For a brand, it makes it exciting to be in this space. Under Armour’s core purpose is to make you better on the field while playing sports. That fulfills your purpose of delivering better products and helping athletes at becoming better at what they do. Our brand ambassadors are authentic people who bring out authentic change. An example is a trainer Zoey who conducts a class for 100 women. She has changed the lives of women who have been going through a lot of post-pregnancy weight. Her passion drives us to help her in whatever way we can. That is where our purpose comes through. Our motive is to serve our purpose with the athlete and through that athlete help others who are motivated to get into a healthy routine.”

Agarwal, from a start-up point of view, said, “Many times you are not a purpose first company and this purpose gets acquired over time. When you talk about the early stage of a company, I pose this question: How can I see the world when I’m barely seeing myself? That’s a key question in an entrepreneur’s mind. First, you need to establish yourself, and then only you can help others. Otherwise, whatever purpose you build for others will not be sustainable nor long-term. In the initial five years, we were navigating through our whole journey, product market share, and customer preferences. Over the last three years, we’ve established ourselves and now we are focused on finding our purpose and creating an impact. We are purpose-acquired now and have the bandwidth to do it. We are in the business of human motivation. Human motivation is key. We aim to encourage ingredients for motivation, it’s a simple word but hard to build as there’s a scarcity of motivation in human beings. It is about driving productivity and the ingredients of motivation. We have found our purpose on the way, finding a balance regarding our motto of gratitude, thankfulness, and appreciation, both on the personal front and professional.”

Speaking about ensuring consistency in brand purpose, Sharma pointed out that the Garnier Green Beauty initiative is our journey towards contributing to a better and more sustainable planet, while also creating a community of our consumers and supporters who can take this journey with us.

On a concluding note, Agarwal said, “Many companies have walked the talk, most of us are busy in the what, how, and why. But purpose and profit must co-exist.”