Marcus Rashford and the Power of Personal Brand Purpose

The September 2020 issue of British Vogue Magazine features 20 inspirational activists, including Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford, the only football player represented there. Editor-in-chief Edward Enninful describes the edition as “an ode to the extraordinary voices, old and young, who in this difficult year have devoted their energies to fighting for a fairer society” and it isn’t hard to understand why Rashford made it to the cover.

After the British government announced that the food vouchers given to eligible children would not be extended past the school term, the 22-year-old footballer intervened with an open letter addressed to all the Members of Parliament. Shortly after, the government announced a change in the policy and committed to keeping distributing free meals during the summer break as well. Because of Rashford’s campaign, around 1.3 million children in England will be able to have access to this right. Marcus Rashford also raised over £20 million to provide school meals for vulnerable children during lockdown.

The success of Rashford’s efforts are tied not only to his boldness and willingness to use his platform to speak up and act but also to his motivation and purpose — just as any other successful socially committed brand, he is driven by inherent values. To quote Seth Godin, “the people we’re most likely to want to trust and engage with are the ones who don’t pose. They’re consistent, committed and clear, but they’re not faking it.”. With the rise of consumers’ demand for purpose-driven and socially relevant brands, influencers and industries, the bar is also raised and people are able to identify when a brand is living out its true beliefs or faking it to fit in.

In his conversation with British Vogue, Rashford says that, to him, the cause is personal. Growing up financially disadvantaged, he himself relied on free school meals and could personally identify with the children whose rights he is fighting for. “I would have failed everyone that had helped me get to where I am today if I didn’t put myself out there and say: ‘This is not ok — and it needs to change.’ In fact, I would have failed my 10 year old self.” he says, when explaining his involvement in the cause.

The young footballer did not hesitate in taking the lead — not only by finding a way to stand up for his beliefs before the government but also by donating to his own fundraising campaign. In an interview with the Manchester United podcast, he shared his decision to personally contribute to give a boost to the campaign that started quite slowly and ended up surpassing the initial goal of £100k.

The achievements of Marcus Rashford’s actions are not limited to the actual impact on the benefitted children or his appearance on the cover of Vogue Magazine. His influence keeps growing, as he is presented and perceived also as an advocate for vulnerable children. As a major Nike athlete, it is expected that he would appear in their different advertisement pieces, but in the latest campaign, #playwithlove, he is portrayed as a leader. It could be a coincidence that just after the 'food vouchers win' his image would appear paired with the title “The leaders”, but it is most likely that Nike saw a timely opportunity, also very coherent with the creative concept behind their campaign, and used it very well.

Manchester United celebrated Rashford’s campaign win with a proud tweet, describing him as “A hero. An inspiration. One of our own.”, which was later retweeted by Manchester City’s and Liverpool FC’s official accounts. Even AC Roma, an Italian football club with growing social impact activity, praised him on their English Twitter account. The story was also featured on several media pieces, social media posts, and more, and in the month period following the breaking news, Marcus Rashford grew his online fan base in about 400k followers on Twitter and 200k on Instagram. He is not only enlarging his typical audience, but reaching new ones, and positioning himself as much more than a Manchester United/England footballer.

Marcus Rashford’s influence is rising and far from peaking, if he keeps the pace. The future of a talented 22-year-old athlete is very promising and he is just getting started on his fight for a better world as well. He told British Vogue that “hopefully we can keep moving this forward in a positive direction, No child in this country should be going hungry… end of story.”.

With clear goals and beliefs, a strong motivation fueled by his own life story and a willingness to act, Rashford is organically building himself a powerful brand that has the potential to thrive in a purpose-driven era and represents the generation that is consolidating it.