On one of the busiest shopping days of the year, Black Friday, when retailers encourage the public to spend, spend, spend, outdoor apparel brand Patagonia does the opposite. Its Worn Wear initiative aims to reduce consumption by encouraging customers to hold on to, repair or swap existing products, rather than replace them with new ones.

If companies are profit-making entities and the point of advertising is to sell products or services, then Patagonia’s approach may seem counterintuitive. Yet the retailer is one of a raft of companies that believe business should be about more than the bottom line.

“We are not a green company by any means,” says Adam Fetcher, director of global PR and communications at Patagonia. “But what we can do is constantly try to be better.”

For an industry with a buzzword habit, it is easy to dismiss this notion of brand purpose – as the movement has been labelled – as the latest marketing trend. But brand purpose should not be confused with corporate social responsibility (CSR) or cause marketing: it is the reason a brand exists beyond making money, says Matthew Gardner, director of brand influence, at New York-based ad agency Droga5.

“Because of the challenge for people’s attention, purpose is the only thing that will get brands to break through. This is not a trend but more of an imperative and should be top of mind for every company,” he says.

Winning the talent war

Defining a brand purpose is not only crucial for connecting with today’s more socially conscious consumers, who are always a few clicks away from finding out most information about companies; having a clear set of values has become increasingly important for attracting and retaining talent.

“If you can attract people whose personalities fit with your values then you are in magnificent shape,” says Dan Brooke, chief marketing and communications officer at Channel 4.

“Provided your values are meaningful and differentiated, that moth to a flame effect exacerbates your advantage, because you are getting all the best people who want to be like that working for you,” he says.

Channel 4 is an example of a brand that has had purpose baked into the business from its inception – to be innovative, different and represent an alternative point of view. This stems from the broadcaster’s public service remit and meant its partnership with the London 2012 Paralympic Games was a perfect fit, says Brooke.

He says: “We covered it in a really innovative and unapologetic way. Rather than trying to invoke sympathy, we tried to show how the athletes are normal people but also extraordinary.”

To this end, Channel 4’s much-lauded Meet the Superhumans TV ad, promoting its coverage of the Games, showcased the physical attributes of the athletes and their disabilities, creating a powerful and arresting production.

There will be times, however, when brands looking to convey purpose in their marketing get it wrong. In 2012, Channel 4 came under scrutiny for an ad campaign promoting its TV show Big Fat Gypsy Weddings, because of the way it portrayed Gypsies and the traveller community in a negative light. “Channel 4’s history is well-stocked with examples of times when we didn’t get things just right, which sometimes happens when you are trying to be new and different and take risks,” says Brooke.

When brands get purpose wrong

Starbucks is a brand that recently found itself in the firing line over its attempts to talk about racial inequality in the US. The scheme, which kicked off by getting baristas to write Race Together on coffee cups, attracted sharp criticism and social media mockery. Within a month of its launch, Starbucks announced it was stopping the coffee cup slogan idea – which it claimed was always the plan – but Race Together would live on. In a memo, Howard Schultz, Starbucks chief executive, unveiled plans to hire 10,000 disadvantaged youths over the next three years and open new stores in areas with minority communities.

Brands looking to communicate their purpose should be thinking about long-term commitments to purposes and building partnerships, otherwise they may be seen as piggybacking or cashing in on causes, warns Rob Holzer, founder and chief executive of Matter Unlimited, a New York creative agency that works with clients on making a positive social impact.

“The problem is when companies overstate their purpose. They go out and create a whizbang campaign but if they haven’t done their homework or messaging underneath it, they can get caught out,” he says.

“Companies that are so entrenched in their approach to advertising and marketing are going to have real trouble in this area of purpose-driven marketing,” he adds.

This was one of the problems McDonald’s faced, with its divisive Pay with Lovin’ campaign in the US. The ad, which debuted during this year’s Super Bowl, showcased a scheme in which random customers were able to pay with lovin’ – meaning high-fives, hugs, dances and phone calls to loved ones – rather than cash. The idea was to engage customers with staff and share positivity, but the fact it came at a time when the company faces scrutiny over worker wages in the US, meant it also attracted criticism.

“McDonald’s and its independent franchisees value our employees and appreciate all they do for us and our customers. Pay with Lovin’ was one way that all of us at McDonald’s thanked our customers for choosing McDonald’s,” said a McDonald’s spokesperson via email. “We saw both customers and crew respond very positively to the Pay with Lovin’ campaign.”

It is easier, of course, for new brands to build purpose into their business model from the outset, but what about large businesses whose practice in one area might conflict with its new-found purpose? Can a fast-fashion brand’s purpose be around sustainability? Can fast-food chains really support healthy eating?

The equation becomes even trickier when you factor in the pressure that public companies face to deliver shareholder value, meaning profit comes above all else. “It’s a contradiction that companies are going to have to wrestle with. But they have to look at this as an evolution, not something that is going to change or fix overnight,” says Holzer.

Companies will not achieve perfection when it comes to purpose, but as long as they are “transparent and sincere” in communicating these goals, then consumers will support them, he adds.

Brands have a huge amount of scale and so this sort of work is a step in the right direction, agrees Brooke. “Whatever the motive is, it’s producing a good end result,” he says. “This is how the world changes.”

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