Good Stuff Partners, a purpose-driven brand and communication agency, is emphatic when it comes to its approach to business: If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything. That clear-as-day purpose, as well as the agency’s authentic belief that you’re only as good as the company you keep, is deeply rooted throughout the business. The Certified B. Corp doesn’t just talk a good game about being purposeful and helping clients make a positive difference in the world, it confidently walks the walk.

In fact, Good Stuff Partners isn’t afraid to turn away clients if their values aren’t aligned with the agency’s. They work with and promote brands they genuinely believe in and that can make life better for people, animals, and the planet. That purpose-led mindset extends to the talent they hire and grow, the quality of its work, the communities they serve, and its commitment to giving back.

In this episode of Beyond Profit, a podcast of the ANA Center for Brand Purpose, host Ken Beaulieu catches up with Adrian Power, founding partner and brand strategist at Good Stuff Partners, to discuss the unique nature of his business, the state of purpose in these changing times, how brands can stand up to scrutiny, how to build true purpose equity, and more.

There is no denying that brands wield enormous influence and power, and they can use it to drive social change through an inclusive and rigorous marketing strategy. How to create and execute such a strategy for the greater good is the focus on the new book Cultural Intelligence for Marketers: Building an Inclusive Marketing Strategy.

Written by Dr. Anastasia Kārkliņa Gabriel, a senior insights lead at Reddit who specializes in progressing inclusivity within marketing, media, and tech, the book provides a framework for embedding equity and inclusion into every aspect of marketing. In addition to insights from former marketing leaders, the book draws on case studies from purpose-driven brands and Dr. Gabriel’s own expertise as a cultural theorist and brand strategist to help organizations drive the cultural conversation and transform society for the better.

In this episode of Beyond Profit, a podcast of the ANA Center for Brand Purpose, Dr. Gabriel, who has consulted for many of the world’s top brands and agencies, joins host Ken Beaulieu to discuss her book at length and what marketers can learn from it.

While total advertising spend in the U.S. last year, excluding programmatic, B2B, trade, and local cable, declined 2 percent versus 2022, overall ad investment in diverse-owned media outlets increased 9 percent, reaching $1.9 billion. That’s according to a new study by the ANA Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing, conducted in partnership with Media Framework and Guideline. The study also found that investment in diverse-owned and targeted media increased 7 percent year over year, reaching $1.1 billion.

On the surface, those numbers might sound impressive, but the fact is, the overall share of ad spend allocated to diverse-owned and targeted media is a miniscule 1.4 percent. Black-owned media, spurred by digital, registered the largest increase in ad investment in 2023 at $55 million, followed by Hispanic-owned media at $11 million and LGBTQ-owned media at $3 million.

The bottom line is that the ad industry’s pace of progress with diverse-owned and targeted media is extremely slow, despite the high resonance, relevance, and trust delivered by such media.

So, what are the issues at play? How does the industry drive positive change? In this episode of Beyond Profit, a podcast of the ANA Center for Brand Purpose, host Ken Beaulieu seeks answers to those important questions and others from Justin Barton, SVP of digital strategy and partnerships at the multi-media company Black Enterprise, and Jenn Chen, CRO and president of Connatix, a full-stack video platform for publishers and advertisers.

Cleveland, Ohio-based OverDrive, a global distributor of digital content for libraries and schools, was founded on the belief that reading, knowledge, and learning make the world better. As a certified B Corporation, OverDrive not only supports literacy and empowering communities, it also works to make a positive social impact, notably in underserved populations.

Inspired by its purpose — A World Enlightened by Reading — OverDrive works with more than 92,000 public libraries, K through 12 schools, colleges and universities, and corporations in 115 countries worldwide. Its award-winning apps serve readers of all ages, reading levels, and abilities, in more than 100 languages.

Charged with building the OverDrive brand through creative marketing, advertising, and storytelling is Jen Leitman, the company’s chief marketing officer. Though she had wanted to either be an international spy or best-selling author earlier in life, Jen says the CMO role does require some detective work, from understanding human behavior and motivations to following leads to solve a problem.

