The core values that a company or brand stands for extend well beyond inspirational words on a wall. To customers, employees, and other stakeholders, values are meant to shape an organization’s culture, define its identity, and serve a higher purpose than any product or service.

And in challenging times, having the courage to defend those values with conviction can give a business the credibility and momentum it needs to win favor with stakeholders and distance itself from competitors. Unfortunately, as we’ve seen, when brands come under fire, they often lose sight of their values, rendering them meaningless amid the excuse-making and backpedaling.

In this episode of Beyond Profit, a podcast of the ANA Center for Brand Purpose, Kelly O’Keefe, founding partner of Brand Federation, joins host Ken Beaulieu to discuss the importance of values, how to defend them, and the power they yield in great marketing.