Purpose

Brand purpose is about moving a brand towards greater prosperity, not just keeping it alive. Brand purpose is a concept that is more important than profit and is a key way to drive long-term business growth for a brand. A brand’s purpose is a long-term, core objective that is a key component of the brand’s identity, meaning structure and strategy. The purpose of a brand goes beyond the profitability of the brand, it gives the brand a certain link to the productive nature of the world. The purpose of the brand is more focused on bringing well-being to society as a whole and leading society and humanity as a whole to develop and progress; such brands do not have a singular emphasis on the actions of the self and are more likely to bring happiness to consumers. (Williams et al., 2022).

Nowadays, brands are no longer just an expression of the quality, functionality and monetary value of a product, but represent the philosophy, values, goals and self-affirmation that consumers use to explain their lives. A brand with its own set mission, vision and value proposition will be able to know exactly where it should be heading, and a brand philosophy will help consumers to better understand and appreciate the brand so that they can more accurately find a brand that matches their values and shares their vision. A brand vision creates excitement among employees, who are more likely to enjoy their role in the brand. A brand vision creates a sense of pride in employees and gives them a sense of purpose and motivation for their work, which enables them to better contribute to the profitability of the brand and serve the brand (Leslie et al., 1998). It is the brand philosophy that is the main support for the development of the brand in a deeper and longer-term way.

The sharing economy is defined as “a socio-economic system that enables the exchange of goods and services between individuals and organisations with the aim of increasing efficiency and optimising the use of society’s secondary resources (Munoz & Cohen, 2016: p21, cited in Hossain, 2020).” The sharing economy is a way for organisations or various individuals with idle resources to give up the use of their resources to others for a fee so that the transferor receives a return and the sharer creates value by sharing others’ idleness to access resources. Sharing underutilised assets in an efficient and sustainable way is the main purpose of resource sharing (Hossain, 2020). In recent years companies such as Uber and Airbnb have grown to become globally known brands. Airbnb is the leader in shared accommodation and is the originator of the sharing economy, a website for travellers and homeowners with empty rooms to rent. Airbnb has a strong brand, generates traffic through free channels and has lower customer acquisition costs than its peers. The sharing of the economy can reduce costs for consumers while providing them with great convenience (Wilhelms et al., 2017). In any case, it is believed that the sharing economy has a significant impact on society, the economy and the environment. It also contributes to sustainable development (Hossain, 2020).

The main consumer in today’s modern society is Gen Z. Gen Z is adept at using social media and the internet (Dimock, 2019). Brands that want to communicate their brand purpose to Gen Z should use the internet on a large scale and various social media that Gen Z use frequently to promote the brand, advertise, etc. Brands should be on all major social media, create their own social brand accounts, and post updates on the accounts. Fresh images can attract Gen Z to view them. Or brands can look for designers from the Gen Z generation who understand Gen Z better because they belong to Gen Z so that they can better communicate the brand’s mission to Gen Z. Brands can also look for influential accounts on social media to help promote the brand or develop collaborative products, which can help the brand better communicate the brand’s mission to Gen Z.

Reference list：
Chernatony, L. and Riley, F. (1998). Modelling the components of the brand. [online] Available at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/03090569810243721/full/html [Accessed 29 Oct. 2022].

Dimock, M. (2019). Defining generations: Where Millennials End and Generation Z Begins. [online] Pew Research Center. Available at: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/17/where-millennials-end-and-generation-z-begins/ [Accessed 30 Oct. 2022].

Hossain, M. (2020). Sharing economy: A comprehensive literature review. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 87(102470). doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2020.102470 [Accessed 29 Oct. 2022].

Wilhelms, M.-P., Henkel, S. and Falk, T. (2017). To earn is not enough: A means-end analysis to uncover peer-providers’ participation motives in peer-to-peer carsharing. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, [online] 125(38-47), pp.38–47. doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2017.03.030 [Accessed 29 Oct. 2022].

Williams, P., Escalas, J.E. and Morningstar, A. (2022). Conceptualizing brand purpose and considering its implications for consumer eudaimonic well‐being. Journal of Consumer Psychology. [online] doi:10.1002/jcpy.1324 [Accessed 29 Oct. 2022].