What's your Cause?

Bek Drayton, Managing Director - BeKonstructive Marketing

I firmly believe that brands and businesses need to have a cause. A reason for doing what they do. And not just something broad or generic like “we want to help people save money”. I mean something that connects people to your brand while humanising your brand. Something that people can relate to, and something that really sees your brand or business give back.

In an age where people spend 6 months stalking your brand on social media before they convert, where one poorly worded Instagram post can lead to a PR nightmare, not having a ‘greater cause’ could be the difference between landing a new client… or not.

My cause? My cause comes from an experience I had early on in my career.

Marketing is an industry that is known for exploiting young workers, and I was no exception when I began my career ten years ago. Fresh out of university, the only way that I could land a paid entry level position was to complete a three month fulltime unpaid internship. I was working on paid client accounts from day one, making their business money while I was earning nothing. It was highly illegal.

So, at BeKonstructive Marketing, I predominantly employ recently or soon-to-graduate marketing, communications, journalism and PR students. I give them the paid work experience that they need to land their first full time gig in the industry.

Yes, we provide a tailored and creative content marketing solution to our clients – but that isn’t our (my) cause. That isn’t the part of my job that excites me the most. What excites me the most is working with people just starting out in their career and helping give them direction. Helping them figure out which area of marketing they are most interested in, and then providing them with the training and experience that they need to build a career in that area.

So how do you figure out what your cause is? Well that’s a toughie. But I’d hazard a guess that like me, it’s tied into the areas of your job that you enjoy the most. What gets you out of bed in the morning (other than money)? What projects excite you, and what do you find yourself spending time on, even when the return isn’t as profitable as other activities?

If you can figure that out, I reckon you’ve found your cause.