In this episode of Beyond Profit, a podcast of the ANA Center for Brand Purpose, Jen joins host Ken Beaulieu to discuss OverDrive’s mission to create reading happiness throughout the world, the company’s purposeful marketing efforts and partnerships, its commitment to innovation, and how its operating as a force for good.

A study by Virginia Tech found that the number of wealthy women in the U.S. is growing twice as fast as the number of wealthy men. Women now hold 60 percent of the country’s personal wealth and 51 percent of all U.S. stocks. And by 2028, women will own 75 percent of all discretionary spending, according to the Boston Consulting Group.

The buying power and influence of women is not lost on Wendy Steele, founder of Impact100. The global nonprofit unites and empowers women to create transformational impact within their communities through the power of collective generosity.

Boasting chapters in more than 60 cities and four countries, Impact100 brings together groups of 100 women to donate $1,000 each. The chapters then provide grants to local nonprofit organizations in increments of at least $100,000. Since launching 24 years ago, Impact100 has granted more than $123 million dollars and become a case study in being a force for good.

In this episode of Beyond Profit, a podcast of the ANA Center for Brand Purpose, Wendy Steele joins host Ken Beaulieu to discuss the Impact100 and her life’s mission to leave the world a little better than she found it.

Getting the best possible creative work from your agencies requires a well-designed, well-written, and thoughtfully delivered brief. Such a brief not only provides useful direction, objectives, benefits, and measures of success, it offers the inspiration necessary for the most imaginative work.

When purpose-driven brands look to communicate how their values and products resonate with stakeholders, they place a premium on the creative brief. While similar to a traditional one, a brand purpose creative brief addresses a social need and other key elements that brands and businesses must keep in mind. Unfortunately, some brands fall short in this area, and it can later result in accusations of purpose-washing.

So, what’s involved in the development of a brand purpose creative brief? Why is it important to identify a compelling social need that a brand can “own”? And why is it critical to get buy-in on your brief from all stakeholders?

In this episode of Beyond Profit, a podcast of the ANA Center for Brand Purpose, purpose and brand marketing expert Hope Freedman joins host Ken Beaulieu to provide her perspective on the brand purpose creative brief and how it can make a positive difference in marketing and advertising.

Mita Mallick, head of inclusion, equity, and impact at the technology company Carta, is a big believer in the power of many. Specifically, bringing leaders together with different cultural backgrounds and different points of view and life experiences. It’s the surest way, she says, for an organization to authentically and purposefully serve customers and communities. If only it were so easy...

Transforming a workplace to improve inclusivity at every level can be a challenging endeavor, but it’s one that the most purposeful companies have made a priority. And it’s helping them build a culture where employees can thrive.

In her new book Reimagine Inclusion, Meeta debunks 13 myths that hold companies back from transforming their workplaces. Through powerful storytelling, she offers practical and effective strategies for building more inclusive, empathetic, and resilient organizations, and explains the ripple effect that can have on systems, processes, and policies.

In this episode of Beyond Profit, Mita joins host Ken Beaulieu to discuss key learnings fro her book, why unconscious bias holds companies back, the rise in DEI backlash, and more.

A survey last year by The Conference Board found that nearly half of large U.S. companies polled have experienced backlash from their environmental, social, and governance policies and activities, and 61 percent said they expect it to persist or intensify over the next two years.

That has led some businesses to pause or even abandon their purposeful marketing and advertising, despite the fact that most U.S. consumers want brands to weigh in on issues they care deeply about. This cycle of “purpose paralysis” is not only noticed by consumers and other company stakeholders, but it can also harm a business that markets itself as purpose-led, according to the global purpose consultancy Revolt.

However, it need not be that way, especially when it comes to more polarizing purpose-related issues, such as climate change and LGBTQ+ equality. Research from Revolt found that using more “centrist” language in marketing and advertising, as opposed to left- or right-leaning language, can make a positive difference. For example, centrist language like “securing a safe climate for your family’s future” is viewed much more favorably by consumers than the progressive frame of “fighting for climate justice for all.”

In this episode of Beyond Profit, a podcast of the ANA Center for Brand Purpose, Peter Bardell, cofounder of Revolt, joins host Ken Beaulieu to discuss the company’s purpose research in more detail.