In the context of brand strategy, purpose energizes the organization’s “heart” — the intersection of corporate strategy, the organization’s shared values, and its fundamental reason for being. Purpose is the “zen of the brand,” in companies wise enough to define and be guided by a clear sense of corporate purpose.

Purpose as the Essence of Corporate Identity

Purpose animates the brand, infuses it with meaning, shapes and inspires the motivations of employees. When employees identify with the organization’s purpose, when it gives meaning to their work, customers benefit.  The brand promise will be grounded in something meaningful and enduring – something that should outlast the cast of characters who lead the organization at any given point in time.

For the world’s best-loved brands, employees who closely self-identify with the purpose become passionate brand evangelists; the company, its products and the people behind them inspire cult-like loyalty among the customer base. Among yoga aficionados, Lululemon, a designer and retailer of high-end yoga gear, comes to mind. Nordstrom was once like this, as was BMW.

Apple was like this in the early days, when I worked on their marketing team. It’s painful to leave a job with a company that’s infused with a strong sense of purpose, particularly when your self-identity gets intertwined with the company’s mission. When you leave an organization like that and end up working in “normal,” run-of-the-mill companies, it can feel like Paradise Lost… Nothing is ever quite the same.

Beyond the “cult of Steve,” beyond its “cool factor,” one of the reasons why the Apple brand has had such powerful resonance among global consumers is the lasting power of its guiding purpose – and its enduring impact on two generations of Apple employees. Despite occasional missteps, Apple has enjoyed a long tradition of delighting its customers.

A clear and meaningful purpose, one that inspires employees to do their very best, can be a source of long-term competitive advantage, even when product generations come and go. This has certainly been the case for the core Disney brand.

If you want a more academic rationale for this premise, check out Richard Ellsworth’s Leading with Purpose, a well-researched book on the subject of corporate purpose and its impact on corporate performance.

I suspect that one of the reasons brands tend to zig and zag so much is the impact of organizational dynamics, or the human desire to make a mark — what happens when a company changes its marketing agencies, swaps out Chief Marketing Officers, or lacks a brand steward… Because the new marketing leaders (or agency guys) want to show a difference in their work versus what was done by the prior team, those changes show up in brand expression or a lack of alignment between “brand DNA” and company behavior, or product functionality.

It’s hard to come up with a list of brands that have stayed true to their core essence. Apple and Ivory soap come to mind… Maybe Southwest Airlines.

Unfortunately, it’s easier to come up with a list of brands that have lost their way. Here are just a few of the once strong brands whose core promise has been diluted over time:

An odd assortment, I’d agree, but I can explain why, from my POV, these brands are no longer delivering on their essential brand promise.

BMW

Take BMW, for example. As someone who grew up loving the responsive power and nimble handling of the original 3-series models, I find their current 3-series sedans a far cry from the “ultimate driving experience” that BMW promises. Adjectives like heavy, sluggish, and slow to respond come to mind instead of “ultimate driving experience.”

Unlike BMW’s usual iconic designs, this model is hard to tell apart from other manufacturers’ sedans at a quick glance. To my eye it’s ungainly and heavy looking. (My perspective comes from long experience as an owner/driver of 3-series models. My first 3-series was the 1985 model, followed by the 1997, 2000, 2003 and now 2006 models.) To the extent that the BMW brand aspires to “badge status,” it’s painful to see what has happened to the 3-series.

Ben & Jerry’s

Or take Ben & Jerry’s. I was lucky enough to be in Washington, D.C., in the mid-1980s when the founders of Ben & Jerry’s introduced their new “Cherry Garcia” flavor. The B&J founders showed up at the Congressional Office Building in rumpled tweed jackets, Birkenstocks — their “Vermont-urban” fashion sense — and down-home values. They proceeded to entertain the assembled senators and other politicos with an old-fashioned ice cream social. The ice cream tasted great, of course.

Now that their company has been acquired by a big corporate behemoth, the ice cream no longer tastes the same. Needless to say, the quirky personality attributes associated with the founders have largely disappeared, except in the humorous names given to the flavors.

I wonder if a percentage of the profits is still donated to charitable foundations? Somehow it’s hard to imagine that’s still the case…