Leveraging Purpose to Improve Lives

People often ask me why I love branding so much, and my response is that I believe branding enables organizations to deliver on its promise & motivate the people in and around the organization to do something meaningful!

When I hear of figures like only 13% of the US population trusts organizations & 95% of employees don't know their company's goals and/or vision, it tells me that not enough organizations are focused on their brand. Because if they were focused on their brand, organizations would not be cutting corners for short-term gains sacrificing its long-term brand affinity & trust. And the employees of brand-centric organizations know their company's goals and are motivated to deliver on its promise daily.

But, what I love most about branding is that it all starts with a meaningful purpose! And when brands have a strong purpose the options are limitless on how you can deliver on it, often going beyond the brand's products and services and becoming something that adds value to people's lives!

Jamie Oliver, and his personal brand, are doing just that!

I saw Jamie's TED talk on teaching every child about food and seeing the passion he has for his purpose, I just had to write a post on him!

Jamie Oliver's brand purpose has always been to make "simple, unpretentious food that invites everyone to get busy in the kitchen". He has been delivering on this purpose for years through his books, TV shows, cookware and overall enthusiasm & passion for cooking.

Now he has taken his brand purpose to the next level & created a movement to use cooking to improve people's lives. Including Jamie's social enterprise restaurant, Fifteen, which I had the pleasure to experience while I was in London.

Fifiteen was established "to inspire young people – homeless, unemployed, overcoming drug or alcohol problems - to believe that they can create for themselves great careers in the restaurant industry". And it has seen so much success that it's going global by opening more Fifteen restaurants in places like Amsterdam, Cornwall & Melbourne.

Note: Me sitting in Fifteen waiting for it to officially open - so nice they let me wait while they had a team dinner - great experience!!

Jamie's purpose has also translated into his undying passion "to help create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again and empower people everywhere to fight obesity." This mission has translated into $1 Billion for improved school lunches in the UK, the 2010 TED prize for vision to change the way we eat, he was ranked #3 on the PSFK Good Brands Report after Google and Apple - not bad for the 1st time being on the list, and now he takes on the USA with his Food Revolution featured on prime time television!

The knowledge Jamie shares & the communities he has fostered, in an effort to pursue his passion, has given consumers many reasons to believe in his purpose and select his brand over other celebrity chefs. Jamie stands for something more than tasty recipes - he represents a relevant movement that people can incorporate into their everyday lives.

Buying in or subscribing to the Jamie Oliver brand gives customers a story to share with friends and family - aka bragging rights on how they, too, are contributing to something meaningful.

So, Jamie Oliver is an excellent example of how a brand, with a strong purpose, isn't limited to its products and/or services, rather it can leverage itself to do more and improve the people's lives with the added benefit of creating positive long-term value for the brand.