Valuable Values
“People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.” - Simon Sinek
Lacoste, a French brand with an 85-year history, collaborated with IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) to save the world’s most endangered species by temporarily letting 10 threatened species hold its iconic crocodile’s spot, the number of polos produced for each species corresponded to the remaining population sizes in the wild. A limited collection of polo shirts was released at the brand’s official runway show at Paris Fashion Week and was sold out within days.
Lacoste’s campagin was a classic demonstration of how an age-challenged brand can mean more to its consumers, especially younger generations—by developing more meaning. In 2017, Enso’s World Value Index scored 150 brands according to how different generations identify the brands’ purpose, the extent to which the purpose aligns with their own values, and the extent to which it motivates brand advocacy and purchase. The brands that performed well had one thing in common: a clear mission and meaningful actions to carry out the mission.
Younger generations care about social issues in much greater numbers than older generations, and they are starting to show that if companies want their dollars, they have to make them meaningful.
Sources: The Drum (March 1, 2018) | Fast Company | (October 5, 2017) | Image: Image: LACOSTE X IUCN