Marketers underestimate the Asian consumer's commitment to doing good: WFA

Research by Edelman in 2012 revealed that 76 per cent of consumers agreed that companies can make money while supporting good causes. But when WFA recently interviewed 149 marketers from more than 40 countries, the marketers estimated that only 56 per cent of consumers would agree with that statement.

This could be because of a greater sense of community in emerging markets, said Rahul Welde who is vice-president, media, Unilever, as well as WFA’s Asia-Pacific chair. “There is a desire to succeed and to grow but the nature and drive for growth generates community collaboration where people value overall upliftment,” he added.

There’s also a wide gap between consumers and marketers when it comes to defining ‘purpose’. Marketers surveyed, who represent 58 companies accounting for US$70 billion in ad spend, believe that ‘purpose’ includes programs that positively impact communities and protect the environment. 

While these are important, consumers don’t consider ‘purpose’ in quite the same way. For consumers, ‘purpose’ is defined as something more holistic and is based on every touchpoint an individual encounters with that brand or company. This includes ‘listening and acting upon customer feedback’,  ‘ensuring good employee welfare’ and 'placing consumers ahead of profits'. The study adds that brands need to start with the basics and sales, CRM, HR and other departments. “Marketing can then be the conductor that delivers a message imbued with brand purpose and that message is authentic and it’s not just rhetoric. It pervades the entire organisation, starting with the CEO,” the study stated.

When quality and price are the same, social purpose is the most important factor for purchase. Compared with 2010, this has grown 100 per cent in Japan, 79 per cent in China and 43 per cent in India. What's more, the proportion of consumers who say they buy a brand that supports good causes at least once a month has grown from 32 per cent in 2010 to 47 per cent in 2012. 

According to Welde, social purpose needs to be embedded in companies' missions and plans. Apart from Unilever, he believes Starbucks, with its emphasis on the environment, and Diageo’s Johnnie Walker brand, with its positioning of responsible drinking, are good examples of this.

Welde attributes the importance of ‘doing good’ to the growth of digital media. “The level of transparency is much higher,” Welde said. “Good news and bad news travel fast and wide, and consumer feedback will continue to grow.”

Still, while 88 per cent of marketers said ‘purpose’ is important, less than half (49 per cent) believed they worked for brands with a sense of purpose, while even fewer considered they had been successful in communicating ‘purpose’. Most of the marketers interviewed felt that it was relatively new to talk about ‘purpose’ as a part of brand marketing communications.