DAVE HARDY
Transformative Leadership / Brand Strategy / Creative Direction

Steal These Ideas

Being bold isn’t easy. If it were, we’d see the evidence of it among the many and not the few. As a student of brand and creative strategy, I see the product of the connection between our fears and our tendency to embrace mediocrity. With 25 years building brands and teams in the agency space, I want to explore ways to see challenges as opportunities and to discover how to harness what holds us back.

Has the Idea of a Purpose Run Its Course?

A strong purpose is an integral component of any brand story. It is the "why" behind the company, the big idea, the reason everyone devotes hours of their life to something beyond making money. However, I was recently in a conversation about "purpose-washing"—a situation where brands adopt purposes that sound good on the outside but don't really influence their internal practices.

Generational Skepticism
As the world of social media has expanded, so has misinformation. The introduction of A.I. has made it very easy to post fake news, videos, and content—and it's becoming easier to spot. This is creating a generation that can see through the bullshit: the fake content, the P.R. campaigns, and the inauthentic messaging.

This trend will continue, and with that being the case, I believe there are two key areas to focus on to ensure what you are saying is truthful and perceived as such.

The Role of Authenticity in Brands
If you look at the D.A.R.E. model (Different, Authentic, Relevant, and Evocative), this conversation really highlights the importance of authenticity. Whenever I facilitate a brand transformation session, it is crucial to examine what is already happening within an organization to make sure you elevate what is real. A brand’s story cannot be entirely aspirational; if it is, it fails the authenticity test.

The Role of Differentiation in Brands
Differentiation is the hardest of the four quadrants to achieve, and I don't believe leaders push themselves toward radically different solutions often enough. When that happens, you get multiple brands all saying the same thing, which creates distrust. People start to ask, "Who am I supposed to believe?" In my 15 years of working within the agriculture industry, I frequently see the purpose "we are here to feed the world." While it's potentially a great purpose, the fact that so many brands claim the same thing makes you question whether they genuinely mean it.

Conclusion
A purpose still has a strong role to play within any brand narrative, but beware: don't settle for average. Challenge every aspect of it. A purpose is the one thing that cannot change without altering the very fabric of the organization. In today's world, people will quickly see through a purpose that comes across as a weak P.R. campaign.

When creating a purpose, or evaluating your current one, ask yourself if it is authentic to you and if it truly stands out against your competition. If it doesn't, you may be vulnerable to a new generation of consumers who might view you as "purpose-washing." Leaders need to challenge themselves and each other to create truly unique solutions, and I, for one, am okay with that.

Dave Hardy