BRAND VISION - MAKE IT SIMPLE

Now when you hear the term brand vision it usually comes together with brand mission. It's usually brand vision-brand mission or brand mission-brand vision. But they do tend to lean on each other. Vision-mission have become kind of intertwined and even some of the biggest brands are mixing them up referring to their mission as their vision of their future brand or their vision as their commitment for today.

The difference between vision and mission is that mission is the now and vision is the future.

While mission is the everyday vision is the someday; mission is the commitment. What we are committed to and vision is the ambition. What we aspire to. Like all internal branding your vision is internal. First many brands today choose to communicate their vision and their mission on their website or in their collateral. Now that's perfectly OK if you want to do this but they need to be more than just words on a website which most of the vision and mission statements are. If all you create your vision on your mission statement for is to post on your Web site, then quite simply it's an absolute waste of time. Don't do it!

Your vision and your mission should have substance. It should be based on genuine ambitions and genuine commitments that should be supported by the leadership. Brand vision answers the question where my brand aspires to go. What does it aspire to be and or what impact does it aspire to have your brand vision therefore is a projection of what your future brand looks like and or the environment in which it operates. Provided that your brand is contributing to that vision when projecting your brand into the future you want to be as ambitious as possible. The intent of your brand vision is to inspire and instil belief within the brand as to where the brand is headed. If you record a short-term vision based on a goal that you fully expect to achieve then the vision isn't ambitious enough just like an audacious personal goal your brand vision should be big bold and scary. It should be scary in the sense that it's not easy to achieve. But if you do achieve it, you'll have many more responsibilities in managing a successful brand. It should also have a timeline that's not too far into the future that feels more like a dream. And it's not too short either that you don't have time to achieve it or you don't believe that it's achievable your brand vision can be a highly motivating challenge especially if a brand adopts the vision and refers to it often be it in the boardroom meetings or in monthly or quarterly targets the right vision influences decision and inspires action.

What a brand vision should not be is an under or over ambitious statement that gets drawn up and then filed into a drawer never to be seen again. Your vision is the documented ambition that you have for your brand and it puts into words what you believe you're building from the outset and sets the tone for what you can achieve with your brand. Just like all internal branding your belief is the key. Your vision should be big enough that it scares you but not too big that you don't believe that it's possible.

Just like any big goal that you have in your life you want to believe that it's achievable and your vision should be that picture of success for your brand.

Post Covid world – Brands need to start communicating their vision to the external world more aggressively than ever before as consumers have become more or will become more thoughtful on whom they are associating with or already associated and is that association worth it. Brand vision is like your personal financial goal which every members of your family wants to know, and customer is your family member and they want to know it very well.

Let’s look at classic Brand Vision by world most loved brands:

Amazon:

“Our vision is to be earth’s most customer-centric company; To build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online”

Unilever:

“Our purpose is to make sustainable living commonplace.”

Google:

“To provide access to the world’s information in one click”

Harley Davidson:

“To fulfil dreams through the experiences of motorcycling

Ikea:

“To create a better everyday life for the many people”

Apple:

“We believe that we are on the face of the earth to make great products and that is not changing”

Make your Brand Vision purposeful and not just some text on your website

#stayinspired