When a brand claims to have a purpose, more often than not, it is overstating its role in the world and making promises that don’t stand up to scrutiny. What started as a noble business idea, that really set some new brands apart from their old school competitors, has become a toxic blight on the industry as every conglomerate-owned brand seems to have reverse-engineered some form of societal purpose into their “DNA”. And by DNA, they mainly mean ‘ads’.

Quite apart from whether it’s actually possible to insert purpose into an existing business (spoiler alert: not impossible but requires a commitment most lack), too often this has become a box-ticking exercise that only exists to provide an emotive hook in brand comms.

I’ve never felt comfortable with the idea that all brands should have a societal purpose (vs doing something functional really, really well?). But the reason it jars most is the inevitable tone of voice it begets. Inevitably, most purpose-based comms lack humility when everything we understand about building brand credibility suggests humility is key - whether making promises, designing customer experiences or engaging your own employees.

See, credibility is different from purpose in one crucial way. It’s not about claiming moral, social, or environmental superiority or some other way of “doing good”. Instead, it’s simply about good business. At the heart of credibility is making - and keeping - meaningful promises. Giving customers what you say you’re going to give them and ensuring they actually see you doing it - something that’s particularly important in today’s ‘post-truth’ society.

And as consumers become evermore adept at sniffing out purpose-washing, credibility - which cannot be faked - is gaining momentum.

That’s the driving reason we conducted our inaugural Brand Credibility Index, a YouGov survey aimed at finding out just how important credibility is when it comes to brand behaviour, and how it impacts buying power and perception. The results show 76% of respondents said brand credibility dictates buying decisions and for 22% a brand’s credibility is a deal-breaker.

Meanwhile, 65% of UK adults say keeping promises is the number one driver of brand credibility, while more than half (53%) think credibility means a great customer experience - proof that how and when people engage with your brand matters just as much as what you say. Finally, over a third (37%) want honest, authentic storytelling: real narratives that don’t aim to hoodwink or deliver partial truths.

Not only is how brands communicate important, but where they do it is too. Influencer marketing may seem like a nice cost cost-effective way to spread the word about your brand, but influencers and content creators were actually deemed the least credible advertising medium in our survey, versus word of mouth, which was considered the most credible.

The answer? Switch influencers for advocates. Find people among your existing user base who have their own social media following and work creatively to plan a great campaign. It’s not as easy as finding a no-questions-asked influencer on a database, but it’s about doing the right thing, not the easy thing. (Though handily being credible is also, economically, the right thing.)

Our recent campaign with AXA did just that, tapping into the brand’s grassroots support for Walking Women’s Football (WWF) combined with the depressing stats about how many women gradually stop participating in sport as familial responsibility takes over (vs men who cling to their five-a-sides or 18 holes through every phase of life) and AXA’s partnership with this summer’s Women’s Euros.

Instead of doing a stack of content with 25-year-old WEUROS fan vloggers, we focused on a genuine relationship AXA already had, partnering with an age- and experience-appropriate advocate - Walking Women’s Footballer Julia Tibbs - and making an emotional film about her quest to create a team of cancer survivors.

Authenticity is another buzzword that grates but when applied in the true sense of the word it is imperative to any successful brand communication.

I take no pleasure in highlighting an example of credibility failure but in the interests of applying real life examples, let’s consider cereal brand Lizi’s Granola (not a cheap affair by anyone’s standards) which recently switched up its formula with cheaper ingredients including classic bulking ingredient coconut - which a lot of people do not like - and reduced their packets by 50g, all without lowering the retail price. Customers had no warning or explanation and were not happy.

Cue a social backlash that no brand can afford at the moment. There’s every chance the changes were made for sound economic reasons, but not enough was done to communicate to the customers, to show they are valued. Consumers might have accepted the size reduction if it had come with an apology or explanation and the promise to reverse it as soon as the economic climate allowed but Lizi’s didn’t find out what people loved about their product - it may very well have been the absence of coconut…

Instead, they’ve lost a lot of credibility in one moment - and when 43% of people stop buying from brands due to a loss of credibility, that’s a disaster waiting to happen.

A contrasting move comes from Octopus Energy - an energy and utilities brands that, according to our study, needs a credibility boost, with 27% of consumers saying they’re the least credible sector.

Perhaps in a bid to counter this reputation, the latest radio ads from Octopus are recordings of customer service calls featuring real people saying how much they enjoy being an Octopus customer. This is a great example of a brand doubling down on its strong customer service and making that the focus of its ads. Do they still have some pissed off customers? Undoubtedly. But are they doing a good job of focusing on the positives? Absolutely.

What to do? In a world where customers are wise to purpose-washing and are audibly demanding more, let genuine, well-thought-through credibility be the thing that makes your brand stand out. It will require more attention than a quick bit of purpose slapped on as an afterthought, but I can guarantee that, done well, it will help grow your base of loyal, repeat customers keen to conduct that most credible of advertising mediums - word of mouth - on your behalf.