‘Brands have to do something’ - TCO Lab founder Helen Job delivers keynote at the GDI summit
On March 11th, Head of TCOLab Helen Job was invited to Lake Zurich to talk about Brand Activism at the 16th GDI European Trend Day, titled Morals First: The Rise of Consumer Activism.
Helen’s keynote addressed, Brand Activism: Beyond Intention, leveraged insights from TCOLab’s 2019 report: Beyond Brand Purpose: The Future of Brand Activism.
Helen discussed the difference between brand purpose and brand activism:
"We have almost reached peak purpose. Purpose is misused by communication and PR agencies – it has become the new ‘authenticity’.”
According to Job, purpose is what the brand stands for, what connects their employees and what connects customers to the brand. "Activism goes beyond purpose. It's about changing mindsets and politics. Namely, that brands take on more responsibility for things like the climate emergency. Brands have to do something, because younger generations and forward-thinking consumers will not accept things as they are.”