PARIS--MSLGroup is the latest PR network to a launch a 'purpose' offering, connecting its cause, responsibility and sustainability resources.

Led by chief strategy officer Pascal Beucler and global director Scott Beaudoin, the new unit is called 'PurPle', a play on the combination of 'purpose' and 'people'.

The MSLGroup effort follows similar recent initiatives from Edelman and Ogilvy PR.

The global PurPle offering will connect a team of more than 100 experts in cause, citizenship, sustainability and related areas. At present the practice handles over $25 million of business, working on purpose-inspired projects for clients such as Kellogg’s, GE India, Perfetti Van Melle and Dell.

“What it means to be a good corporate citizen has evolved from green (environment) and blue (sustainability) to purple (purpose and people)," said Beucler. "Tomorrow’s successful PurPle companies and brands will be the ones that drive more rapid and meaningful change in society and business through the co-creation with stakeholders of shared value, and a shared purpose in society.”

The firm's new offering aims to provide clients with advice on branding, change management, corporate reputation, employee engagement, cause marketing, social, digital and experiential engagement, public affairs and crisis/issues management.

In addition, the approach relies heavily on crowdsourcing and insight generation. To this end, PurPle will leverage MSLGroup’s dedicated platform ‘The People’s Lab’, which enables companies and institutions to gain a better understanding of issues, situations and aspirations relevant to their business. Regional leads for the program include Gaurav Mishra (Asia), Martin Dohmen (EMEA) and Ann Erhard (Americas).

The launch of PurPle marks the start of a series of roadshow events in local markets, beginning with the Cause Marketing Forum in Chicago, May 30 and culminating in MSLGroup’s PurPle panel event at the Holmes Report’s Global PR Summit in Miami on October 29-31.