Amid growing competition for consumer attention driven by social media, consumers increasingly expect brands to act authentically, a point reflected by Melissa Vella, WA State Manager at the Advertising Council Australia.
“Authenticity is everything. Consumers don’t take brands at their word anymore – they’re looking for consistency and real action,” she says.
Can purposeful communication by advertisers establish trust, or will it be mistaken for self-interested positioning?
For Barry Walker, Managing Partner at VML Perth, the answer depends on the business behind the brand.
“There’s no such thing as brand purpose,” he said.
“Brands can’t be purpose-driven unless they have the privilege of coming from a truly purpose-led business.
A strong example is Brownes Dairy, which in 2021 launched its purpose-led initiative “Doing Better Dairy Together” (VML).
The company successfully launched revamped products, improved supplier arrangements, and ran the campaign “A Natural Silence” during the AFL Grand Final.
The results: brand recognition over 209 per cent, 70 per cent of viewers rated it best for kids, trial rate 71 per cent, and Brownes grew 19.4 per cent by volume and 11.1 per cent by value, outperforming the category.
Where purpose can go wrong
Walker identifies two key risks in purpose-led marketing: losing connection to the business’s core objectives and failing to remain truthful in how that purpose is communicated.
He emphasises that purpose must be implemented over time and is fundamental to the business, not just campaigns.
“The more you build, the better your brand and business perform,” he says.
Brands that rely solely on positive messaging without backing it up with action risk losing credibility, as consumers increasingly expect tangible proof rather than promises.
While industry standards help create accountability, trust is ultimately determined by brand behaviour.
Bio: Melissa Isabel Martens is a second-year Bachelor of Information Technology and Design student at the Technical University of Lübeck, Germany. She is currently on exchange at the Edith Cowan University.
