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Brand Purpose as a Cultural Entity Between Business and Society

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Social Entrepreneurship and Corporate Social Responsibility

Part of the book series: Management for Professionals ((MANAGPROF))

Abstract

Consumers today bring in a range of societal, ethical, and economic expectations, some of which may be aligned with and some of which may conflict with the actions of the firm. In this regard, Brand Purpose today represents a cultural entity whose inherent meanings morph across different consumer groups. As such, Brand Purpose no longer resides under the sole strategic control of the firm but rather is socially co-constructed by corporate executives and consumer groups in their daily encounters, interactions, and conversation routines. Building on Brand Purpose as the recently appointed marketing word of the year 2018, this chapter delves into how current massive technologically mediated consumer activism is shaping how brands identify and execute their Brand Purpose at societal and ethical levels to be attuned to increasingly cogent societal expectations of consumers. In so doing, this chapter will illustrate some recent compelling case studies of brands that have leveraged on their Brand Purpose to enhance their societal relevance.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    https://www.ana.net/content/show/id/51684

  2. 2.

    https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/strategy/Brand-purpose?c=strat_competitiveagilnovalue_10437227&n=mrl_1118

  3. 3.

    https://www.fastcompany.com/90293137/brand-purpose-is-a-lie

  4. 4.

    https://hbr.org/2018/06/how-marketers-can-connect-profit-and-purpose

  5. 5.

    https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/sep/04/nike-controversial-colin-kaepernick-campaign-divisive

  6. 6.

    http://www.ethicalcorp.com/why-nike-was-right-feature-colin-kaepernick-its-controversial-new-ad

  7. 7.

    https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/sep/04/nike-controversial-colin-kaepernick-campaign-divisive

  8. 8.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/01/15/gillette-takes-toxic-masculinity-new-ad-rebranding-metoo-era-inviting-backlash/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.5da644e828e3

  9. 9.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/15/gillette-metoo-ad-on-toxic-masculinity-cuts-deep-with-mens-rights-activists

  10. 10.

    https://memeburn.com/2019/01/gillette-toxic-masculinity-metoo-ad/

  11. 11.

    https://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/soul-branding/317182

  12. 12.

    https://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/soul-branding/317182

  13. 13.

    https://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/soul-branding/317182

  14. 14.

    https://www.glossier.com

  15. 15.

    https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/20/how-emily-weiss-took-glossier-from-beauty-

  16. 16.

    https://producthabits.com/how-glossier-turned-into-a-400-million-business-in-four-years/

  17. 17.

    https://producthabits.com/how-glossier-turned-into-a-400-million-business-in-four-years/

  18. 18.

    https://www.glossier.com/about

  19. 19.

    https://producthabits.com/how-glossier-turned-into-a-400-million-business-in-four-years/

  20. 20.

    https://www.iris.xyz/sell/brand-strategy/how-legos-purpose-made-it-the-most-powerful-brand-in-the-world

  21. 21.

    https://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/lego-group/mission-and-vision

  22. 22.

    https://www.iris.xyz/sell/brand-strategy/how-legos-purpose-made-it-the-most-powerful-brand-in-the-world

  23. 23.

    http://purposecollaborative.com/redefining-purpose-in-the-activist-era/

  24. 24.

    https://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/responsibility/

  25. 25.

    https://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/responsibility/

  26. 26.

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonmainwaring/2016/08/11/how-lego-rebuilt-itself-as-a-purposeful-and-sustainable-brand/#bd956576f3c4

  27. 27.

    https://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/responsibility/

  28. 28.

    https://www.greenbiz.com/article/lego-builds-change-through-its-youngest-stakeholders

  29. 29.

    https://www.greenbiz.com/article/lego-builds-change-through-its-youngest-stakeholders

  30. 30.

    https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-did-happen-united-steve-yaeger

  31. 31.

    http://www.advancebusinessconsulting.com/advance!/strategic-alignment/strategic-alignment-business-cases/the-rise-of-southwest-airlines.aspx

  32. 32.

    https://www.humansynergistics.com/blog/culture-university/details/culture-university/2018/05/29/southwest-airlines-reveals-5-culture-lessons

  33. 33.

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/carminegallo/2014/01/21/southwest-airlines-motivates-its-employees-with-a-purpose-bigger-than-a-paycheck/#2d24c1cf5376

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Correspondence to Rossella C. Gambetti .

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Biraghi, S., Gambetti, R.C., Quigley, S. (2020). Brand Purpose as a Cultural Entity Between Business and Society. In: Marques, J., Dhiman, S. (eds) Social Entrepreneurship and Corporate Social Responsibility. Management for Professionals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39676-3_26

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