In an era of saturated markets and relentless competition, traditional competitive advantages – price, quality, and customer service – are no longer enough to ensure long-term business success. Consumers are increasingly making purchasing decisions based not only on rational considerations but also on shared values, ethical standards, social responsibility, and a company’s broader mission. Businesses have responded to this shift: rather than simply selling products, services, or even experiences, many of today’s most successful companies cultivate a sense of identity and belonging.
Values have become the market’s “new oil,” giving rise to a new form of brand communication centered on meaning. In this approach, creative ideas emerge not from clever wordplay or eye-catching concepts, but from a deep understanding of a brand’s purpose, principles, and role in society. By communicating authentic values, companies can build genuine connections with consumers, foster trust, strengthen customer loyalty, and ultimately improve long-term business performance. According to a survey by the безтендера.рф platform, 64% of Russians pay attention to the values and messaging behind advertising campaigns, while nearly half believe that creative content should reflect the positive contribution a brand makes to society.
This growing demand for purpose is largely a response to information overload and the overwhelming abundance of choice. Consumers are exposed to an endless stream of content every day, much of it now generated with the help of artificial intelligence. As a result, many increasingly tune out generic marketing messages and gravitate toward brands they know and trust. What still captures attention is an authentic story – one in which a company does more than simply urge people to buy a product. Instead, it communicates in a relatable way and demonstrates that it shares its customers’ values.
The importance of purpose-driven branding has become particularly evident over the past five years. Consumers have judged companies by how they responded during the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises – whether they laid off their employees, supported healthcare workers, or made meaningful contributions to society. The importance of values is increasingly recognized at every level of society. International forums, through their themes and mottos, have sought to articulate ideas capable of uniting people in today’s world. For instance, the central theme of the 2025 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum was “Shared Values: The Foundation for Growth in a Multipolar World.”
The need to work with purpose and meaning is evident, but businesses must remember one fundamental principle: values cannot simply be declared – they must be lived. This requires companies to move beyond slogans and translate their principles into action. Organizations need to clearly define why they exist, establish the principles that guide decision-making, support those principles with measurable metrics and well-designed processes, and implement specific initiatives that bring the company’s philosophy to life.
This is also where businesses face their greatest challenge: the willingness to make difficult and costly decisions. A company’s commitment to its values is demonstrated only when it declines a profitable but unethical contract or revises internal processes to align with its stated principles. Only this way values can become a genuine competitive advantage, fostering long-term trust and strong, sustainable relationships with customers. To ensure that purpose-driven decisions do not undermine the business, companies should follow one rule: a decision should never damage the business itself, but it should improve at least one meaningful performance metric.
Key business metrics can help track the effectiveness of a purpose-driven approach. In most cases, such an approach leads to stronger customer loyalty, reflected in metrics such as Net Promoter Score (NPS), as well as operational improvements, including faster sales cycles and higher service quality. Once a purpose-based strategy begins delivering measurable improvements across these indicators, it is no longer merely a communication expense but becomes a genuine driver of sustainable growth.
Naturally, adopting this approach also comes with its share of mistakes. Among the most frequent are using overly broad or abstract values that fail to resonate with audiences or, even worse, promoting ambitious slogans that are not reflected in the company’s actual behavior. Such inconsistencies damage the brand, eroding the trust of existing customers. After establishing certain principles, a company must first apply them internally, beginning with its leadership. The CEO’s primary responsibility is to ensure consistency, even when following the principles requires sacrificing short-term profits, and invest in tangible proof of the company’s declared values through corporate programs, employee training, and supporting infrastructure.
This approach not only reinforces the organization’s stated principles but also strengthens its employer brand, increasing employee engagement and reducing staff turnover. A survey conducted by the omnichannel marketing platform Calltouch (part of Rostelecom) found that employees across all age groups consider corporate culture and values important because they foster unity and motivate people in their work. As a result, investing in purpose and meaning not only helps attract new customers but also creates a healthier, more engaged workplace atmosphere.
By Natalia Osipova, Managing Partner, ADV Experience; President, Russian Association of Marketing Services (RAMU)