Engaging End Consumers with Secrid's Purpose Stories

Abstract

In today’s landscape, an increasing number of brands are articulating their purpose to meet consumer expectations of greater responsibility toward societal and environmental issues. However, brand purpose should not be reduced to a mere marketing tactic; instead, it should serve as a guiding principle for organizational strategies and decision-making.

For Secrid, purpose has always been at the heart of its identity. Despite its reputation for technological innovation, Secrid’s foundation lies in a design heritage driven by the mission of "driving the industrial evolution by using design as a force for good." This mission encompasses a holistic approach to better design—better for the product itself, for people, and for the planet. Over time, Secrid has organically cultivated a loyal following, with fans who appreciate its innovative and aesthetic designs. However, due to its history as a retailer-focused brand, Secrid faces challenges in directly communicating its purpose to end consumers. Limited experience and resources in B2C communication have widened this gap. As a result, while Secrid enjoys high product awareness, its brand and purpose awareness remains comparatively low—even among its existing user base.

Secrid’s goal is to create a communication strategy that directly engages end consumers, ensuring that its products are valued not only for their functional qualities but also for the deeper purpose behind the brand. The ultimate aspiration is to inspire both consumers and the industry to adopt holistically better design and consumption behavior, thereby advancing its mission of driving the "industrial evolution." This prompted Secrid to pose the central question:

"How can we communicate our purpose stories to our end consumers in a ‘Secrid way,’ ensuring they associate us not only with our products but also with our purpose?"

Through literature and case studies, this project identified key challenges and opportunities for Secrid in addressing this gap. Design takeaways and criteria were developed this research, and a ‘Big IdeaL’ was formulated to serve as the foundation of Secrid’s B2C communication. Six essential characteristics of purpose-driven communication were identified: consistency, authenticity, empathy, transparency, collaboration, and adaptability and translated into design criteria and take-aways as well.

Building on these criteria, a prototype was developed for the post-purchase mailing touchpoint to test and validate purpose storytelling through the Big IdeaL and formulated design criteria. Two rounds of validation—qualitative interviews and surveys—provided valuable feedback that informed iterations of the prototype and testing of the design criteria. New criteria and take-aways were also formed based on validation outcomes.

The results culminated in a comprehensive communication plan, consisting of a Big IdeaL, validated design criteria and a suitable short term channel plan and long-term communication vision. The short-term plan focuses on reclaiming Secrid’s competitive position by optimizing current communication channels. The long-term plan envisions Secrid fulfilling its mission as a driver of the "industrial evolution," establishing itself as a benchmark for purpose-driven branding.