Purpose is the new branding: understanding conscientious purpose-driven marketing and its impact on brand outcomes
| Date | 17 June 2024 |
| Pages | 761-782 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-08-2023-4667 |
| Published date | 17 June 2024 |
| Author | Teresa Fernandes,Francisco Guzmán,Mafalda Mota |
Purpose is the new branding: understanding
conscientious purpose-driven marketing and its
impact on brand outcomes
Teresa Fernandes
School of Economics and Management, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
Francisco Guzmán
Department of Marketing, University of North Texas (UNT), Denton, Texas, USA, and
Mafalda Mota
School of Economics and Management, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
Abstract
Purpose –Consumers increasingly expect brands to have a social purpose. Yet, guidelines on how to effectively engage in conscient ious purpose-
driven branding are lacking. This study aims to better understand what the key drivers of a successful conscientious purpose-driven branding
strategy are and what is its impact on key brand outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach –Data was gathered using a self-administered survey, answered by 670 young adults belonging to generations Y
and Z. The study integrates in a single moderated-mediation model, tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling, the joint effects
of cause–brand–consumer congruences, cause-brand authenticity and brand image, on consumers’intention to purchase and recommend the brand.
Findings –Consumer-brand congruence mediates the path from cause-brand congruence and authenticity to brand image, which in turn impacts
purchase and recommendation intentions, with authenticity playing a dominant role. Moreover, for consumers highly congruent with the cause/
purpose, the direct effect of cause-brand congruence on brand image becomes non-significant and only works through consumer-brand congruence.
Originality/value –Theoretically, this study contributes to a better understanding of how and when conscientiouspurpose-driven branding can be
effective. Its findings further advance prior research, by providing an alternative path anchored on cause-brand authenticity to explain positive
effects of conscientious purpose-driven marketing on brand outcomes. Moreover, it challenges prior assumptions regardingthe impact of consumer-
cause congruence on the effectiveness of these strategies. Finally, it highlights that cause-consumer and brand-consumer congruencies also play a
role, offering an integrated, triadic view of conscientious purpose-driven branding strategies. Managerially, it provides insights to brand managers
wishing to successfully implement these strategies and better understand the role of brands as “purpose-driven entities”.
Keywords Conscientious purpose-driven branding, Cause-brand congruence, Cause-brand authenticity, Brand image, Self-brand congruity,
Consumer-cause congruence, Brand loyalty
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
As consumers across the world are becoming more socially
conscious, brands are increasingly expected to have a “purpose”
beyond profit maximization and face increased pressure to take
social and environmental stands (Aaker, 2023;Parris and
Guzm
an, 2023). For example, Dove, as part of Unilever’s
Sustainable Living Brands, has been promoting real beauty
through the self-esteem project and Patagonia has been an active
supporter of environmental causes (Ind and Iglesias, 2022;
Mirzaei et al., 2022). These stands not only represent their
corporate social responsibility (CSR), sustainability or
sociopolitical activism, but also help define their brand purpose,
the focus of internal and external communications and guide
their brand strategies. Albeit organizations can have a purpose
that goes beyond financials that does not involve addressing
societal changes, truly purpose-driven brands do (Aaker, 2023;
Ind and Iglesias, 2022). In fact, “purpose”was elected a key
The current issue and full text archiveof this journal is available on Emerald
Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/1061-0421.htm
Journal of Product & Brand Management
33/6 (2024) 761–782
Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 1061-0421]
[DOI 10.1108/JPBM-08-2023-4667]
© Teresa Fernandes, Francisco Guzmán and Mafalda Mota. Published by
Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative
Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce,
distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both
commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to
the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be
seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
The authors would like to thank all three anonymous reviewers for their
(in)valuable feedback and insightful comments throughout the reviewprocess.
Funding: During this research, CEF.UP has been financed by Portuguese
public funds through FCT –Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P.,
in the framework of the project with reference UIDB/04105/2020.
Received 23 August2023
Revised 15 March 2024
12 May 2024
Accepted 12 May 2024
761
concept to consider if aiming for success in the 21st century
(Hajdas and Kłeczek, 2021) and brands’social relevance and
impact have been coined as a trending topic in branding research
(Golob et al., 2020). Accordingly, the Marketing Science
Institute elected the impact of brand purpose on consumption
behaviour as a 2022–2024 research priority (MSI, 2022).
Purpose-led branding (Prasad,2011) aims to unite a brand’s
core values with the right cause makingit a part of its brand
identity, raise awareness, build emotional bonds with its
customers and positivelyimpact a societal need. Brand purpose
is not only about the cause that the business supports and seeks
to improve, but also about the difference the brand aims to
make in the world and how it is communicated (Mirzaei et al.,
2021;Thaichon et al.,2022). For example, brands like
Patagonia or Lush not only market a cause but carry it through
everything they do and say over time (Goloband Podnar, 2019;
Schmidt et al., 2022). Ultimately, being good pays off. Brands
with a purpose grow at twice the rate of those without any
higher-order societal aim and are more successful in building
goodwill among customers(Kantar, 2020).
