There was a period when brands had the luxury of time. In the glory days of primetime TV and print copy advertising, consumer attention was there to be grabbed. Many of the world’s biggest brands dominated by creating brand architectures replete with insights that could be dialled up or down in their communications as appropriate.

But in this multi-channel world, brands may have three seconds at best to convey their essence. Messaging needs to be simpler and more defined to work on digital platforms with the associated brief attention spans. This is one of the reasons why brand Purpose became so imperative -  as a way to cut through.

But brand purpose has lost its vitality. It was originally intended to crystalise what a brand believed in and had decided to act on. But too many brands have approached it as simply ‘a mantra’ – a descriptive, resolute mission statement. I'd argue that’s just not enough that brand activism is the inevitable and mandatory response. Brands must ‘do’ as well as ‘say’ – what is needed now is acts not ads. There is a significant difference between brands making a statement and actively doing something.

Look at Mastercard and its ‘True Name’ project which enables transgender people to choose how they want their name to appear on their credit card. It’s wonderful, it’s needed and it’s important, but surely this is the very least we should expect of a brand – that it does what it can to protect its customers from potential aggression.

Nike’s ‘You can’t stop us’ campaign feels much closer to brand activism. While the focus of the campaign was the film, it was underpinned with a brand commitment (albeit non-specified) to non-partisan organisations including Time to Vote, Rock the Vote and When We All Vote. And it was in keeping with Nike’s long-established purpose.

So, what makes an activist brand? Our analysis of brands that take an activist stance shows there are specific requirements:

1. Be very clear on your ‘mission’ and what you’re trying to achieve.
2. Take action as a brand first – and then invite consumers to take action if that’s appropriate. Kotler and Sarkar agree with us on this one – their framework asserts that brands must act before they inform.
3. Give consumers the tools to act rather than simply saying ‘hey, why don’t you join in?’
4. Go back to good, old-fashioned detail – pay close attention to the consumer journey and use data-driven communications with clear roles for each channel.
5. Within that journey, let your creative team loose on ambitious communications and experiences that are truly attention grabbing – the rule of thumb is that it needs to make you a bit uncomfortable. If you’re not wondering how you’ll get it approved by your CEO, then it’s probably not going to do the job.

Dove is a client of ours and it has taken more steps into brand activism (or 'actionism' as it calls it) than most. One of the original Purpose-driven brands, it has progressed and extended its role in redefining beauty "to influence the entire social ecosystem to foster change" as Alessandro Manfredi puts it. The #showus campaign is broadening the definition of beauty through Dove’s work with Getty Images and Girlgaze to create a collection of more than 10,000 images that offer a more inclusive vision of beauty for media and advertisers to use. While The Crown Coalition  – formed between Dove, the National Urban League, Color of Change and Western Center on Law & Poverty – is advancing the Crown Act to protect against discrimination around race-based hairstyles in the US.

And elsewhere Dove now commissions and/or funds drama-based content tackling and exploring beauty standards. For instance, it supported the drama Girls Room – an award-winning five-part series created with Lena Waithe and Tiffany Johnson. Based on research and co-created with academic experts, Girls Room helps young people understand the issues associated with negative body image.

Activism can come in many forms, and so it is with brand activism too. The important thing is to start – take steps, set priorities and embark on this journey to progress your purpose approach into something that can better ensure lasting change.