The Debate: Mission vs. Vision

What's the difference between defining your business's mission or vision? How does one answer that? What's more important to know is how a marketing agency can guide their clients in this answer, too.

Over the course of the last century of marketing, the imagination and attention of the consumer has become harder to understand and capture.

Consequently, developments such as various persuasion models, acronyms and abbreviations, promotional habits, and advertising jargon have been used to "facilitate clarity". Some of these ideas have been crafted for our industry, while others are merely re-applications of time-old knowledge.

The questionable appropriation of "vision" and "mission" is a wonderful example of this scenario.

These concepts are often used as mere statements. In a worst case scenario, these two statements are just fluffed up pieces of writing stuffed with grandiosity and poor punctuation; they become better suited backs to business cards than carriers of ideology in the employees and the brand's consumers. In the best case scenario, these things are the simple, well-stated beliefs of a brand that knows how to be useful and be seen as a resourceful authority.

This means that "vision" and "mission" can be wonderful assets for leading consumers who share a common interest.

So where does the confusion originate? 

These two concepts have gone from similar bodies to synonymous. How are they supposed to be used? How are they different and how do they work together?

Here's how:

• A vision and a mission are complementary statements. 
• Vision takes priority over mission. 
• A vision is a goal or aspirational objective that a company may never meet but hopes to do so. 
• A mission is a way to achieve success by delivering specific action(s) that will flow with the vision. 
• The simpler, the better. The better they are, the more likely they are to be remembered and used. 
• Simply put: vision= internal, mission = external. 
• Or, the vision wins the war, the mission wins the battle. 

Does your business need help defining its mission and/or vision? Then contact Integraphix, a leading Chicago creative marketing team with over 25 years experience with branding. 

GIF source: http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/blues-brothers

12 Branding Tips Every Business Needs to Know

When you shape your brand, you shape consumer perception. If you want your business to have value that lasts, then your business has to be as good as it claims. 

The quality of your brand identity and sensory experience that your brand delivers can make or break a deal or even consumer trust. 

Here are 12 points to live by for your business, according to our Chicago marketing company. Any questions? Then email Integraphix. 

What to Know About Naming a Business

The process of naming a business is sometimes one of the hardest decisions one can make. Your business's name is supposed to be something people will remember, describe your business, and let you stand out.

There are many challenges to naming your business; aside from the creative necessity, one may find that getting a name for a business requires patience and a knowledge of legal matters. So what are the various hurdles?

• Trademark law. This is one of the hardest things to overcome when you are thinking of a business name. You have to find a business name that has not been trademarked yet. The American trademark laws are not so lenient, either. As a business owner, there are two things to consider: confusion and dilution.
• Confusion is the chance that your business name will be confused with another brand. This is not only a worry about confusing consumers but could be a legal issue. One example I, even as a Chicago marketing company creative, is "Belvita" and Velveeta". Belvita makes energizing morning bars & Velveeta makes cheese. 
• Dilution is when your name/branding attempts to mooch or steal another company's, even if your names have no confusion. So, if your company name is "Ricky's Auto Shop" but your trademark is styled after the legendary "Carl's Auto Garage" by mirroring script, etc. then that's no good. 
• The penalties. If your business name violates a law, then the business could face some serious penalties. 
• No longer being able to use the name
• Being forced to recall products with the name on it
• Frozen inventory/seized inventory
• Monetary compensation
• What will your URL be like? Having a long but cute name might be good and dandy for your business but what if your site's URL is now going to be really long? That will make your internet presence hard and any search engine optimization will be a bit more difficult. At the very least, consumers will have some trouble remembering your site. 
• The realization that good products make great brand names. Sometimes we go into the idea of naming a business with the idea that we will be the next Apple or Nike; the reality is that they had to make great products before their names became great. 
• You have to love it. No good business name was created because the person thought, "Yeah, I guess it'll do." You have to think of a name that excites you; even better, it can excite those you ask for advice. 

As a marketing agency in Chicago of over 25 years, we have lots of experience with branding and naming a business. Is your business in need of marketing assistance? Then contact Integraphix! 

5 Successful Rebranding Campaigns

Every company has branding, it's just part of the process to create and run a business. Whether you consciously created branding for your business or not, you created one. The concept of holding the same branding for the lifespan of your business is unheard of; at some point or another, there is reason to go through rebranding. There are several reasons to rebrand your business; it can be a scary decision because it means doing something new/different, you are taking your business into unchartered waters. What if it turns out to be a bad rebranding experience and ruins your company? What if it turns the company from a small fish into a big fish? You never know unless you try.

Here is a list of five brands that went through rebranding and what made them successful.

1. J.Crew. J.Crew is known to many as a high-end clothing brand that sees customers anywhere from high schoolers all the way to A-list celebrities. They are doing really well and are a coveted brand for fashion lovers. However, they were not always this beautiful in the eyes of the world. It wasn't until 2003 when they hired a new CEO. At that time, they were seeing deep declining sales; however, once they hired the new CEO, they rebranded themselves as a store that sold simple clothes made from quality fabrics. They utilized high-profile faces like the Obamas to wear their brand during the 2008 Presidential campaign; Michelle wore a J.Crew outfit on the Tonight Show. 
2. Pabst Blue Ribbon. In the past, PBR was known as a cheap, low quality beer that was only intriguing to hipsters and frat guys. This blue-collar lager is still not seen as a great beer in the US but in other countries like China, it is seen as premium stuff. They launched a product extension called Blue Ribbon 1844 and put it in some fancy packaging and now it sells for $44 in China, the world's largest beer market. 
3. Harley-Davidson. In the wonderful year of 1985, HD was a motorcycle that was one flat tire away from being wiped off the corporate map. Once they hired the new CEO, their fortune began to change. Harley knew they had to improve their product so they did just that; once they improved their bikes, they focused on being the name they claimed, which was a quality bike made for the road warrior. 
4. Target. Up until the late 90s, people saw Target as just another store, like Walmart and Kmart, that was for bulk purchases and rather low quality. However, Target realized they had to stand out from their competitors, which they did by offering pared down versions of goods from high profile designers, this decision saved Target. Still, Target is number two in the race, behind Wal-Mart, but they are seen as a higher quality store and their clientele is seen as more affluent than their competitors too. 
5. UPS. UPS was, and still is, in a huge battle with FedEx. UPS used to be well behind their competitor in the race, though. FedEx was mopping the floor with UPS with their decisions like overnight delivery. In the late 90s, UPS decided to rebrand and switch their slogan from, "Moving at the speed of business" to "What can brown do for you?" They then launched ads showing mailroom guys to CEOs using UPS and loving their experience. They showed their consumers that they are adapting and looking forward to constantly meet their consumers' needs. 

If you are looking for branding or rebranding needs, then contact Integraphix - a Chicago marketing agency.