Why feel-good holiday campaigns are backfiring on brands

“Purpose marketing” has quietly turned into seasonal theatre. Slap on some feel-good visuals, drop in a charity logo, cue the soft piano track, call it impact.

But consumers have clocked it. And they’re over it.

They see the gap between what brands say in December and what they do for the other 11 months of the year. Gen Z, in particular, has the best BS detector in human history. They don’t buy the moment; they back the behaviour. Integrity over sentiment. Action over ads.

If you want to land on the nice list, it takes consistency and proof.

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You can’t hug the planet with a hashtag

Now, to be clear, goodwill isn’t the enemy. Money is money, and every donation helps. But when the execution feels cosmetic, the whole thing can backfire.

Purpose used to be powerful because it was rare, committed, and built from the inside out. Today, it risks becoming background noise, and brands are paying for that loss of credibility.

Customers want receipts

Literal or metaphorical, people want proof that their engagement actually did something. In a world full of heavy headlines and genuine need, sincerity means showing your work.

The shift is simple: people now judge purpose the same way they judge product.

They expect:

Clear results, not vague good vibes

Transparent commitments, not black-box charity partnerships

Action all year round, not a once-a-year halo moment

Genuine community involvement, not branded photo ops

The brands that stand out aren’t the ones talking about doing good. They’re the ones actually doing it, quietly, consistently, and properly. A brilliant example of this is Australian workwear brand Trademutt, which has woven purpose into its product by transforming functional workwear into a conversation starter in support of mental health.

Doing good means meaningful, measurable, aligned action

The rules of the purpose playbook haven’t changed. Do something real. Make it measurable. Align it with your values. And make it easy for people to join in.

At Tap4Change, we’ve pushed the lesson even further: we have learned that a key reason for wanting to do good as a brand or an individual is — aside from making a true impact and feeling good about it – is also to look good from doing good.

Virtue signaling can be a huge growth lever for for-purpose campaigns as it increases sharability and therefore visibility for your cause. Brands like Who Gives A Crap and Thankyou even managed to turn cupboard items into household staples people display, leaning in to people’s desire to look good while doing good.

That’s the fundamental behaviour shift: purpose becomes collaborative, continuous, and measurable – not seasonal.

And yes, done well, doing good is good for your brand too.

Doing good isn’t window-dressing. It’s brand behaviour

Purposeful commitments, when done properly, build trust and long-term loyalty. People stick with brands that reflect who they want to be.

And let’s be honest, even if there’s a little virtue signalling in the mix, it still works. Why? Because doing good is socially shareable. It sparks conversation. It travels. That’s not a flaw, that’s momentum.

Givewrap is another example of a brand that has done this cleverly and successfully – turning joyful gift-wrapping paper into a canvas for supporting causes that count, too.

But brands don’t have to be about purpose to be purposeful.

Aussie icon Budgy Smuggler is not a for-purpose per se, but it’s disrupted a category with a solid injection of fun and is wholly committed to its local communities, bringing their vibrant energy and heart to support causes they care about all year round.

Make your commitments easy to get, easy to stick to, and join

The simplest way to make your meaningful wishes come true? Pick one or two causes that genuinely align with your values. Build a clear, transparent, measurable way for customers to support them – not just at Christmas, but all year long.

Treat Christmas as a launchpad, not a PR moment. Then seasonal generosity can turn into something bigger.

Purpose stops being a campaign. It becomes culture.

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