Those companies thinking they need to choose between purpose and profit are out of step with the cultural narrative—and data. Today, purpose well activated is a strategic and financial driver.

In a marketing, media, and consumer landscape where 75% of brands could disappear overnight and no one would notice or care, businesses and brands need to embrace the fear irrelevance more than anything else. 

Across the biggest and smallest companies in the world, CSR and ESG reporting are increasing exponentially. But no business will get credit for doing what they should be. Instead, companies need to embrace the decades old doing well by doing good adage more fully, and turn CSR into reasons into marketing-driven reasons to care—and buy.

Cancel Culture is the exercise of consumer power, among today’s increasingly conscious consumers. It’s not a reflection of intolerance so much as an impatience with the state of the world and expectations that brands play an active part in making the world a better one.

It goes without saying that there are troubled times. But, as Fred Rogers said, in scary times we should “look for the helpers.” Advice that brands, like children, should heed.

The conscious consumerism that began in the 60s with the Whole Earth Catalogue has evolved, and so have the wants, needs and expectations of the people evolving it. To survive—let alone thrive—in today’s competitive landscape, brands need to market to these mindset shifts.

Among the lessons business should take from the Pandemic, among the greatest global humanitarian crisis of the past 100 years, is the need to think, be and act more human. They’re not “consumers” or “customers”; “agencies”, “vendors’ or “clients”…they’re people. We need to act and market accordingly.

In a world where most brands don’t matter to most people, the surest way to brand affection and likability is by marketing to shared values and passions.

84% of Amazon searches are by category not brand. In this world of good-enough alternatives, embracing a shared-values marketing mindset is the fastest path to meaningful, brand distinctiveness and de-commoditization.

The data is clear. Brands that are seen as culturally relevant outperform those that aren’t across health and sales metrics. This talk breaks it all down and provides an actionable template for moving forward.

Since 2016, there have been countless articles on  “Activist” CEOs, from Apple, Salesforce, Sephora, AirBnB. It’s past time for the Activist CMO to join this conversation. 

An exploration of what has accelerated the growing ranks of Activist CEO’s and a pointed POV on where it’s all heading, and what the implications for brands and companies are.