Appendix: Organizational Relevance

The author presents "an abridged version" of a study in which her firm was involved to consider matters of relevance. The study consisted of an online survey using a convenience sample of around 2,000 Americans.

(EN: scanning ahead, it's a bit of a jumble of topics, so the notes are going to be similarly unfocused.)

General Observations

• For nonprofit organizations, people are attracted to brands that reflect their personal convictions and which they find to be inspirational
• For commercial brands, people seek brands that promise benefits and are in line with their values
• What they value in commercial brands does not differ much by sector or product class
• The degree to which the size of the firm corresponds to relevance varies
• There is a correlation between the degree to which brands are considered relevant and their financial performance and growth

Specific Observations

• For nonprofit organizations, there was greater correlation between the overall brand impression and the three relevance principles of a brand that has "values that are important ti me," "stands for the same things I do," and "inspires me."
• For commercial brands, the greater correlation was to brands that "help me meet my needs," "make my life easier," and then has "values that are important to me." This was consistent across a number of brands in various product categories.
• This suggests that nonprofits connect with followers in very different ways than companies connect with customers - the latter is a less personal and more functional relationship.
• In general, about 77% of participants seem to correlate relevance to functional qualities, about 18% find values relevant, and the remainder had a blend of the two. People may talk about the ethics of companies, but when they shop they are largely indifferent to these concerns and remain focused on finding products that serve their needs and provide convenience.
• Many commercial brands seemed to have "leading relevance indicators" - that is, people in general ranked them much higher on one measure than they did on others.