Purpose
The final pillar, purpose, responds to the question ‘Why?’ a brand was started and why it exists. The purpose framework consists of 5Ps namely, portfolio strategy and product, people and culture, processes and systems, performance metric, and lastly, positions and engagement (Leape et al, 2020) (Fig. 1.). “The European Commission (2017) defined corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the following way: “Corporate social responsibility (CSR) refers to companies taking responsibility for their impact on society. (Londrigan and Jenkins, 2018, pp 41).” Having a purpose and a good CSR helps a brand build successful relationships with its customers, a strong mission and vision statement, and a booming business.

“A 2018 survey from DoSomething found that 76% of respondents said they have purchased or would consider purchasing, from a company to show support for the issues the company supports, and 67% had stopped purchasing or would consider doing so if a company stood for something that didn’t align with their values (Curry, 2020).” This shows how important a brand’s mission, vision, and values align with its customers.Mission paves the way for a brand, it defines the immediate goals and objectives of the business. Vision is a brand’s future, what it perceives to achieve; it depends on the brand’s identity, market stance, and branding. Value proposition refers to the brand’s values and behaviours which would further resonate with its target market. For example, when Balenciaga released the campaign photos of children holding a handbag that looked like teddy bears in bondage and another campaign had pictures that included paperwork about child pornography laws (Paton et al, 2022) it took the internet on fuel, the brand was the talk of the town and was cancelled (Fig. 2.). This shows how important a brand’s value, and its marketing is.

“Chanel’s highly limited digital retail footprint excludes it from The Lyst Index, but with The Met Gala honouring the late Karl Lagerfeld, an extravagant Cruise show in Los Angeles, and a viral $4,500 embroidered F1 t-shirt, this was a powerful quarter for the brand (Lyst Index, 2023).” To effectively communicate with Gen Z, brands need to be transparent about their values and open and take accountability for their actions, collaborate with influencers, and celebrity endorsements, and have strong digital marketing communication platforms like Instagram and TikTok. For example, Billie Eilish was the perfect celebrity to collab with Nike for the “Nike x Billie Eilish AF1 Low uses leftover material waste from the artist’s prior collaborative AF1 High to create a new aesthetic for an iconic silhouette (Nike, 2022)” as Eilish promotes sustainability and environmentalism which creates a sense of authenticity which further advertises the product to the customer base and increases sales (Fig. 3.).

Reference List:
Curry, L. (2020). How brands can follow through on the values they’re selling. Available at: https://hbr.org/2020/08/how-brands-can-follow-through-on-the-values-theyre-selling (Accessed: 28 October 2023).
Leape, S. Zou, J. Loadwick, O. Nuttal, R. Stone, M. Simpson, B. (2020). More than the mission statement: How the 5Ps embed purpose to deliver value. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/more-than-a-mission-statement-how-the-5ps-embed-purpose-to-deliver-value#/ (Accessed: 28 October 2023).
Londrigan, M.P. Jenkins, J.M. (2018). Fashion Supply Chain Management. Available at: https://www-bloomsburyfashioncentral-com.arts.idm.oclc.org/encyclopedia-chapter?docid=b-9781501317798&tocid=b-9781501317798-chapter3&pdfid=9781501317798.ch-003.pdf (Accessed: 28 October 2023).
Lyst Index. (2023). Fashion’s Hottest Brands and Products Q2 2023. Available at: https://www.lyst.com/data/the-lyst-index/q223/ (Accessed: 29 October 2023).
Nike. (2022). Nike x Billie Eilish AF1 Low. Available at: https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/nike-x-billie-eilish-af1-low (Accessed: 29 October 2023).
Paton, E. Friedman, V. Testa, J. (2022). When High Fashion and QAnon Collide. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/28/style/balenciaga-campaign-controversy.html (Accessed: 28 October 2023).
Reference for Figures:
Leape, S. Zou, J. Loadwick, O. Nuttal, R. Stone, M. Simpson, B. (2020). More than the mission statement: How the 5Ps embed purpose to deliver value. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/more-than-a-mission-statement-how-the-5ps-embed-purpose-to-deliver-value#/ (Accessed: 28 October 2023).
Moribund, D. (2022). Fashion label Balenciaga pulls ads featuring children with bondage teddy. Available at: https://www.euronews.com/culture/2022/11/23/fashion-label-balenciaga-pulls-ads-featuring-children-with-bondage-teddy (Accessed: 29 October 2023).
Nike. (2022). Nike x Billie Eilish AF1 Low. Available at: https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/nike-x-billie-eilish-af1-low (Accessed: 29 October 2023).