I’m talking about companies that have made a strategic commitment to make “goodness” part of their brand’s equity. They link responsible brand citizenry into what the brand essentially represents to consumers.

I received a round of support for this idea in a conversation I had recently with Marc Pritchard, global marketing officer and global brand-building officer for Procter & Gamble. “People are definitely embracing brands that are purpose-inspired and benefit-driven,” he told me. “As such, over the course of the last few years … we’ve looked at how to make the social benefit of a brand congruent with its core equity.”

By way of example, Marc told me about the Pampers UNICEF Program, which focuses on eliminating maternal and neonatal tetanus in developing countries. “The benefits of the Pampers product are fitness, dryness, comfort,” Marc said. “This makes for happier, healthier babies. It makes their lives better, and it makes moms’ lives better. With our Pampers UNICEF Program, for every package of Pampers a parent buys, P&G will donate the cost of one tetanus vaccine to save the life of a child. What’s important to take away from this is that we aligned the core benefit of the brand — healthy babies — with the societal benefit of the program. If you can’t tie the benefit of your actions to the essential DNA of the brand, it doesn’t help your revenue or the brand’s equity with the consumer.”

Marc’s last point is vital to success. If consumers don’t get the intrinsic link between brand benefit and social purpose, they won’t buy it, literally or figuratively. To be believable and sustainable, your efforts must be fundamental to both the brand promise and the business strategy. They must be built into the brand’s identity and part of a long-term business model. To say they must also give your brand a competitive advantage is a given.

P&G is leading us into the next 30 years of marketing.