Connect What You Sell With What the World Needs
Test social-impact work against brand values, relevance, and useful action.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 97%
Connect What You Sell With What the World Needs is Hoffman's relevance test for social-impact work. First ask whether the situation relates to the brand's values and mission. If it does, identify the specific lens through which the brand has permission to contribute and the insight or action it can add. Then choose the appropriate mode of participation; the default need not be an advertisement or statement. Hoffman points to Epic Games directing Fortnite revenue to Ukraine relief as an example of action without an ad. The framework ends with a clarity test: audiences should understand how the contribution follows from who the brand is and what it brings into the world. If that link cannot be made honestly, the brand should reconsider entering that arena.
Origin
Hoffman developed the test while discussing why some brand responses to social issues feel connected and others feel confusing or tone-deaf.
Core principles
- 01A brand should approach public issues through a credible connection to what it does.
- 02Values and mission determine whether an issue is relevant.
- 03Participation should add a useful insight or contribution.
- 04Action can be more appropriate than advertising.
How to run it
- 1
Name the need
Describe the issue and the people affected without first deciding that the brand must respond. Separate the need from the communication opportunity.
Pro tip Begin with what affected people need, not what the brand wants to say.
- 2
Test mission relevance
Ask whether the issue genuinely relates to the brand's values, mission, and business. Stop if the connection is only topical visibility.
Pro tip State the connection in direct language that a customer could repeat.
Watch out A noble issue does not give every brand an equally credible role.
- 3
Find the brand's lens
Define the distinctive resource, expertise, platform, or perspective the brand can bring. Hoffman says Nike had to speak through the lens of sport.
Pro tip Look for a contribution rooted in the product or community already served.
- 4
Choose the contribution
Decide whether the useful response is a statement, product, service, donation, platform action, or no public communication. Match the format to the need.
Pro tip Consider doing something useful without producing an advertisement.
Watch out Do not default to saying something merely because other brands are speaking.
- 5
Run the clarity test
Review whether an audience can see the relationship between the issue, the contribution, and what the brand does. Rework or decline responses that remain confusing.
Pro tip Remove the logo in a review and ask whether the action still makes sense for this brand.
In the wild
Hoffman cites Epic Games taking Fortnite revenue over a period of time and donating it to Ukraine relief. His point is that the company found a way to help through its own platform and revenue rather than treating an advertisement as the only available response.
→ The contribution connected the company's activity to material support without relying on a social-impact ad.
An education software company sees a community displaced by a disaster. Rather than posting a generic message, it checks mission relevance and offers free course access plus instructor support through a relief partner.
→ The response uses the company's actual capability to meet a defined need.
Common mistakes
Starting with the advertisement
Hoffman says storytelling and social impact are not limited to advertising; action may be the more credible response.
Entering without a brand lens
When audiences cannot understand why a particular brand is present, the work can feel disjointed or tone-deaf.
Repeating the existing conversation
The framework asks what new insight or contribution the brand can bring rather than merely echoing others.
Is it for you?
Best for
Teams deciding whether and how a company should engage with a social issue or urgent public need.
Not ideal for
Using a public cause as decorative marketing when the company is unwilling to make a relevant contribution.
From the transcript
“you have to be able to connect what you sell to what the world needs”
“what new unique insight are we bringing to the conversation”
“connect what you sell with what the world needs”
From the episode
The Marketing Genius Behind Nike: Greg Hoffman