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SBP 197: The Sharp Cut - Purpose is a promise most brands can't keep
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Most marketers believe brand purpose drives growth.
The data says otherwise.
In this episode of The Sharp Cut, we take on one of marketing’s most widely accepted ideas and put it under a microscope. Drawing on research from the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, Peter Field’s IPA databank analysis, and perspectives from Mark Ritson and Roger Martin, we unpack a simple but uncomfortable truth:
Brand purpose works… rarely.
We explore why purpose has become so dominant despite weak commercial evidence, how industry incentives have turned it into a “comfort blanket,” and why the outliers…
The skinny
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