Skip Navigation

Brand Purpose & Social Impact Specialists

Brand Purpose Strategy & Brand Activism Agency

Build a clear social purpose. Put it into practice through community impact programs, credible advocacy and communications.

 

Yulu Public Relations is a North American public relations agency and impact consultancy helping brands define their social purpose, develop brand activism strategies and build community impact programs. We connect deep social and environmental issue knowledge with research, program design, partnerships and strategic communications.

From an activism framework for The Body Shop to work on Audible’s Indigenous Writers’ Circle, Red Bull’s social innovation initiatives and Call It Spring’s brand purpose strategy, our experience spans the decisions behind a brand’s commitments and the work that brings them to life.

We partner with brand, marketing, corporate affairs and social impact teams across Canada and the United States, including global companies developing regional strategies and programs.

Explore our Brand & Culture work →

Discuss Your Brand’s Purpose & Impact →

Relevant Work

 

Our approach has supported leading brands like The Body Shop, where we developed their North American Activism Framework, and ALDO, where we facilitated a cross-functional taskforce to shape their sustainability and social impact strategy.

 

See more

When Your Brand Needs a Purpose and Impact Partner

Bring Yulu in when your team needs to:

  • Define a social purpose that connects your business capabilities with a meaningful social or environmental contribution.
  • Decide which issues your brand can credibly support and when to take a public position.
  • Turn donations, sponsorships or separate CSR initiatives into a coherent community impact strategy.
  • Create a signature program that offers tangible value to communities and a lasting role for your brand.
  • Build nonprofit and community partnerships with shared goals and clear responsibilities.
  • Align leadership, employees and communications around commitments the business can deliver.
  • Launch, manage or evolve a purpose-led program with evidence, accountability and a compelling public story.

Brand Purpose and Social Impact Work

The Body Shop: An Activism Framework for North America

  • Yulu developed a brand activism and social purpose framework for The Body Shop North America. Stakeholder interviews, benchmarking and Theory of Change planning informed priorities connecting external advocacy with internal practices. The work gave the team a structured basis for choosing issues, aligning commitments and planning activation. Explore The Body Shop case study

Audible: Building a Community Impact Program

  • Yulu helped create and develop Audible’s Indigenous Writers’ Circle, a mentorship program supporting emerging First Nations, Inuit and Métis writers in Canada. The work combined research and rightsholder engagement with program design, mentor recruitment, workshops and communications. Yulu’s role also extended to program management and alumni support. Documented participant outcomes include published works and literary representation, illustrating the value of sustained programming and Indigenous literary leadership. Explore the Audible case study

Red Bull: Connecting Brand Resources with Grassroots Innovation

  • Yulu supported Red Bull Amaphiko’s North American launch through community partnerships, applicant outreach, participant storytelling and media relations. The work connected the program with existing networks of social entrepreneurs and helped bring their ideas to wider audiences. The published case study reports more than 500 applications and 100 media stories. These are participation and communications results, alongside the program’s broader community-building purpose. Explore the Red Bull Amaphiko case study

Call It Spring / ALDO Group: Purpose Strategy and Brand Alignment

  • For Call It Spring, an ALDO Group brand, Yulu developed a brand purpose strategy informed by stakeholder and audience research. The work included a purpose and values framework, messaging architecture and guidance for internal alignment. The strategy established a foundation for more consistent brand communications and future social and environmental initiatives. Explore the Call It Spring case study

 

Our Brand Purpose, Activism and Social Impact Services

Brand Purpose and Social Purpose Strategy

  • Clarify the contribution your brand is equipped to make and the commitments needed to support it. We combine research, stakeholder insight and competitive analysis to develop purpose frameworks, impact priorities and a clear narrative for internal and external audiences.

Brand Activism Strategy and Issue Selection

  • Determine where your brand has a credible role in social or environmental advocacy. We develop activism frameworks that consider issue relevance, community perspectives, existing business practices and the action required to support a public position. The result is a practical basis for choosing priorities and responding consistently.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Community Impact Strategy

  • Connect your corporate social responsibility (CSR), community investment and partnership activities around a clear direction. We help teams identify priorities, assess existing initiatives and develop recommendations that link resources, responsibilities and intended outcomes.

Social Impact Program Design and Management

  • Turn purpose into a program people can participate in and benefit from. Our impact program development work can include research, program architecture, partner and participant outreach, workshops, launch planning and ongoing coordination. We help brands build the structure to sustain an initiative beyond its announcement.

Community Partnerships and Engagement

  • Build relationships with organizations and communities whose knowledge should shape the work. Through stakeholder and rightsholder engagement, we help define shared priorities, participation opportunities and partner roles. Program design should reflect community needs, agency and leadership.

Purpose-Led Campaigns and Public Relations

  • Bring commitments and programs into public view with clear messaging and evidence. We develop narrative strategy, media relations, thought leadership and campaign communications that explain the issue, the brand’s contribution and how audiences can participate.

