Weber - Authentic marketing: how to capture hearts and minds through the power of purpose

Larry Weber

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Copyright 2019 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for and is on file with the Library of Congress.

ISBN 9781119513759 (Hardcover)

ISBN 9781119513735 (ePDF)

ISBN 9781119513773 (ePub)

To my family, Your love and support I carry with me every day. Thank you.

LW

For the past 15 years, I have had the pleasure of running companies that specialize in leadership networks and professional networking, giving me the unique opportunity to meet literally hundreds of Fortune 500 executives. Ive had the privilege to hear first-hand their aspirations, fears, leadership philosophies, and challenges in an era that is unprecedented in its speed and scalewhere technology has upended the way we interact, buy, operate, and sell.

Through this experience, it has become clear that companies and leaders are in a furious race to stay relevant, and it is no longer good enough to just make money. Operating with ethics, making judgment calls with a social conscience, and staying authentically relevant are critical for survival in business today. Yielding more than increased sales and shareholder wealth is now a key element of that imperative.

Fast forward to the present, where I am now in the thriving hub of Cambridge, Massachusetts, with the amazing opportunity of serving as CEO of Reputation Institute, the data-driven reputation advisory firm. In this new role, I was invited to chat with one of the legends in the universe of PR and brand managementLarry Weberto exchange ideas on the need for companies to infuse a sense of purpose into the soul of their organization. It was a very intriguing and timely discussion, given that we are embarking into an era of corporate mistrust where consumers are crying out for companies to take the lead in doing good for the worldwhile also delivering on their goods and services. As the leading company in the domain of mining, measuring, and managing reputation, and as a purveyor of reputation intelligence, Reputation Institute has a deep understanding and expertise in this realm.

As we were having our exploratory conversations, Larry was deep into the throes of writing Authentic Marketing: How to Capture Hearts and Minds Through the Power of Purpose. This is his sixth book, and it offers readers the opportunity to discover the critical role of moral purpose for companies and to better understand the need to integrate core competencies, business operations, technology, and engagement strategies around that purpose. What struck me in our discussions about the bookand the topic of using purpose as a central guiding principle for companieswas the inspiring and fluid way in which Larry engages with concepts of ethics, morality, integrity, and purpose. He feels it, knows it, and sees the gaps that marketers, brand owners, and C-suite executives need to fill to embrace it. It is no longer a world where the purpose of a company is merely rhetoric or represented by a poster of platitudes with no sense of direction, alignment, or commitment to deliver on it.

Larry has seen with clarity the inspiring movie in 3D vision where companies use purpose effectively to elevate their brands, stakeholder engagement, and long-term value to new levels but he has also witnessed the flip side of when companies dont. His book encapsulates these experience-driven insights that help organizations discover the intersection of profit and purpose.

The subject of using purpose to drive decision making is key to companies and their leadership teamsand has become a strategic imperative in remaining relevant for future employees, customers, investors, and influencers. Staying relevant means keeping up with trends, adapting to new environments, and constantly reinventing your business by taking mental shortcuts to act upon large amounts of information and embrace new ways of thinking. For leaders, marketing and brand professionals and their colleagues, infusing purpose into the soul of your business is an inspirational raison dtre that should guide decision making, drive actions, and motivate companies to rethink how they tell their stories, the channels through which they deliver them, and the way they use data and technology to do so. Larry guides the reader to think about the potential revenue impact of a successfully demonstrated commitment to purpose and highlights the importance of storytelling and visual expression that is relevant for the world we live in today.

Larry brings a wealth of knowledge, connections, and foresight to the topic of purpose. He has the trust of global clients who have shared their stories with him and the undisputed wisdom as someone who has been at the frontier of building brand and marketing ecosystems for years. As a leader, he has not only proven his own ability to help clients stay relevant with his firms focus on technology, but also has a track record of predicting those trends that define the future.