Business today, when it achieves any kind of scale — prominence, reach, “importance” — automatically assumes additional responsibility. Like it or not, business is a role model. Any success, or how the market rewards brands, comes with real, and increasingly urgent, responsibility.
Responsibility not only for an understanding of brands’ relative place in people’s lives (i.e. commerce, capitalism), but also the business’s impact in (with, and on) the world at large. It gets big real fast, doesn’t it? Because of that, those of us in the business of building brands need to think just as big.
To paraphrase Yvon Chouinard, hater of (most) advertising and legendary founder of Patagonia, “Leading an examined life in business is a pain in the ass.”
Increasingly more valuable today, and for generations to come, is a business’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance. ESG is like a dashboard, monitoring a company’s impacts on people, community and resources. Company reporting on ESG efforts is a real thing now. And to a world and its audiences who are watching, these reports are ever more important and indicative of a brand’s real, not just perceived, value.
Until recently, activity in these areas, if it was even tracked or monitored at all, was relegated to simplistic PDFs nested in the least-visited corners of company websites. A chart here or there broke up long paragraphs of very grey copy. Which speaks volumes on how meaningful the general market valued them.
Things are much different now. Former bastions of values in government and much of society (religion, family, etc.) no longer hold the sway like they once did. Brands — and the companies behind them — are the network of north stars guiding best practices today. Creating change, righting wrongs, setting the future up for success.
Conversations, like those around ESG, are bigger. They are not simply, “Let’s take a look at the balance sheet.” They have much bigger picture implications. “Show me you know what your footprint looks like;” “Tell me how you are actively mitigating effects on climate change;” “What are your actions around equity and diversity in your company culture and your community;” “What is the real purpose behind your business?” And more.
Showcasing a company’s commitment to these practices with care and attention (and craft and pride) is one of the larger statements brands can make for their long-term success. It’s about why the exist and how.
Doing this, treating it not like an afterthought add-on to the everyday, but as an anchor for every single message, marketing investment, incredibly impressive campaign creates real, lasting, meaning. It gives weight, resonance. It builds a responsible brand — with purpose
Defining a position on these, and routinely, actively rolling them into business decisions, a brand isn’t simply “growing.” It is taking on as wide and vast a meaning as it can possibly have.
This is the value we work so hard on when building brands.
Like Yvon says, it is a lot of work. It's the real work we’re meant to be doing.
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Andy Askren
Creative Director / Partner at Grady Britton
You may be interested in our Making Brand Magic in Times of Change Series. Part 1 is here, and part 2 is here.