Purpose-Driven Marketing

Gone are the days when companies and brands shied away from addressing any societal issues in their communications and campaigns. Consumers too expected brands to 'stay in their lane' and not preach about something they weren't experts in. But it's 2023 and research suggests that around 70% of consumers want brands to take a stand and support social causes. More consumers across the globe show affinity to brands with an authentic purpose at their core.

Sports fans mirror this trend as well. Nielsen revealed that sports fans are looking up to their favourite teams and leagues to support causes like climate change, discrimination, and inequality.

This calls for a change in the traditional revenue-based marketing paradigms to a more service and purpose-driven ideology.

What's your WHY?

How often have you heard companies positioning themselves as 'the best sports shoe' in the market or claim that they 'are better than their competitors in all aspects' and brushed it off as just another marketing gimmick?

On the other hand, how often have you heard nothing about the actual products in an ad but the tagline 'Just Do It' or that a team is 'More than a club' or 'The People's Club' and felt inspired?

What's the difference? One is trying to tell you what they sell and the other conveys why they do what they do.

A strong and clear purpose is the key driving factor to foster long-term loyalty and consumer trust.

How do you do it?

The three core pillars of communication in any purpose-driven business are Authenticity, Consistency and Storytelling.

Authenticity
Authenticity is not just a buzzword; it's the heart of purpose-driven communication. Your social stance must align with your core values. This alignment is the foundation upon which your purpose stands.

Businesses can go wrong in trying to please everyone by jumping on the 'trending' societal causes and inadvertently indulging in social washing.

However, it is better to focus on quality over quantity. Carefully crafting your purpose and staying true to it before engaging with any cause is the key.

Consistency
In a digitally engaged society, the need for a consistent tone of voice across all touchpoints is essential. Your purpose-driven messages should flow seamlessly across various channels, reinforcing your core beliefs and values. This commitment to uniformity is what builds a robust and reliable brand image, one that resonates with your audience on a deep and lasting level.

For example, Patagonia's consistent commitment to environmental sustainability isn't just present in their products; it's ingrained in every message they convey. From their product descriptions to their campaigns, the brand speaks one language—authentic dedication to their purpose.

Storytelling
To bring everything together and amplify your purpose, embrace the power of storytelling. A well-crafted narrative is a bridge that connects your brand to the audience's emotions and aspirations. It's not about just relaying facts; it's about painting a vivid picture that stirs emotions and builds a strong bond.

Nike is the standard bearer in authentic and inspirational storytelling. Their campaigns strongly highlight social issues whilst inspiring the audience through a series of emotional narratives that showcase strength, resilience, and determination. Founder Phil Knight's eloquent description of Nike as "the inner athlete that cheers you on" encapsulates this perfectly.

Purpose-Driven Marketing Funnel

The concept of guiding consumers down a sales-driven path has existed for a long time, conceptualised in various forms of 'marketing funnels'. Let's see how this model can achieve your purpose-driven goals!

Awareness

• Objective: To introduce your purpose and educate fans on the social issues you care about and align with. Authenticity is the key to this foundational phase.
• Action: Share informative articles, videos or player content on your social channels addressing the issues and their prevalence.
• KPIs: Views, Clicks, SEO rankings. Monitoring these metrics can provide insights into the reach and engagement level of your awareness content.
• Example: Arsenal FC's commitment to tackle youth violence led them to create a 'No More Red' campaign. They created awareness about knife crime by utilising all channels (social media, supporter groups, players).

Interest

• Objective: The goal should be to spark curiosity among your fanbase with authentic content and consistent messaging across all your channels to establish trust in your brand.
• Action: Share your purpose and stay true to your core beliefs by avoiding comments on the causes that currently are not a natural fit. Conduct polls or surveys to get the audience's pulse on societal issues and determine areas of shared values.
• KPIs: Social media engagement, website traffic, survey/poll participation.
• Example: NBA's commitment to racial equality and justice is reflected in their social channels that highlight the issue with interviews by athletes to capture the audience's attention. Additionally, their merchandise line with positive messaging and "I can't breathe" warm-up t-shirts raise interest and awareness among the fans.

Consideration

• Objective: The goal is to deepen your relationship with the audience and get them to consider concrete actions. Demonstrate the steps being taken as part of your commitment to purpose by highlighting the initiatives you engage in.
• Action: Share case studies of how your organisation is leading a positive change in society. Highlight partnerships and initiatives to emphasise the intent to drive community welfare.
• KPIs: Click-throughs, Page views, and Time on Page.
• Example: Tottenham FC and Sky highlighted their commitment to environmental change by publishing a detailed report around their 'Game Zero' initiative. The report not only brings out the impact of this campaign but also identifies areas of improvement and a blueprint on how the club plan to action it.

Conversion

• Objective: In this phase, encourage your fans to take tangible actions to support your purpose-driven initiatives.
• Action: Encourage newsletter sign-ups, promote cause-related products and services, enable donation opportunities and offer incentives to your audience to engage in purpose-driven initiatives.
• KPIs: Product sales, fundraiser signups and donations made.
• Example: Covid-19 pandemic saw the Premier League clubs announcing donations to support the NHS and food banks encouraging fans to buy merchandise and other official club products to help the greater cause.

Loyalty

• Objective: This is the phase where you nurture a long-term relationship with your fans who share common values.
• Action: Offer exclusive experiences and content to loyal, purpose-driven fans. Celebrate fan stories not only to reinforce the shared values but also to provide a platform for the fans to express themselves, in turn strengthening affinity and loyalty.
• KPIs: Community growth and engagement, Loyalty program sign-ups, Fan generated content.
• Example: Premier League, in the UK, developed educational programmes and resources as part of their Rainbow Laces efforts. They shared fan stories and highlighted the impact of the initiative on the lives of the LGBTQ+ community.

Advocacy

• Objective: The final phase of the funnel is to let the fans play their part. The co-creative nature of this stage means allowing fans to actively champion and promote the shared purpose.
• Action: Equip fans with platforms and resources to advocate your campaigns and goals. Identify key advocates and empower them to create activations and collaborations.
• KPIs: Social mentions, User-generated content creation and reach, and Influencer activations.
• Example: MLS partnered with You Can Play encouraged fans to share Pride Night photos and provided signage and social graphics for fans to support diversity and inclusion.

Benefits and Challenges

While there are many benefits to purpose-driven marketing for brand authenticity and trust, there are certain challenges that sports organisations should be aware of in their cause-driven journey.

Despite the challenges, it is worth kick-starting your purpose-driven journey in your marketing campaigns and showing that commitment to drive positive change. Focus on creating an authentic narrative that aligns with your values and core beliefs and sit back patiently to witness the power of purpose yield long-lasting results.