Beyond Purpose: Inspiring Action Through Citizenship-First Marketing
By Claudia Oberlin, Shelley Yang, and Juliet Haygarth
A new kind of consumer has arrived – the citizen consumer – bringing with them a major opportunity for brands to enhance their marketing impact.
Brands that go beyond purpose and focus on positive change can harness consumer optimism to both inspire and drive business success.
Key takeaways:
1
The Citizen Consumer has emerged. Many Americans are increasingly combining their behavior as consumers with their beliefs and political outlooks as citizens. Consumer hopes and fears are now citizen hopes and fears.
2
We want to feel more optimistic about our country and our world. Brands that think beyond purpose and focus on positive change can harness consumer optimism to inspire real action and give us the sense that we are making things better.
3
Effective marketing in the positive change space harnesses the power and potential of optimism. Success comes from the rigorous application of proven advertising principles, as with any other marketing effort.
Here are 4 case studies that highlight important lessons for any brand creating positive change.
Inspiring the New Citizen Consumer with Optimism
Here’s a new way to think about positive change marketing.
It’s not about a brand’s purpose. It’s about the age-old art of tapping into consumer hopes and fears. Except that, for many, resonant consumer hopes and fears are not only about how to remove unwanted hair or show off with a sexier car or get rid of a headache faster.
Rather, the merger of consumer and citizen has changed the dynamics. Americans are increasingly combining their behavior as consumers with their beliefs as citizens. Over two thirds (70%) of Americans say they tend to buy brands that reflect their personal values.
This goes up to 75% and over for those who are younger (Millennials and Gen Z), with higher income, or have higher education.1 Consumer hopes and fears are citizen hopes and fears. And vice versa.
% Agree "I tend to buy brands that reflect my personal values"
2013
2016
2019
2023
2024
Source: Ipsos Global Trends 2024; 2024 data from 2/15-4/23/24 of 1,005 adults surveyed in the United States. For full methodology and historical trends details, see ipsosglobaltrends.com
% Agree "I tend to buy brands that reflect my personal values"
This brings opportunities to brands pursuing positive change strategies. Because many ‘citizen consumers’ are looking for reasons to be optimistic and to act with positive impact.
While a majority of Americans feel optimistic about the situation for themselves and their families, they are significantly less optimistic about the immediate future of the United States and the world in general in 2024.2 However, looking at overall optimism and the marked improvement from the dip during the past 5 years, lead us to believe that we absolutely need to face forward and find reasons for light.
% Optimistic "Looking ahead to the next 12 months, are you optimistic or pessimistic about the following?"
Even within the context of economic uncertainty or through the pandemic, consumers looked to brands and their commercials as a respite and 79% told us that the feelings they wanted to get the most from advertising were reassurance and positivity.
Especially in difficult times, emotions of positivity and reassurance resonate in advertising.
In the last four years, we have seen these answers consistently through the pandemic and economic uncertainty
Positivity: 79%
Consumers want to feel reassured, good, inspired, happy, comforted, positive, hopeful and optimistic. They also want to feel that the brand is helpful, empathetic, can be trusted, really cares, and that messaging is honest. 63% would like to see advertising that give them a sense of comfort and reassurance.
Product Selling Points: 13%
Consumers want affordable, quality products at great value.
Stop: 7%
Very few consumers think that advertising should stop at this time. 64% of those surveyed are open and receptive to advertising in today's economic climate.
So connecting with their hopes and acknowledging their anxieties as citizens is powerful - it’s less about a brand purpose-first approach and more about a citizenship-first approach.
Citizen-first marketing involves brands harnessing consumer optimism to inspire real action and change. People believe they need to take action, and that brands and businesses have a role in helping them do so. 75% of people in the US think that businesses have a duty to contribute to society, not just to make profits. And fully 84% think it is possible for a brand to support a good cause and to make money at the same time.
What’s more, it is GenZ and Millennial consumers who are most likely to buy from brands engaged in addressing societal level hopes and fears.4 So when a brand marketer is thinking about compelling insights, they can now wander into a whole new world of societal and cultural trigger points. The challenge lies in harnessing those insights in an effective way to their brand.
