The Growth Agenda Podcast: The point of purpose, ‘green hushing’ and more with Kmart, Weare8 and Dentsu Creative

In episode two of The Growth Agenda podcast, top Kmart marketer and CEOs at WeAre8 and Dentsu Creative talk brand purpose motivations, steps and barriers, and why it’s not as easy to put purpose before profit.

The Growth Agenda podcast

Having a brand purpose without a solid strategy and clear platform for growth was just “lovely to have”, but would not set you up for long-term growth, according to head of marketing at Kmart, Rennie Freer.

Speaking in episode two of The Growth Agenda podcast discussing purpose before profit, Ms Freer, alongside chief executive officer at Dentsu Creative Kirsty Muddle and CEO at WeAre8 Lizzie Young, hit on topics covering greenwashing, critical comms rules around purpose and having an unrelenting focus on the consumer. The podcast is moderated by TGA editor Pippa Chambers.

On the question of putting purpose before profit, Ms Freer said it wasn’t a phrase banded about the office and it had to be much more balanced than that.

“As someone who‘s proudly worked in retail for close to two decades, I am a firm believer that the two can, and do, coexist,” Ms Freer said. “I don’t think in any way we should ever talk about them not coexisting because purpose without a really solid business model, and a clear platform for growth is just lovely to have, but it’s not going to be commercial in the long term.”

Ms Young said while social media app WeAre8, had to have profit to have a commercially sustainable business — particularly as the tech investment required for delivering the platform was “enormous” — she said compromises did have to happen along the way

“We do make decisions around living our purpose and things that we are going to do that probably do put the purpose piece before profit, but there are trade-offs,” she said.

“You've still got to have an operating margin that delivers sustainable business growth.”

She said businesses might choose one course of action that was “very aligned to your values and your purpose” over another that wasn’t and would actually cost you more. Sydney-based Ms Muddle, who has Kmart on the agency books, said brands were increasingly asking agencies about their own brand purpose.

By learning more about the integrity of partners, how they’re driving purpose and what their value systems are, she said this created an openness and honesty in relationships from day one.

She said that was why it was vital to always “self-diagnose” and for agencies to ensure they had their own house in order.

“Success is around being good for people, good for society, and then good for business so we always look at everything through those three lenses,” she said.

Other areas covered in the podcast include “green hushing”, where people are almost too scared to talk about the small incremental steps they are taking in environmental, social and corporate governance realms, and much more.

Listen at theaustralian.com.au/podcasts