ArtVersion Executive Director of Design Erin Lentz recently contributed to a Senior Executive CMO Think Tank discussion examining how brands can approach values-based marketing without allowing the message to become stronger than the commitment behind it.
In “How to Ensure Values-Based Marketing Is Authentic, Ethical and Credible,” marketing and brand leaders discuss the line between meaningful advocacy and performative communication, and what organizations should consider before aligning themselves publicly with a social issue or cause.
For Lentz, the question comes down to whether the emotional expression of a brand is supported by something people can understand, verify and ultimately trust.
Emotion Creates the First Impression
Design has an immediate role in how values-based communication is perceived.
“If a brand speaks publicly about an issue but cannot point to relevant action, the communication risks becoming symbolic rather than substantive—and people can sense that disconnect quickly,” Lentz explains in the Senior Executive article.
Her perspective reflects the role visceral response plays within broader brand design. Before an audience fully processes the language of a campaign, visual hierarchy, imagery, tone, timing and presentation have already begun shaping perception.
That initial response matters, but it cannot carry the message alone.
Lentz describes effective communication as having both visceral and intellectual dimensions. The emotional side establishes how a message feels, while the intellectual side gives that response context through evidence, transparency and demonstrated action.
Give the Message Something to Stand On
This distinction becomes especially important when brands communicate around causes, social concerns or other subjects where audiences may scrutinize not only what an organization says, but what it actually does.
A thoughtfully designed campaign can create empathy and attention, but credibility ultimately depends on what exists behind the campaign. Lentz points to internal practices, sustained investment, meaningful partnerships and measurable progress as examples of the substance that can support an emotional message.
Without that foundation, she argues, the communication becomes “sentiment without substance.”
The idea connects closely to brand strategy, where messaging, visual expression and organizational behavior need to reinforce one another. A brand becomes more credible when the values communicated externally can also be recognized in the decisions and experiences surrounding it.
Brand Values Have to Exist Beyond Communications
The broader Senior Executive discussion reinforces a similar point: values-based marketing works best when marketing is reporting on a commitment rather than manufacturing the appearance of one. Contributors emphasize acting before advertising, tying advocacy to enduring organizational values and ensuring public claims can withstand outside scrutiny.
From a design perspective, that changes the role of creative execution. The objective is not simply to make a values-oriented message more emotional or persuasive. It is to create an expression appropriate to the reality behind it.
That principle also extends beyond campaigns. Across brand strategy and digital experiences, the relationship between what an organization communicates and what people actually encounter has a significant influence on trust.
When the visual, verbal and experiential dimensions of a brand support the same underlying commitment, communication feels coherent because there is something substantive holding it together.
As Lentz puts it, emotional expression needs concrete action behind it. The strongest values-based communication does not ask design to manufacture credibility. It gives design something credible to communicate.