In recent years, consumers have expressed a preference for
brands that reflect their social and personal values (Podnar and
Golob, 2024). Seventy-five percent of US consumers want
companies to positively impact societies by addressing societal
issues and 69% are less likely to support those that are only in
business to make money. American consumers are also more
likely to think positively of (89%), trust (86%) and be loyal to
(83%)brandsthatleadwithpurpose(CONE/Porter Novelli,
2019, 2021). Sixty-six percent would switch to a product offered
by a purpose-driven company, a figure that goes up to 91% when
Millennials are polled (CONE/Porter Novelli, 2018). Recent
data, however, shows a slight decline on the percentage of
American consumers that believe brands should articulate and be
vocal about their sociopolitical stands (Gallup, 2023). Research
alsoshowsthattheirbeliefsarenotalwaysaguidetotheir
purchase behaviour, as consumers question brands’authenticity,
particularly if a brand is perceived to be “woke-washing”(Ahmad
et al., 2024;Rohmanue and Jacobi, 2024).
Taking a stand on social or environmental issues is tempting
for brands that want to remain relevant, particularly when it
comes to appealing to a new generation of consumers, highly
aware of these issues. Companies thus need to decide when and
how to engage in purpose-led branding. Yet, what drives the
perceived success of such type of brand strategy remains a puzzle
to be solved. Scholarly insights are thus neededto understand the
role of brands as “purpose-driven entities”(Swaminathan et al.,
2020), given the fact that some well-intentioned purpose-led
branding strategies simply go unnoticed or even backfire, without
creating business value for the firm (Rodríguez-Vil
aand
Bharadwaj, 2017). For example, the consequences of an
unfulfilled “purpose”promise can have more negative
consequences than simple woke-washing (Ahmad et al.,2024).
Moreover, although brands that consumers see as having a
positive impact are reported to outperform other brands, growing
up to three times faster than their competitors (Deloitte, 2019),it
remains unclear how purpose-driven branding may drive sales
and purchase intention (McColl and Ritch, 2020). This study
thus addresses two research questions: what are the key drivers of
a successful purpose-driven branding strategy, and what is its
impact on three key brand outcomes –brand image, purchase
and recommendation intentions?
This research posits that to explain the positive effects of
purpose-driven branding on brand outcomes, it is necessary to
focus beyond cause-brand fit and authenticity and understand
the role that cause-consumer and brand-consumer congruencies
also play. To analyse this integrated, triadic view of purpose-
driven branding strategies, a comprehensive moderated-
mediation model is developed to examine the role that cause-
brand congruence and authenticity play on improving consumer-
brand congruence and brand image, and its impact on
consumers’intention to purchase and recommend a brand. This
research further shows how the process unfolds and is contingent
to different levels of consumer-cause congruence. The study
focuses on Gen Y and Z consumers, cohorts who are more
socially aware than previous generations (Kadic-Maglajlic et al.,
2019) and thus deemed relevant for this study.
Contributions are manifold. Firstly, the research contributes to
a better understanding of how and when can brand purpose be
effective, as well as of its impact on consumer decision-making
(MSI, 2022). Secondly, it emphasizes the importance of
authentic purpose-driven branding for brand behavioural
outcomes. While previous research on cause-related marketing
(CrM) and CSR has considered cause-brand fitascriticaltoyield
positive consumer responses (Guzm
an and Davis, 2017;Sung
et al.,2021), the findings provide an alternative path based on
cause-brand authenticity to explain the effect of cause-related
strategies on brand outcomes. Thirdly, it adds to existing
research by examining the joint effects of cause–brand–consumer
congruence in purpose-driven branding, as most research on
CrM has not studied consumers’role as active contributors to its
effectiveness. However, in a purpose-driven context, it is
reasonable to expect that consumers’attitudes and behaviours
towards the brand depend not only on the cause-brand
association but also on consumers’own connections with these
two agents. Because no known study has yet examined these
three types of congruencies simultaneously in a single framework,
this research ultimately contributes to the existing literature by
offering an integrated, triadic view of purpose-driven branding.
Conscientious purpose-driven branding
As consumers are becoming more socially conscious (Parris
and Guzm
an, 2023), brands are increasinglyexpected to have a
“purpose”beyond wealth creation and are thus becoming
“purpose-driven entities”(Swaminathan et al.,2020).A young
generation of prosocial consumers, regarded as the “purpose-
driven”generation, is especially drawn to purposeful brands
(Hsu, 2017). Therefore, purpose is increasingly seen as a key
driver of brands’competitive edge through its impact on
societal needs and people’slives (Hajdas and Kłeczek, 2021). It
is also a way for brands to broaden their role and remain
relevant, to create meaningful emotional connections and to
engage its stakeholders, motivating them to spread the brand’s
message and influencing their buying decisions (Iglesias and
Ind, 2020). This “purpose-driven”generation is even
influencing B2B brands to adopt a conscientious purpose-
driven branding approachas they expect to work for companies
that make a difference(Guzm
an et al., 2024).
Understanding conscientious purpose-driven marketing
Teresa Fernandes, Francisco Guzmán and Mafalda Mota
Journal of Product & Brand Management
Volume 33 · Number 6 · 2024 · 761–782
762
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