A POT of purpose
If there’s one company you expect to come at you all purpose guns blazing, it’s Unilever.
Like Knorr’s new 'Eat For Good' campaign, with its goal of "reinventing food for humanity, changing the eating habits of 7 billion consumers around the world by 2025".
Wait, what?
I mean, having a brand purpose is one thing. The reason you exist, what you stand for.
And then making that a social purpose is another. How you’re going to change people’s lives and the world for the better.
But everyone, everywhere, in four years? What’s the date today?
And through Knorr? Little pots of stock to add to your cooking?
Still, it’s Unilever. Let’s see what they’ve got.
According to the article in Marketing Week, they call the Knorr target 'Eativists'. People who recognise we have to start eating differently if we want to safeguard the environment and food systems.
They’ve also worked out it’s best to start small, because change begins in the details of everyday life. All they’re suggesting is occasionally having lentils instead of beef in your chilli.
This all has a ring of truth to it. Every piece of work I’ve ever done around ESG comes down to one thing. Most people want to feel they’re doing their bit, as long as it fits in with their life.
The tension comes if you feel what you’re doing isn’t making any difference. Because then what’s the point?
The answer is to talk to that Affiliation need in a way that resolves the tension. Assuming, of course, you can connect the insight with your brand. Otherwise, again, what’s the point?
So maybe Unilever are onto something. Small things can lead to big things. The flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil that sets off a tornado in Texas.
Or as the Knorr ad (here) says, ‘change the world by changing what’s on your plate”.
Maybe this is also how most brands should think about social purpose. More of an ingredient than a recipe.
And every piece of work I’ve ever done around cooking comes down to one thing. You might add a spoonful of Schwartz chilli powder, a squirt of Napolina tomato purée, a drop of Tabasco, a splash of Lea & Perrins, a pot of Knorr stock. But it’s still your cooking.
A bit like it’s still your life.
