"Brands should avoid binary thinking around discussions about purpose," said Sharmila Subramaniam, associate partner at PA Consulting and lead author of a new report on the topic published last week by the MRS Delphi Group.

“This is the time when we need to be leaning in to immersive, multidimensional research. At a time of increased automation and use of AI, it can be easy to step away from truly understanding your customer. You need to understand how your brand is being received and what the dissonances are.”

There’s plenty of evidence in the report that customers seek out brands that are clearly linked with a social purpose. It is also valuable for recruiting and retaining talent  – people who want to work for a company whose values are aligned to their own – said Sarah De Caux, lead analytics and insights manager at Co-op. 

 "55,000 people work at the Co-op. They're at the frontline of our business. They're a huge value add in the relationships they have with our customers. If we can manage and retain talent, that’s a huge thing for us."

However, Decaux went on to say that the increase in the cost of living has forced many to put price at the top of the priority list, ahead of their convictions.

"There’s a lot of people out there who are struggling to afford the basics. Purpose for them is a nice-to-have. According to the zeitgeist, Gen Z thinks purpose is really important. But they are actually being hammered by the cost of living and the economic reality is very challenging."

Brands should avoid knee jerk reactions that pander to the vocal few, said Stephen Woodford, CEO of the Advertising Association, because the majority of people "really do care about social purpose". With high levels of mistrust in traditional institutions and government, Woodford said the Edelman Trust Barometer shows that trust in business remains comparatively high.

“We do a lot of work on what drives trust in advertising, which includes an advertiser’s social contribution. People expect businesses to make a difference as well as sell stuff. We are not America, things are very different here. We do care, certainly in the ad industry, about DEI.”

In summarising the session, the chair, Colin Strong, head of behavioural science at Ipsos, said the need to help brands navigate the complexity of purpose and avoid binary thinking is a "call to arms for the industry".

• Download the report Navigating Brand Purpose in an Era of Uncertainty.