This document discusses how companies can use purpose as a strategy for growth in a shrinking economy. It provides examples of how purpose can positively impact employees, customers, consumers, marketing and culture. When companies clearly define and integrate their purpose, it can lead to benefits like increased employee productivity, customer alignment, consumer loyalty, cultural leadership and amplified marketing. Overall, the document argues that strategic purpose can drive sustainable profit and revenue growth that is significantly higher than companies without a clear sense of purpose.

1. Purpose As A
Survival Strategy
In A Shrinking
Economy
1
SimonMainwaring

2. First, the near future.

3. 1. Market and economic corrections.
3. Brand vulnerabilities.
2. Consumer mindset.

4. 1. MARKET AND ECONOMIC CORRECTIONS

5. 1. MARKET AND ECONOMIC CORRECTIONS

6. ©2016 We First Inc. 3
Predictions (WSJ) stock market, real estate, private sector, consumer spending
1. MARKET AND ECONOMIC CORRECTIONS

7. 2. CONSUMER MINDSET 3. BRAND VULNERABILITIES
DISPOSABLE INCOME
BRAND LOYALTY
BRAND SCRUTINY
RELIANCE ON WORD OF MOUTH
REACH OF CONSUMER ACTIVISM
SALES & PROFITS
EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY/SATISFACTION
PRESSURE ON BRAND REPUTATION
PRESSURE ON MARKETING
PRESSURE FROM COMPETITION ON
PRICE AND AWARENESS/MINDSHARE

8. Havas Media, Meaningful Brands Report 2015
3
Most people would not care
if 74% of all brands disappeared.

9. In a shrinking market,
purpose is a rare growth
opportunity.

10. EMPLOYEES
CUSTOMERS
CONSUMERS
MARKETINGCULTURE
PURPOSE
PUTTING PURPOSE TO WORK FOR YOU

11. EMPLOYEES
1. Define your purpose in simple
and emotional terms.
2. Share your purpose throughout
your organizations.
3. Give employees choices for
how to bring that purpose to
life.
ACTION STEPS

12. Purpose Increases Employee Loyalty & Tenure.
2015 Imperative & NYU Workforce Purpose Index
Purpose-Oriented Workers expect
to stay in organizations longer than
their peers. Tenure is a critical mea-
sure for the workforce as it relates to
both the costs of turnover to employ-
ers as well as job satisfaction.
Purpose-Oriented Workers were 55%
more likely to hold Director positions,
39% more likely to hold Vice Presi-
dent or C-Level positions, and 50%
more likely to be in the top position
in their organization. Even when
controlling for other factors, Pur-
pose-Oriented Workers were more
likely to be in leadership roles than
their peers.
%ofWorkersWhoExpecttoStay
LongerThan2Years
100%
75%
50%
25%
0%
Purpose
Oriented
Non-Purpose
Oriented
79%
69%
Expected Tenure by Work Orientation
Percenta e i erence et een Purpose riented
and Non Purpose Oriented Workers by Occupational Level
100%
75%
50%
25%
0%
20%
-25%
-15%
5%
55%
39%
50%
Purpose-oriented
workers expect to
stay in organizations
longer than peers,
and 50% more likely
to be in the top
positions.

13. The Benefit of Purpose-Driven Employees.
2015 Imperative & NYU Workforce Purpose Index

14. Path of Service™
• Launched in 1992
• Provides full time
employees up to 40 paid
service hours per year
Case Study: Timberland

15. In 2014, Timberland employees
worldwide served
72,098 hours
of employees reported
serving at least once in 2014
78%

16. 1. Create Opportunities
2. Leverage Senior Leaders
3. Recognize and Celebrate
4. Foster Employee Ownership
5. Tell Your Story
Timberland: Employee Engagement Roadmap

17. CUSTOMERS
(B2B)
1. Share your purpose with your
customers.
2. Establish values alignment to
mitigate risk.
3. Give them a positive story to
tell - leverage storytelling to
strengthen both parties’
reputation.
ACTION STEPS

18. Purpose Increasingly Driving Reputation
Fig 5: The Changing Landscape of Reputation Driver Impact
The most notable developments in investor attention moving into 2016 was in their changing
RelativeDriverImpact
Qualityofmanagement
Financialsoundness
Qualityofgoods&services
Abilitytoattracttalent
Longterminvestment
Capacitytoinnovate
Qualityofmarketing
Community&envresponsibilty
Useofassets
2016 UK Reputation Dividend Report

19. CSR Represents 10.7% of the Value of S&P500 Companies
2015 UK Reputation Dividend Report
At the start of 2015, the single most valuable component of corporate reputations across the S&P 500 as a
whole was perceptions of people management.Variances on that factor alone were making the greatest differ-
ence as investors recognized that a company’s ability to win is increasingly dependent on its ability to attract
the talent it needs to operate. The second most valuable component is perceptions of management quality
followed by long term investment potential. Individually, these factors account for $545bn, $483bn and $449bn
of shareholder value across the index respectively.
Figure 4: Location of S&P 500 Reputation Value – the $3,329bn
Individual company reputations will present ‘risk profiles’ based upon unique strengths and weaknesses.
Reputation managers need to be sensitive to that if they’re to be sure that their communications and messaging
is directed towards the first ‘responsibility’, namely supporting the components of their reputation assets that

20. Case Study: Woolmark

21. CONSUMERS
(B2C)
1. Leverage purpose to create
simple and emotional
storytelling.
2. Consistently base storytelling
on shared values.
3. Recognize and reward
consumer participation.
ACTION STEPS

22. 2016 Edelman Trust Barometer
80%
agree
“An organization can take specific
actions that both increase profits
and improve the economic and
social conditions in the
community where it operates.”
up from 74% in 2015
Consumers expect companies to do more than make a
profit.

23. Case Study: Whole Foods

24. MARKETING
1. Give consumers opportunities to
co-own, co-author and co-
create.
2. Engage mission-aligned
influencers and ambassadors to
increase reach/earned media.
3. Align ongoing tactics with a
long-term purposeful strategy.
ACTION STEPS

25. 2015 Cone Communications/
Ebiquity Global CSR Study
Consumers want
to participate in
brands’ purpose
in many ways.

26. Case Study: Patagonia

27. CULTURE
1. Transcend your products,
services and culture to shape
culture.
2. Define, frame and lead a
cultural conversation.
3. Be a mission with a company,
not a company with a mission.
ACTION STEPS

28. 2015 ‘Fit for Purpose’ Report, Radley Yeldar

29. Case Study: Adidas

30. The result?

31. “Socially responsible
brands accounted for
half our growth in
2014 and grew at
twice the rate of the
rest of the business.”
Paul Polman
CEO Unilever 2015

32. 2015 Driving Revenue Growth Through Sustainable Products and Services Report
“Between 2010 and 2013,
revenues from company-
defined portfolios of
sustainable products and
services grew by 91%.”
For S&P Global 100 companies revenue stream grew
at 6X the rate of overall company results.

33. Organizations that prioritize
& integrate purpose
Organizations that do not
prioritize & integrate purpose
Purpose drives growth.
2015 HBR The Business Case for Purpose Survey

34. EMPLOYEES
Productivity
CUSTOMERS
Alignment
CONSUMERS
Loyalty
CULTURE
Leadership
PURPOSE
RESULTS…
MARKETING
Amplification

35. Strategic purpose drives
sustainable profit.

36. Thank You!
For these slides, email:
Simon@WeFirstBranding.com
@SimonMainwaring