Purpose is nothing without Impact. Brands must be able to turn their good intentions into tangible action and measurable outcomes, and do so with sustainable products, services and initiatives that uniquely reflect their core business and core values. Impact is the new currency of credibility, and only those who deliver meaningful, sustainable, and tangible results will thrive in the years to come.
So How is This Different in Practice from Purpose Marketing?
It starts in a different place – with consumer insight and empathy.
From our analysis of Ipsos’ database of tested ads from 2016-2024 and Effie 2024 U.S. Awards case data there are four big considerations that will help make for commercial success.
1
Show how the brand is helping to make change and being part of the solution.
Consumers want to know what tangible change brands are making, and how they can help by buying or using them. While establishing tension or highlighting a problem at the top of the creative can be effective, the key is turning the story and having the brand play a role as part of or offering a solution. 44% of 2024 U.S. Effie campaigns use problem-solution overall as a creative device. This extends to advertising tonality too. 10% of Effie entrants with a purpose theme had an ad using a tone that was considered lecturing and finger-wagging and they didn’t win.5
2
Approach consumers with empathy.
Many issues associated with positive change can feel overwhelming in their scale with consumers. The more brands can, while recognizing the problem, bring the message to a human level, the better they will do in engaging consumers with their advertising. This includes identifying small actions that brands and their consumers can take that will make a difference. For example, in the sustainability area, ads from the Ipsos database that show attainable solutions that build easy sustainable behavior have creative effectiveness of +19% on average, driven by behavior change.6
3
Brand credibility is key.
Winning/effective campaigns are more likely to have clear or compelling connections or reasons for why the brand is involved in the issue. They are able to successfully tie their positive change message to a reason to buy. Overall, 63% of 2024 U.S. Effie Awards Entrants have a believable brand purpose; 71% for winners and finalists vs. 52% for non-winners.7 Brand credibility comprises both a belief that the brand has a right to play in a particular issue or positive change area, and that the brand is doing something in that area (not just talking about it). To quote the great advertising sage Jeremy Bullmore; “Advertising is worth doing when you have done something worth advertising”.
4
Remember the essentials of branding.
Commercial success requires that consumers associate the advertising with the brand. Campaigns for positive change must ensure that branding assets are integrated and optimized with the same care and consideration as for ‘regular’ advertising. According to data from Ipsos database, 50% of ads that fail in market are due to people not knowing what brand the ad was for.8 Brands that leverage “The Power of You” by using a wide range of Distinctive Brand Assets and finding ways to weave the brand into the story command higher Branded Attention. High performing creative uses +34% more Brand Assets on average than low performing ones.9
1
Show how the brand is helping to make change and being part of the solution.
Consumers want to know what tangible change brands are making, and how they can help by buying or using them. While establishing tension or highlighting a problem at the top of the creative can be effective, the key is turning the story and having the brand play a role as part of or offering a solution. 44% of 2024 U.S. Effie campaigns use problem-solution overall as a creative device. This extends to advertising tonality too. 10% of Effie entrants with a purpose theme had an ad using a tone that was considered lecturing and finger-wagging and they didn’t win.
2
Approach consumers with empathy.
Many issues associated with positive change can feel overwhelming in their scale with consumers. The more brands can, while recognizing the problem, bring the message to a human level, the better they will do in engaging consumers with their advertising. This includes identifying small actions that brands and their consumers can take that will make a difference. For example, in the sustainability area, ads from the Ipsos database that show attainable solutions that build easy sustainable behavior have creative effectiveness of +19% on average, driven by behavior change.
3
Brand credibility is key.
Winning/effective campaigns are more likely to have clear or compelling connections or reasons for why the brand is involved in the issue. They are able to successfully tie their positive change message to a reason to buy. Overall, 63% of 2024 U.S. Effie Awards Entrants have a believable brand purpose; 71% for winners and finalists vs. 52% for non-winners. Brand credibility comprises both a belief that the brand has a right to play in a particular issue or positive change area, and that the brand is doing something in that area (not just talking about it). To quote the great advertising sage Jeremy Bullmore; “Advertising is worth doing when you have done something worth advertising”.