Impact Measurement and Communications

  • Establish what progress means and how it will be assessed. Our impact measurement services help teams distinguish program outputs, participant outcomes and communications performance, then report findings with appropriate context. Evidence informs both program improvements and the claims a brand can responsibly make.

 

How We Build a Brand Purpose Strategy

 

Understand the Business and the Issue

We review your brand’s capabilities, existing commitments and operating context alongside the social or environmental issue. Research and stakeholder conversations help identify where the brand can make a useful contribution.

Define Purpose, Priorities and Accountability

We develop a purpose framework, priority areas and intended outcomes. We identify where internal alignment, resources or changes in practice are needed to make the strategy credible.

Design Programs and Partnerships

We translate the strategy into an activation roadmap, with program concepts, partnership criteria, responsibilities and ways for communities to inform the work.

Activate and Communicate

We support implementation through program coordination, stakeholder communications, content and PR. We help teams communicate clearly about commitments, progress and participation.

Evaluate and Evolve

We review evidence and feedback to understand what is working, what needs to change and how the program can develop over time.

Why Brands Work With Yulu

Yulu combines strategic communications with impact consulting. Our work spans purpose definition, issue research, community engagement, program development and public relations, helping brand teams connect their ambitions with practical delivery.

 

Our experience in justice, community health, climate and environmental issues informs how we advise brands. We consider community priorities, the credibility of commitments and the relationship between business decisions and public messaging.

 

Impact Communications is the methodology that connects this work: using communications alongside impact strategy to advance social and environmental outcomes. For brands, that means a clearer role, stronger programs and a public story supported by action.

Ways to Work With Us

  • Define or Refresh Your Strategy: A focused engagement to assess your starting point and develop a purpose framework, activism priorities or community impact roadmap.
  • Build and Launch a Program: An engagement that connects research and program design with partnership development, participant outreach and launch communications.
  • Manage and Grow Your Impact: Ongoing support for program delivery, community relationships, communications and evaluation as your initiative develops.

Brand Purpose and Activism FAQs

What does a brand purpose agency do?

  • A brand purpose agency helps a business define its contribution beyond the products or services it sells and translate that purpose into decisions, commitments and communications. Yulu combines that strategy with impact consulting, community program development and PR to help brands put purpose into practice.

How are brand purpose, social purpose and CSR different?

  • Brand purpose describes the role a brand seeks to play and how it guides decisions. Social purpose makes its intended contribution to people or the planet explicit. Corporate social responsibility addresses a company’s responsibilities and practices in relation to society and the environment. Yulu helps teams connect these areas through clear priorities, programs and communications.

What is brand activism?

  • Brand activism is a company’s action and advocacy on social or environmental issues. It can involve public positions, campaigns, partnerships and changes within the business. A credible strategy connects the issue to the brand’s role, listens to affected communities and identifies the commitments needed to support its position.

Can Yulu help us decide which issues to support?

  • Yes. We assess your business capabilities, commitments, audience and community context alongside the issue itself. We help identify where your brand can contribute meaningfully, what action is needed and how to communicate its role.

Can you develop and manage a community impact program?

  • Yes. Yulu’s work can span research, community engagement, program design, partnerships, recruitment, workshops, ongoing coordination and communications. Our work with Audible’s Indigenous Writers’ Circle demonstrates the connection between strategy, delivery and sustained community relationships.

How do you help brands avoid purpose-washing?

  • We examine the relationship between what a brand says and what it does. Our approach grounds messaging in evidence, identifies gaps between commitments and practice, and helps teams build programs with clear responsibilities and intended outcomes. Communications should accurately reflect both progress and limitations.

Do you work with brands that are still developing their social purpose?

  • Yes. Brands do not need a finished purpose framework to work with Yulu. They do need a willingness to examine their practices, listen to relevant communities and commit resources to meaningful action. We help teams establish a credible starting point and a practical path forward.

What will we receive from a brand purpose engagement?

  • Depending on the brief, deliverables can include research findings, a purpose and values framework, activism priorities, a Theory of Change, program concepts, partnership criteria, messaging architecture, an activation roadmap and a measurement plan. We agree the scope around your team’s decisions, resources and intended outcomes.

How long does the work take and what determines the cost?

  • Timing and cost depend on the depth of research, number of markets, community involvement, internal decision-making and implementation scope. A strategy engagement differs from designing and managing a multi-year program. Share your objectives and timing so we can recommend an appropriate approach.

Does Yulu support brands across Canada and the United States?

  • Yes. Yulu works with brands across Canada and the United States and supports global brands developing regional purpose strategies and impact initiatives. Programs and communications are adapted to local context and community priorities.

Let’s Build Your Brand’s Next Impact Initiative

Defining your social purpose, developing an activism framework or building a community program? Tell us where your brand wants to contribute and what you need to make it happen.

We’ll discuss how Yulu can connect strategy, program development and communications around your goals.

Email hello@yulupr.com or call +1 604-558-1656.

View our other services