Navigating in uncertainty: How purpose-driven brand strategy can thrive in turbulent times

Picture by Walter Rodriguez

09 | 2024 Ilona Oksanen

Navigating In Uncertainty: How Purpose-Driven Brand Strategy Can Thrive In Turbulent Times

The world around us feels like a mess. There’s an overwhelming sense of uncertainty, where no one really knows what’s coming in the next few months, let alone in five years. Pandemic, war, inflation, climate crisis—sigh.

With the world in turmoil, company leaders face tough decisions. Should they invest in future competitiveness now or cut back on everything but essential expenses and focus on stabilizing cash flow? In turbulent times, it’s tempting to postpone all non-essential development projects until future scenarios become clearer.

But—as history has taught us—preparing for a recession tends to lead to one, and the energy of uncertainty can be extremely contagious.

Purpose-driven brands have a strong foothold in the modern consumer's mind, but instead of being a mere customer-centric approach, the true purpose behind commercial strategies can have a profound impact on how businesses grow in times of distress. We looked at three key perspectives on the value of PURPOSE for companies to answer why, in times of chaos and uncertainty, is it particularly fertile ground for companies to reconnect with their deeper purpose. What opportunities might arise if businesses that dare to create meaning while the rest of the world seems paralyzed?

The DNA of Meaningful Work and Connection

The reordering of the world, brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, has introduced an array of emotions none of us have felt before, with uncertainty and fear being the most dominant. Our sense of security has been shaken in many ways, causing people to naturally question their surroundings, their lives, and the choices they make. The majority of us have a completely new perspective on the world than we did five years ago.

In particular, the search for meaning in the workplace has gained newfound importance:

• Does my work really matter?
• Why do I do what I do?
• What is the purpose of our company?
• Which brands do I want to support with my efforts and choices?

The questions more and more of us are asking as payday rolls around.

According to the State of Global Workforce 2021 report, only 20% of employees worldwide felt engaged and committed at work. In Finland, the figure was a worrying 10%. Based on this, could we say that 80-90% of our human capital is being underutilized? In an already challenging economic environment, poor employee engagement is a cold, hard fact that undermines the growth and profitability of every company.

But what if even 0.01% of that 90% of professionals ‘who don’t care so much’ could be inspired and committed to making a real effort for the brands they work for and the bigger purpose behind everything?

Research shows that employees expect companies to take a more active role in social issues alongside commercial efforts. People simply want a purpose they can participate in and take their own agency. Creating meaningful work-life experiences has a direct impact on competitiveness and commercial success. Belief in shared goals and understanding the value of one’s role are powerful ways to harness team strength toward the company’s future. A collective understanding of the brand's ‘preferred future’ creates clarity that sparks inspiration.

The modern brand strategy, built firmly around a bigger purpose, acts as a ‘bridge of shared meaning’ between the brand and its people—both customers and the people who make the everyday magic happen. Shared meaning at the company core fosters people’s emotional engagement (e.g., gets people to give a sh#t) and inspires employees by helping to answer the toughest question: Why do I do what I do?

Brand Strategy as an Executive Communication Tool

In times of turbulence, leaders face immense pressure as they make tough decisions and bold choices. They must maintain a grounded, pragmatic approach to decision-making while believing in the future—navigating uncertainties and balancing their responsibilities toward employees and shareholders. Many CEOs find themselves in a leadership trial by fire, where every available tool becomes crucial in ensuring the company’s future competitiveness.

Strategy work has traditionally set the direction and provided the roadmap for the future—an overarching plan that encapsulates the leadership vision of where the company is heading and why. This traditional recipe just doesn’t tend to work well in times of turmoil.

How do you engage the 80-90% of employees longing for meaning behind their efforts if the leadership vision is focused primarily on business decisions, competition, growth, and margins?

In many traditional organizations, “a brand” is still seen as a consumer-focused marketing effort or, worse, merely a logo design and visual identity guideline. While traditional strategy work often remains as ‘top-level big picture’, a concise brand strategy on the other hand acts as a translation to strengthen the business vision.

Among the leadership tools, a strong brand has the power to reach all levels of the organization with its shared meaning. The brand communicates and illustrates the business's core strategies, turning them into a daily compass where the customer experience is at the center. But strategy alone achieves nothing—people do. The brand’s direction, goals, and vision must be made tangible enough for customers, employees, stakeholders, and even the leadership to grasp.

The Executive Vision of the Brand Becomes Personal

As much as consumers and employees expect companies to play a role in societal impact, over 80% of them also expect CEOs to personally lead in this space, giving top management personal significance for a clear brand and its purpose.

With social responsibility becoming central to modern leadership, CEOs must take on the role of true change-makers. Many successful brands today are led by CEOs with strong personal visions and a style of leadership where the brand strategy and personal values together guide their companies toward transformation.

A strong brand strategy can be the tool that helps the CEO clearly communicate the company’s vision and align their personal role with it. The brand mission is to clarify the essential questions a leader must answer off the shelf:

• What is our company’s deepest purpose, and what is my mission alongside it?
• What positive impact do our products and services have on society?
• What real value does our business provide to customers?

In the commercial space, brands have a huge impact on the masses and an even greater responsibility regarding the kinds of purpose they want to maximize their impact with. Companies—even though seen as modern-day imaginary creatures—are still run and given direction by people, making the preferred future of purpose or mere profit a management choice.

In times of uncertainty, reconnecting with a company’s deeper purpose and building a clear, purpose-driven brand strategy has the power to 1) inspire employees, 2) engage customers, and 3) provide a powerful compass for all levels of leadership. By aligning personal values with brand strategy, leaders can foster commitment and drive positive societal impact, ensuring long-term competitiveness and resilience in our ever-changing world.

Ilona Oksanen

The writer is a brand strategist and concept designer, passionate about people's psychological motivations, whose commercial insight and human-centered design can be seen behind both Nordic and global brands.