4
Remember the essentials of branding.
Commercial success requires that consumers associate the advertising with the brand. Campaigns for positive change must ensure that branding assets are integrated and optimized with the same care and consideration as for ‘regular’ advertising. According to data from Ipsos database, 50% of ads that fail in market are due to people not knowing what brand the ad was for. Brands that leverage “The Power of You” by using a wide range of Distinctive Brand Assets and finding ways to weave the brand into the story command higher Branded Attention. High performing creative uses +34% more Brand Assets on average than low performing ones.
Summary
We have three compelling call-to-actions to encourage brands to go beyond purpose and focus on positive change in order to harness consumer optimism to inspire real action and drive business success.
1
Embrace the Citizen-Consumer Align your brand values with societal concerns to tap into the growing market of consumers who blend their beliefs with their purchasing decisions.
Dr. Freddie Covington Corbett, Chief- Global Brand & Marketing, UNICEF / Effie Board Member
"…A new kind of consumer has emerged - The Citizen-Consumer who now melds their social and political outlooks into their behavior as buyer. Brands need to reflect on the need to drive meaningful actions in their marketing approaches."
2
Harness Optimism for Change Craft marketing campaigns that not only acknowledge societal challenges but also provide tangible solutions, empowering consumers to feel they're making a positive impact through your brand.
Mollie Partesotti, Chief Strategy Officer, FCB Chicago
"Positive change efforts aren’t just for the good feels—they actually move the needle on the bottom line. They draw in people who want to buy from brands that give a damn, add distinction to brands in commoditized categories, and help attract top talent."
3
Build Credible Connections Ensure your brand has a genuine and compelling reason to be involved in social issues. Demonstrate tangible actions and results to strengthen your brand's credibility in the positive change space.
Samuel Monnie, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Purpose Hive
“So often the missteps we see are from purpose being bolted on to the brand, instead of being built within the brand strategy.”
Sources
3. Ipsos, 5 Keys to Successful Advertising in Inflationary Times, November 2022
5. Ipsos analysis of Effie 2024 U.S. Awards case data; creative content was classified using pre-defined meta-tags developed by Ipsos
6. Ipsos, Sustainability Advertising: How empathy and credibility can help you get it right, February 2023
7. Ipsos analysis of Effie 2024 U.S. Awards case data; creative content was classified using pre-defined meta-tags developed by Ipsos
8. Ipsos global advertising database
9. Ipsos, The power of you: why distinctive brand assets are a driving force of creative effectiveness, February 2020
About Ipsos
Ipsos is one of the largest market research companies in the world, present in 90 markets and employing 18,000+ researchers. Our Ipsos Creative Excellence team expertly partners with our clients through the creative development journey – from upstream insight generation that fuels creative briefs to optimization and post-launch learnings that drive future impact.
Our focus is on guidance that nurtures and optimizes the creativity that is essential to success. We work with 75% of the top 200 national advertisers and we are proud to closely partner with Effie in our shared commitment to drive marketing effectiveness through insights. For more details, visit Ipsos.com
About Effie
Effie leads, inspires and champions the practice and practitioners of marketing effectiveness globally. We work across 125 markets to deliver smart leadership, applicable insights, and the largest, most prestigious marketing effectiveness awards in the world. Winning an Effie has been a globally recognized symbol of outstanding achievement for over 50 years.
We recognize the most effective brands, marketers, and agencies globally, regionally, and locally through our coveted effectiveness rankings, the Effie Index. Our ambition is to equip marketers everywhere with the tools, knowledge, and inspiration they need to succeed. For more details, visit Effie.org
Get in Touch
Claudia Oberlin
SVP, US Creative Excellence Claudia.Oberlin@ipsos.com
Claudia Oberlin is an expert in advertising, market research, and marketing, with 20 years of global experience crafting influential campaigns, including 25 Super Bowl ads, by bringing in the voice of the consumer. Claudia's expertise in communication development and positive change informs her clients' creative strategies, driven by her passion for elevating creative work based on evidence-based truth.
