The trend toward corporate “purpose” had been in the air for a couple years, driven largely by the demographic shift away from Baby Boomers and toward Millennials, Xers, etc. Then 2020 put the whole thing on fast forward—not the normal kind, but the kind you get when you keep pushing the button and you get 8 arrows.

Last year, when everything else was stripped away, people said that you had to go back to your company’s purpose. What were you about when everything else was gone?

(Quick digression. Hold onto the whole experience, because we could be in for some bad times again this winter).

Anyway, you can see the beleaguered CEO in his or her office reading about purpose on the CEO message board. A directive is issued: We need a purpose. GET ME A PURPOSE and do a post on it. ASAP.

In a corporate culture dominated by “putting out the fire,” this feels like a win. What research (and experience) is showing us is that the fire is not actually out, but rather smoldering in the basement.

The term for words without action is purpose washing. Razorfish weighed in recently with an outstanding study on purpose and modern communications that I would recommend to anyone. It provides an outstanding “state of the union” on where our stakeholders are on this issue.

The Demand for Purpose is Real

The first thing you are going to hear is the “old guards” saying that this is all temporary, that people really want value and are guided by the transactions, everyone is a snowflake, companies exist to make money, etc.

Companies do exist to make money. A respondent to Razorfish articulates this view exactly. If that’s going to be your philosophy, fine. But be direct about it. You’ll get more respect than if you purpose wash.

Having said that, the Razorfish research is pretty clear. Consumers want companies to act on a purpose and it does guide their buying decisions. It is not limited to pot-smoking AOC acolytes on the coast. It is across income levels, geography, rural and urban, politics. People have higher expectations of companies than they do of government. (Digression #2: I’m not sure people think this is the way it should be and it’s possible that companies are just the last group they haven’t lost hope in).

People are “Attuned” to Purpose Washing

Attuned…..that’s Razorfish’s word and it’s pretty good. Look, the research shows even communicators have doubts about the promises that are made by their own companies. The public is downright cynical. That’s the reality. You’re going to need to win people over with action and over time. The fire isn’t going out. You’re not going to sneak anything by them.

There are More Ways to Purpose Wash Than You Think

PR Week identified five different kinds, available at the link. It’s more complicated than you think. For example, they cite the “opportunity” as an example. Here’s the idea: events conspire to give you a real-time opportunity to demonstrate your priorities and you fail. That’s deadly. People believe what we do in real time speaks clearest about who we are.

The Key Point: Purpose Communications are Operations, not Marketing

I agree with CEO Today: our purpose has to be integrated into every part of our organization. Accomplishing that is harder.

If you have a purpose, it has to be reflected in your HR function. And vendor management. And sales. And community relations. And operations/production. That’s not just good stewardship—it’s good business (My Resilient5 program is built around this idea)

A Lighthouse is a Signal

Razorfish notes that “signaling improves likelihood to recommend purpose brands.” At first, “signal” seems a little glib to me and temporary for what we are trying to do. But, the popular phrase is “signal vs. noise.” By definition, a signal “conveys information.”

The more I thought about it, the more I realized….a lighthouse is a signal, right? It has an immutable purpose. That’s probably a good metaphor for how we signal purpose.