On June 1 2021, Credit Union Australia officially switched its branding over to Great Southern Bank and debuted a fresh purpose and new set of propositions targeting first-home buyers. As Great Southern Bank’s chief customer officer, Megan Keleher, put it to CMO, the task of transitioning the banking provider to a fresh brand and purpose was the biggest change the organisation has faced in its 70-plus year history. Which made it vital every person across the organisation was onside.

Cementing a differentiated position in the outdoors category globally while getting local consumers to reappraise and fall back in love with its brand lies at the heart of new brand positioning and vision work undertaken by Kathmandu.

When someone books a rideshare car there’s a good chance they are thinking more about when it will arrive and how long their trip will take than about the company itself and how it treats its drivers. But Rajesh Vuppala believes that if riders knew more about how the industry worked, they might choose a service they thought treated its drivers more fairly, especially if it gave back something to the local community.

A fresh brand identity, overhaul of social media tone of voice and a digital profile strategy are key ways the Australian Red Cross is hoping to connect to more diverse audiences and changing perceptions of charity.

A long-term commitment to environmental and social principles has led Vege Chips to forge a three-year partnership with the Currumbin Wildlife Hospital in its home location on Australia’s Gold Coast.

New purpose-driven brand, MOOD tea, has launched in a bid to help fight youth suicide. The purpose-driven tea brand, created by the Australian media, marketing and creative industry, is a first social enterprise product to raise funds for youth mental health programs.

In 2020 political division and instability shocked the world, and it came in a year with protests and a new movement for racial equality, all while the world grappled with the coronavirus pandemic. The events of last year have thrown the role of brands into sharp relief as many people looked to them for their support and leadership on these health, social, racial and progressive crises.

The circular economy is expected to be worth $4.5 trillion by 2030, according to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Transforming the old ‘take, make and waste’ cycle with one that is structured around re-use, recycle and re-design will provide a host of new challenges and opportunities.

Grapevines may be incredibly fickle plants, but as 2020 has shown, grape growers cannot afford to be so demanding.

A not-for-profit organisation focused on delivering Australia’s first truly sustainable and environmentally conscious funerals has debuted its brand identity and website as it works to secure funding needed to launch.

An ambition to attach meaning to money through brave and purposeful brand work is the key to making an impact for Future Super’s chief marketing officer, Grace Palos. Here, she shares 9 elements key to the way the business builds out its brand strategy.

It’s critical enterprises have a higher-level purpose which can be translated by the individual employees into their work to aid productivity and engagement, according to the founder and executive director of the Centre for the Future, ​​Dr Richard Hames.

More and more, consumers are looking for brands they can have an emotional connection with, says Kathmandu’s chief customer officer, Eva Barrett. And for the Australia and New Zealand-based outdoor apparel brand and retailer, credibility around sustainability will be key to achieving this as it works to build engagement locally and abroad.

The FutureBrand Index 2020 has just been released, the first comprehensive global study into the perception of global brands since the outbreak of COVID-1. And the findings show well-perceived companies can consistently align the full picture of the experiences they create with their wider corporate purpose.

We’re living in a time of the ‘#noveleconomy’, a new and unusual time marked by the coronavirus, where the number one driver has to be customers and employees, Salesforce global innovation evangelist, Brian Solis, claims.

Nestle has become the latest organisation to announce it’s changing two iconic product brand names as the impact of the #blacklivesmatter movement continues.

National Reconciliation Week 2020 kicks off this week with the theme ‘In This Together’ that highlights whether in a crisis or in reconciliation it’s about coming together to support each other in a shared experience.

Being authentic to your brand values is more important than ever in times of crisis, according to the co-founder and CEO of Australian luxury leather brand, Maison de Sabre. Because there are plenty of brands who haven’t been and could lose customer standing as a result.

Brands are continuing to pull together and offer added value to both customers and the community at large during the COVID-19 pandemic.

​Unilever, the manufacturer of brands including Dove, Rexona, Lifebuoy, TRESemme, OMO, Surf, Streets and Continental, announced a wide-ranging set of measures to support global and national efforts to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brand purpose and community awareness has been becoming increasingly important over recent years. And with the rise of the COVID-19 crisis, it's never been more important than now.