Over the years that ‘purpose’ has been part of marketing’s regular vocabulary, some subtlety has been lost. It somehow came to signify the entire spectrum from a company’s basic raison d’être (making lots of x and selling it), through the big and brief proclamation (‘We sincerely believe in x’, says CMO of a cynical mega-polluter one day; forgotten the following week), and then to advocating for real change.
There is a big difference, however, between a company having a purpose and a company being an activist. Most firms have a purpose, whether good or bad. In most cases, that purpose...