Envisioned Future
If a brand is to thrive, the team behind it must have a stretching vision about what the future environment in which the brand will exist should be like, at least 10 years ahead. We firmly believe that it is important to say ‘at least 10 years ahead’, as we want to encourage managers to stop incremental projections and to develop a more challenging, lateral view about the future. To be appreciated, a brand needs to bring about welcomed change and, by thinking a long way into the future, managers should not consider themselves to be shackled by the current constraints under which they operate. They also need to remember that environments change and a brand has to be able to adapt accordingly.

For example, Kurt Wikstedt, the head of the electronics department in the 1960s at the Finnish Cable Works (which became part of the Nokia Group in 1967), had a clear vision of the future of electronic communication as ‘digitally charged’. Specifying a long-term horizon encourages managers to think about discontinuities that will result in step changes in the market.

There is no such thing as a ‘correct’ envisioned future. Instead, the team devising views about the envisioned future should be challenged to consider:

• Is this going to stretch the organisation?
• Is it stimulating facing such a future?
• Will this motivate staff to bring the future we hope for? There should be some flexibility, to allow for changes in the future environment.

Brand Purpose
The final component of the brand vision that needs to be identified is the brand purpose. This is more than just increasing shareholder wealth, or making a profit, which is taken for granted as being essential. Rather it is to do with answering the question ‘How is the world going to be a better place as a consequence of the brand?’, and again it has to inspire and guide staff.

We have focused on the three components of the brand vision: the brand’s values; the brand’s envisioned future; and the brand’s purpose. The reason for having a brand vision is that it gives a clear statement about the ‘soul’ of the brand and provides a good sense of direction. Defining the values that the brand will be true to is extremely important, since these set guidelines about the type of behaviour that will always characterise the brand and help customers to rapidly appreciate the brand’s promise. A brand should always have a few core values, which are timeless, possibly augmented by a few peripheral values which enable the brand to reflect the changing mood of society.

Brands do not thrive just by focusing on customers but also by thinking about staff. As this section has shown, it is important to ensure staff understand the brand’s values, are committed to delivering these values and appreciate the type of behaviour that should help the brand succeed. The brand team needs to formulate a long-term view about the environment their brand will face at least 10 years ahead. This should again provide a sense of direction, but it should also excite staff. By thinking about the brand’s purpose, everyone in the firm should be able to consider how they can contribute to making the world a better place through the brand.

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