Big brands are spending big bucks to fake what purpose-led leaders already have

Words by Bella Borello

The Analogue Renaissance, is it really happening? We discussed this in our recent online forum. If it is real, it feels grand. From all of the doom and gloom of digital overload, bots replacing humans, loss of community, loss of real connection. The pairing of the phrase ‘analogue’ with ‘renaissance’ feels very compelling for me. Despite having to explain to my 8-year-old that phones used to be just for talking to people, and TV used to be four channels (with ads), maybe, just maybe, we might be seeing a creative boom… a human-centred renaissance!

Could this be real?

It started with all of us bringing back house plants into our decor. Now, I’m hearing about landline phones coming back, iPhone apps that clear our screens of distractions and take us back to simple messaging, call and alarm clock functionality. I’m hearing about this trend taking over younger generations and consumer culture. At our event I shared this video from luxury brand Coach and how it was backed by a book club launch and a podcast series about what community means today. 

I even talked about Kmart, yes Kmart. Because in my mind, if Kmart is taking up something it’s not just a niche trend. It’s going mainstream. Cassette players, walkmans, hand-held cameras and many other throw-away devices are now on shelves. If news.com.au and 9 Lifestyle are talking about something it’s either a well-funded PR campaign, or, a moment that’s genuinely landing with most of us. 

But, what does this have to do with impact?

Because I feel big brands are working hard to manufacture what purpose-driven organisations already have. Community, connection, belonging and a bigger reason for being. Not just to buy something that’s fun, but to buy something that’s going to give us back something tangible in return. Whether that’s less screen time, more book reading, a feeling of connection that scrolling through Instagram on loop just isn’t sparking. 

As purpose-led founders, you are not trying to borrow trends or capitalise on the idea of community. You’re not trying to manufacture proximity to real people doing real things. You already have that, structurally, in how your organisation operates. The community isn’t a content strategy you need to invent. It’s already happening, in the wrap-around support your team gives, in the conversation someone has after an event, in the person who came through your program and is now the one running it.

I think this is where it actually gets interesting for those of us running values-led organisations. We’ve inherited a marketing playbook built entirely around what a dashboard can count. Impressions, followers, click-through rate. All useful. None of it tells you about who is actually engaging and following your threads. What conversations they are having outside of these digital playing fields.  

I’d argue the more important shift happening right now is from metrics to presence. Who’s reading something you wrote and sharing it with someone who needed to see it, in a way you’ll never see reflected in a dashboard? Who became part of your community because of one honest conversation, not because an algorithm served them an ad? That’s the audience that actually sticks. It’s just not the one we’ve been trained to report on.

We need to stop treating digital as the destination

If there’s one practical shift I’d ask leaders to make this year, it’s this. Stop treating your feed as the finish line. Digital works best as the doorway, not the destination. Because we still need the entranceway, as many of us rely on our special phones for calendars, appointments, bills and all forms of life admin. But it’s no longer everything. 

Make something real, document it honestly and share it in the places your people already are. Avoid running it through AI just because. We’ve all become forensic experts on reading copy that’s inauthentic (it’s a superskill I wish I didn’t have!). And instead of ending on ‘Act now,’ try ending on ‘come to this’ or ‘share this’ or ‘join us for this.’ Use digital to pull people towards something tangible, rather than keeping them scrolling just because the outdated playbook told us so. 

A strong strategy sitting behind all of this is what makes the breakthrough possible. It creates a real loop that doesn’t depend on a platform staying relevant, or an algorithm being generous to you that week. It’s built on something more compelling. Real stories, told honestly, to people who actually care. That’s a strategy that doesn’t expire when the trend does.

There is an analogue renaissance, but it’s not just about buying more things

I’ve recently read that paper journals, disposable cameras and vinyl records are having some of the strongest sales in decades. Maybe this isn’t a nostalgic trend but a correction that’s playing out in consumer behaviour. A correction in response to the last few decades of constant optimisation, perfectionism dressed up as wellness and unrelenting targeting and algorithmically served content performing as news. 

And here’s the part that matters for those of us in the purpose sector specifically.

Big brands are scrambling to look real, building whole campaigns just to borrow a sense of authenticity. Purpose-led organisations don’t have to perform that. The un-fakeable thing everyone’s chasing right now, a real conversation, a real outcome, a real person whose life is genuinely different, is what you already run on. The renaissance isn’t asking you to buy a film camera. It’s handing purpose-led businesses the advantage they’ve had all along, at the exact moment the market is finally ready to value it.

The businesses that will stand out over the next few years won’t be the ones with the best mission statement. They’ll be the ones who stop trying to sound authentic, and start ‘showing’ their purpose instead of just posting about it. 

Your story. Our craft. Shared Impact.

This is the line we use to describe what we actually do at Humans of Purpose, and it applies just as much to the organisations we work with. The story is already yours. The craft is in how it’s shaped and shared. Most of you don’t need to invent the substance from scratch. I’d love to hear where this all sits with you. Is your organisation’s story actually being told and heard by your audience, or is it still sitting in a report nobody outside the board reads?

Come and find me by getting in touch or drop me a line at bella@humansofpurpose.com