Activate Japan

I think when a product or a service kindles an emotional dialogue with the consumer the product or service can qualify to be a brand. As advertising becomes more ubiquitous across the country, it's increasingly difficult for companies and products to stand out from the crowd and avoid being ignored by ad-weary consumers. The shift in thinking is from asking how a company can motivate consumers to buy a product to asking instead how the product can touch consumers' lives. My favorite brand is Apple ever since I saw that Super Bowl ad talking about how Macintosh would change the world. I was reminded about why I loved Apple when this copy was used when Apple launched its iMac with their famous "Think Different" ad campaign. I got a real feeling of the mission of the company as well as its vision so I kept it in my files. This also ran and worked well in japan. “Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward. Maybe they have to be crazy. How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art? Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written? Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels? We make tools for these kinds of people. While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” Copyright, Apple Computer 2001

Both the Mission Statement and the Vision Statement reaches every area of the organization and is understood by their customers. A good company Mission Statement and Vision Statement needs to capture the essence of an organization without being so vague that it could apply to every other company too. To capture the essence it should focus the energies of the whole organization, and their customers too, in a purposeful way. I can say that the types of people that my former company BBDO hired all had a passion and energy for the vision and clients had that passion too. That company attracted a certain breed of customer that was ready to break some rules or push the envelope to be different. The client list was a who’s who of innovators and pioneers, Pepsi, Apple, FedEx are examples…even the theme lines we developed for clients and firms that the company handled had a vision for the company. GE, We bring good things to life, Visa bring your appetite but don’t bring your American Express. These companies had a clear vision. Both statements must be true. BBDO believed its statement had to be proven by winning the Agency of the year at Cannes, or the best Super Bowl spots…awards were critical to prove its commitment to the vision. I think the Mission Statement differs from the vision in one respect. The Mission Statement simply and practically outlines what it will take to deliver the Vision by outlining directives and regimentation. The Vision Statement can be ambitious and it can reveal how a company inspires its employees, customers and stakeholders to take the initiative and give momentum to the success of a company.