THE NEXUS
Happy Ending : The Pleasure That Comes With Brand Purpose
By Walter Chabala
Well I ’ m not too sure about that whole vibe about men having only one thing on their minds , but one thing I ’ m sure of is businesses definitely have only one thing on their minds - to make money . Beyond all that human face , camaraderie and publicized epithets of shared value and what have you , bottom-line of any business is to trade and make that top dollar .
But if somebody stepped up and asked you , “ Beyond making money , why does company X , Y and Z exist ?” That is where the flip and flop Tango dance begins for most of us .
Tonnes of companies out here are running on auto-pilot . Just as a vehicle is a tool that helps you get from point A to B , so is a business . In between point of location and point of destination , there is a path ( s ) to be taken . In business today , Brand Purpose must serve as the compass , the GPS and path taken for a sustainable and profitable journey to be realized and I ’ ll show you why .
Brand Purpose is not a new topic anymore . It ’ s been a topic of debate for many years now and in some circles is even seen as “ cliché ”. But despite many believing it was just a marketing fad , it has catapulted some brands to “ iconic ” status .
This isn ’ t just another article on “ The Purpose of a Brand ”, it ’ s a showreel of real , relevant and practical examples of how some of the Goliath ’ s of today-from Safaricom to Apple ; have masterfully executed this concept over time and created not just products , but literally birthed ideas we believe in - ideas that have become part and parcel of our everyday life .
So what actually is Brand Purpose ? First , let ’ s answer what is a Brand ? In my very own definition , I will define a brand as a story : the sum of which includes different tangible and intangible assets such as logo , tagline , messaging / communication ( s ), product ( s ), service ( s ), price , customer experience , positioning etc that a company uses in an effort of
Having a fuzzy purpose , a brand not believing in its purpose , or a brand just not knowing how to go about breathing life into its purpose invites serious challenges . You get caught up in an endless rat race . You take any path and more often than not , that path leads to confrontation , collision and constant competition . wooing customers and standing out from competition . Brand purpose , simply put ; is the core belief of the business i . e . why the business exists ?
To bring my point to surface , allow me to run a diagnosis of our two biggest Telcos here in Kenya . My object of analysis is simple ; Google results of “ What ’ s the Safaricom story and Google results of “ What ’ s the Airtel Kenya Story ?” This is the story these brands are telling the world about themselves .
“ In the year 2000 , we began the Safaricom journey with a view to Transform Lives .” This is Safaricom ’ s opening line .
“ Bharti Airtel or commonly Airtel is one of world ’ s top telecommunications services providers with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa .” This is Airtel ’ s opening line .
Now , not to go too much into structure but that alone creates a world of a difference . From the GET-GO you already see Safaricom as a company out to “ transform lives ” and Airtel is focused on WHO they are and WHAT they do . Let ’ s get slightly deeper about it , the two show one person who cares about others and another who ’ s screaming at your face about how great they are . If one of these two is wooing you , “ utaingia box ya nani ?”
Somewhere into the first paragraph , Airtel comes out with their purpose - “ to connect communities across Kenya .” Again , not to go into structure , but I still have reservations as to how it is revealed . Going into the detail ; we ’ re looking at two companies here - let ’ s break down the
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