Long Live Brand Pragmatism

Performative purpose has lost its shine. In an Age of American Uncertainty, consumers are looking for proof they can see, pragmatism they can feel and purpose they can hold.

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By Yuliana Safari, Strategy Director at JDO Global

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For years, brand purpose has been about big societal promises: save the planet, protect the future, improve inclusivity for all. 

And while these goals matter deeply, they often feel distant or intangible to the everyday consumer. Too often they are lofty words for board room theatre. What people are now looking for sustainable products that impact them - their health, their home, their wallet over lofty societal promise.

It’s no longer about ‘doing good’ in the abstract. It’s about ‘doing good for me.’ Making my life better, easier, smarter.

It’s a key theme in JDO’s Age of American Uncertainty playbook. We’ve all been burned by empty purpose and frankly, feeling the economy in our wallets and savings. We don't want gestures. We want proof we see, purpose we can feel and hold.

Performative purpose is dead. Long live pragmatism.

America is watching

When brands play on performative purpose, only to backtrack on DEI and sustainability causes, it leaves consumers feeling cynical about what made brand purpose shiny in the first place. And the evidence is staring us in our faces - more than 88% of consumers say brand messaging does not resonate with their needs and values. One-third of US consumers say they will stop buying a brand that doesn’t live up to its promise. More than half of over-50-year-olds and 59% of women surveyed are distrustful of big global brands.

Americans no longer want fantasies of tomorrow. We want real action that makes the here and now better.

As Fabio Milnitzky, CEO of IN, puts it: “Pressure from investors, regulators, employees, and society will increasingly be: Show the proof. This means linking purpose to hard indicators such as retention, safety, inclusion, decarbonization, product portfolio, reputation, and total shareholder return.”

An era of action

Gone are the days of grandiose purpose manifestos and polished utopias. What we’re seeing now is a return to honest, grounded, and practical communication. It’s both show and tell.

Dove, for example, partnered with LinkedIn to commission a study into race-based hair bias and discrimination, then launched LinkedIn Learning courses to help correct it in the workplace. It investigated the problem, made it visible and gave people practical tools to address it.

Patagonia has built its legacy by proving its values through action. In 2022, founder Yvon Chouinard transferred ownership of the company to a trust and nonprofit structure, ensuring that its profits would be used to help fight climate change. It was purpose embedded into the very foundations of the business. That’s not a campaign. It’s structural change.

And Nike’s Move to Zero is a shift in product design and its supply chain toward zero carbon and zero waste, backed by tangible progress across materials, factories and logistics.

Pragmatic purpose works, don’t just take our word for it - 58% of organizations with a clear and strong purpose experience more than 10% growth over three years compared with those without it.

Purpose designed into the everyday

The brands that do it best tie purpose back to their product promise, proving they deliver real, honest value in the everyday. Not lofty speeches. Not borrowed causes. Just the product itself, doing more. Because when purpose is woven into performance, it is grounded in what you already do best.

We can see it in packaging. Take Sprite, which swapped its iconic green bottle for clear plastic to improve recyclability, making its environmental purpose immediately visible.

We can see it in the product experience. Fenty Beauty, for instance, made its expansive shade range a first principle, carrying its commitment to accessibility into every new product and category.

And we can see it in brand spaces. Nike’s Refurbished program offers renewed, gently worn gear in select stores, turning the retail environment itself into a tangible expression of the brand’s values.

The future of brand pragmatism will see brands engage with consumers on an even more tangible and tactile level. Sustainability initiatives can no longer be limited to a recycling bin in-store. They must empower consumers with the skills to make a meaningful difference.

Levi’s Wear Longer Workshops do exactly that. They teach Gen Z four key repair skills: sewing on buttons, hemming, patching holes and fixing tears. The initiative makes sustainability useful while reinforcing something fundamental about the product: Levi’s are made to be worn - and worn for longer.

How to earn belief

Brand purpose in today’s climate isn’t about being bigger, bolder or broader. It’s about tangible and achievable goals. Progress over perfection. That means anchoring it in what you can actually deliver: something tangible, achievable and true to your brand DNA.

Here are three ways to do it:

• Make your goals concrete. Set ambitions substantial enough to silence the skeptics. Prioritize the pragmatic over the fantastic.

• Shape purpose to fit people’s lives. Be explicit about how it will make those lives better, right now.

• Make creativity work harder. Substance doesn’t have to be forgettable. Proof still needs to capture attention, create emotion and give people a reason to care.

  
  

In uncertain times, belief will belong to the brands that close the gap between promise and performance. Less posturing. Less poetry for poetry’s sake. More action people can see, feel and experience for themselves.

Visit here to get your copy of JDO’s The Age of American Uncertainty: www.ageofuncertainty.jdoglobal.com