Top Marketing Lesson from Super Bowl 2020: Purpose-Focused Campaigns Are In

I noticed a clear trend across this year’s Super Bowl commercials: For brands, showcasing brand purpose and corporate social responsibility are among the top priorities of the moment.

Mark Penn, chairman and CEO of marketing and communications company MDC Partners, points outOpens a new window that the nature of advertising is in flux. Whereas marketers once made their ads funny, quirky and offbeat to ensure they’d be memorable to audiences, Penn says that “now many of them are socially responsible. They’re about issues…They’re about showing you’re a brand that cares about everyone.”

It seems to me that the old business adage “doing good is good for business” could use an update. I’d say that in today’s digital marketing world “showing you do good is good for business” would be more accurate. That was especially clear during this year’s Super Bowl commercial breaks.

The likes of P&G, Verizon, Snickers and Michelob all ran commercials clearly designed to connect their message to the narrative of corporate social responsibility (CSR).

No doubt, this focus on openly tying brand purpose and brand values to CSROpens a new window is driven primarily by consumer demand. Younger generations especially increasingly are going out of their way to connect with, and buy from, companies that share their personal values.

“Because of consumers’ increasing demand for brands to engage in social good,” writes Lindsay Singleton, “companies [used] the advertising bonanza to highlight how they are responding to that demand.”

With more than 60% of global consumers’ admitting that their purchasing decisions are significantly influenced by a business’s social or political positionOpens a new window — and two-thirds believing that brands should take stands on such issues — it’s no wonder that marketers are designing campaigns targeting belief-driven buying.

In fact, ever since Nike’s successOpens a new window with its 2018 “Just Do It” campaign starring the controversial Colin Kaepernick, marketers have been trying to replicate the sport company’s formula.

Why? Well, for starters one report from Cone Communications revealed that 87% of consumers will buy a product because a company advocated for an issue they care about. That’s powerful incentive.

Meanwhile, a study from HavasOpens a new window  found CSR impacts the bottom line, with the stock of brands that contribute tangibly to improving peoples’ lives and that have a positive impact on society generally performing twice as well on stock indices.

And although purpose-driven marketing campaigns can be powerful, tone is critical.

As I warned in an article last yearOpens a new window , too many brands are faking brand purpose as they look to cash in on the CSR trend, using purpose as an ad gimmick. Indeed, according to research published by social impact consultancy DoSomething StrategicOpens a new window , “young consumers today don’t just want to see brands take a stand on social issues; they want them to act on that stand — from the inside out.”

So, calling on some Super Bowl ads as examples, let’s look at two of the most important elements you’ll need to nail for a successful CSR-focused marketing campaign.

Be relevant

It’s particularly positive for consumer engagement that the topic of your brand purpose be attached to a current social or political cause.

The theory behind this is simple and straightforward: If you’re tackling an issue that’s relevant to modern audiences, they’re far more likely to take notice, obviously, since that subject is top-of-mind.

The P&G Olay commercial that aired during the Super Bowl, for instance, referred to a hot topic: paying tribute to the International Space Station’s first all-female space crew that recently conducted the first-ever, all-female space walk and featured the hashtag #makespaceforwomen.

As Singleton explains, “the spot leveraged a major feat for women in STEM that continues to make news.”

Ultimately, P&G showcased the brand’s purpose regarding gender equality and female empowerment, aligning itself with those values.

Be honest, transparent and stay true to your brand

This type of marketing is particularly effective because companies can use the values-based approach to align the organization with individuals, creating a sense of unity.

That said, these campaigns and initiatives must be the real deal. The big mistake is to try to co-opt a movement or issue simply as a marketing ploy, as we’ve seen many brands commit via ‘rainbow-washingOpens a new window ‘ and ‘greenwashing,’Opens a new window for example.

Pick an issue or cause that’s wholly on-brand for the company and don’t make outlandish or exaggerated claims or false promises. Be honest about why it matters to your business and be transparent across your campaign to show what your company is doing to support that cause or take a stance in relation to that issue.

Ensure the focus of your ad is on the initiative rather than your organization, products or services.

Take Michelob Ultra’s Super Bowl ad as a case study in getting it all wrong. The beer company promised audiences that a portion of the sale of every six-pack of its organic beer will be spent helping farmers transition their farmland to organic.

Kumbaya, right? Not exactly.

Audiences were quick to look a little deeper at Michelob’s so-called commitment and, as Amanda Zaluckyj argues, the campaign was “the absolute epitome of virtue signaling.” In reality, the sale of 7,260 six packs covers the cost of switching just one acre to organic production.

One Reddit user did the math and loudly presented the results: “Michelob spent $10 million on a Super Bowl ad to tell us they’ll donate $1 million to farmers if we spend $450 million buying their beer.”

Talk about a quick way to anger a lot of people.