Unilever's Esi Eggleston Bracey Talks Truth about Brand Purpose

John Wolfe How can brands authentically attain purposeEsi Eggleston Bracey For a brand to authentically attain purpose consider two questions First what is your brand already well known for And second where are there large unmet human societal or planetary needs An authentic brand purpose is found at the intersection of these two questions This will help you discover where your brand can authentically add value and make an impactImportantly brands need to act Many think about purpose as whyamp160a brand exists But at Unilever purpose is beyond the why it39s aboutamp160whatamp160we do In fact we reference quotBrand Sayquot what content messages we communicate to our audience vs quotBrand Doquotamp160More quotBrand Doquot drives authenticity and quotBrand Sayquot that highlights the quotBrand Doquotamp160can create a virtuous cycle of trust and impactWolfe How does your organization prove that brand purpose is critically important to a brand39s successful growthBracey We look at several factors Of course the growth of a brand is one but there are other important factors including a brand39s association with purpose and the number of lives we reach and impact with our purpose efforts Our experience at Unilever has shown that brands with purpose are growing faster have more brand power and are having more impactWolfe How do brand purpose and brand sustainability connectBracey I39ll give you an example of how they connect Unilever Beauty and Personal Care39s purpose is to be the beauty company that makes the most positive impact on people and the planet We call this Positive Beauty We think about sustainability in both an environmental and societal sense and strive to be people and planet positive This means that our brands are making a meaningful and positive difference for individuals communities society and the planet They both work together to create impactIt39s also important to note that it is critical that your brand have a point of view on sustainability even if it is not at the core of your brand39s purpose We all have a responsibility to make a positive impact on the planet and people are looking for ways to act Your brand risks losing relevance and not being fit for the future if you don39tWolfe How do the brands you oversee such as Doveamp160Love Beauty ampamp Planet and SheaMoisture inspire your consumer baseBracey We inspire our consumer base with meaningful action in areas that they care about and give them a call to action for people to get involved For exampleOn Dove you can help champion for the passing of the CROWN Act to end racebased hair discrimination by going to thecrownactcom to sign the CROWN Act petition and send a letter to your local legislatorWith Love Beauty ampampamp160Planet we39re continuing to support our Love Beauty ampamp Planet Project We39ve awarded 100000 to people and their projects that improve the wellbeing and health of our planet and the people on it by reducing carbon emissions We had a fantastic group of grant winners in 2020 and are looking forward to awarding our 2021 grantsLast summer SheaMoisture and BROWN GIRL Jane joined forces to power BrownGirlSwap a 250000 grant fund initiative in support of independent beauty and wellness brands created by people of color This program challenged everyone to commit to replacing at least five of their quotgotoquot beauty and wellness products with brands owned by Black womenWolfe What does the concept of quotbrands for humansquot mean to youBracey At Unilever we believe in the shift from quotconsumercentricityquot or being mostly concerned with how people consume products and services to quothumancentricityquot or caring and being concerned about the whole person our humanity our lives our communities our planet We are all more than people who consume products As humancentric brands we want to be of service to our entire humanity That39s how you authentically connect Of course your brand needs to be clear on its product benefit but purpose enables you to be humancentric and be thoughtful about what more your brand can do to have a human positive impactWolfe Do certain product or service categories lend themselves to the idea of brand purpose more than others What advice would you give to brands trying to connect to their consumers with purposeBracey It39s certainly easier to embrace brand purpose in some product categories health and wellness financial services etc However I believe that almost all brands can create a meaningful purpose and impact There are so many large unmet needs problemsamp160and opportunities in the world to address You just must pick an area that is consistent with what your brand is known for and an area in which you can make a meaningful impact We can use our own humanity and deep connectivity to the needs and world around us combined with our creativity to unlock where your brand can authentically make a difference and connect with people through purposeClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNetamp160

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Unilever's Esi Eggleston Bracey Talks Truth about Brand Purpose

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John Wolfe

"About That with Carl Mayer": Involved Media Connected Audience Fall 2024 Report (Episode 5) - By Carl Mayer

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Unilever's Esi Eggleston Bracey Talks Truth about Brand Purpose

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