You have a briefing behind you — the stage of clarifying and formulating the needs of your brand (Why is a brief so important — and what can it give your business?). So it's time for the next step: defining “winning aspiration” — a simple record of the brand's philosophy. Your guiding principle of the market game.
What is Winning Aspiration?
Winning aspiration (aka “guiding principle”) is the main idea, the idea on which the brand's strategy is based. This is the foundation for building its effective and authentic image. A fundamental message that ensures consistency and understanding of all the actions taken by the company. In the book “Golden Brand Strategy” Jarek Szczepański points out that the guiding principle is preferably one sentence, which at the same time:
- is the essence of the brand idea,
- determines the purpose of its existence,
- indicates its value and uniqueness in the market.
Forms of its recording and determination can be different:
- vision and meaning,
- credo,
- the purpose of existence,
- vision and mission,
- meaning and principles,
- Ambition...
All of them are fine — as long as they are authentic, understandable and... short. Otherwise, they will lose their causative power and become an addition. And it is of dubious usefulness! See examples:
- WIX: “Create your own professional web presence—exactly the way you want.”
- TED: “Spread ideas.”
- Google: “To organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.”
- Forbes: “To convene, curate and cover the most influential leaders and entrepreneurs who are driving change, transforming business and making a significant impact on the world.”
- American Red Cross: “To prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.”
- MoMA: “To share great modern and contemporary art with the public.”
- The Walt Disney Company: “To entertain, inform and inspire people around the globe through the power of unparalleled storytelling, reflecting the iconic brands, creative minds and innovative technologies that make ours the world's premier entertainment company.”
- Twitter: “Gives everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly without barriers.”
- Airbnb: “To create a world where anyone can belong anywhere and we are focused on creating an end-to-end travel platform that will handle every part of your trip.”
- Ikea: “To offer a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low, that as many people as possible will be able to afford them.”
- Prezi: “To reinvent how people share knowledge, tell stories, and inspire their audiences to act.”
- Patagonia: “Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.”
- Sony: “To fill the world with emotion, through the power of creativity.”
- Nike: “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.”
What is Winning Aspiration?
Speaking of the guiding principle, we move at the level of abstraction—dreams, ambitions, and future—and only then put that into a hard-footed and detailed strategy and tactics. Therefore, it is equally important to understand what winning aspiration is NOT:
- a marketing flower for a sheepskin coat,
- advertising slogan,
- a description of the product or service offered by the company,
- a comprehensive book of quasi-strategic water supply.
Winning aspiration is intended to serve as a pillar for the company's long-term marketing and communication activities, and not just as an advertising slogan. Therefore, it is very likely that you will not hear or see its exact sound in any of the brand's advertisements. The guiding principle is not only about what the company offers, but above all: why and how it does it.
Where to get them?
Although winning aspiration is concise and inconspicuous, its definition requires preparation and deeper reflection. Fortunately, only 2 steps lead to it:
1. Define the market/business.
First of all, it is necessary to properly analyze the characteristics of the market (the narrow range in which the company operates), as well as the needs and expectations of customers. What works in your favor is that... each of us is different. And therefore: each of us has a unique way of looking at the world and business. And if you see something differently than others, you will act differently than others. Now you just have to write it down. Half way behind you!
“People, looking at the same canvas, see different images. It is the same with looking at the market: not everyone understands it in the same way - and does not have to at all. How an organization perceives the environment around it determines the actions it takes.”
— Jarek Szczepanski
Here are some examples:
- Shimano: “Schimano sees its business in narrow limits - in mechanical bicycle attachments and fishing reels. Although it could successfully expand the offer to include cycling and fishing accessories, and even produce bicycles and fishing rods, it does not do this, because it does not fit within the limits of the business optics that it has adopted. It sticks to its optics and that's why it's so effective.”
- Bionorica: “The pharmaceutical company Bionorica (PL) has been dealing with herbal medicines since the beginning of its existence. But he does it in a very special way. In the era of evidence-based medicine, herbal treatment, or phytotherapy, was considered a dying tradition. It is accepted that medical progress can only be made in synthetic drugs. The interest of doctors was also focused on them. Bionorica works in defiance of accepted norms believes in the progress of medicine in phytotherapy. That's why she defined her business as phyto-engineering, which stands for progressive, innovative phytopharmacy. Thanks to this unique optics, Bionorica, in contrast to the entire “herbal medicine” sector, today produces modern herbal medicines with scientifically proven effects. They successfully compete with synthetics and are gaining more and more popularity in the medical community.”
- Apple: “Steve Jobs didn't think of Apple as a computer company at all. For him, Apple was a company, utility solutions based on new technologies. Jobs understood business in his own way and therefore surprised others by doing things that did not fit the definition of a computer company, such as iPod, iTunes, iPhone, iPad. In one of his public speeches, he finally explained to the world what Apple is: “Apple is a mobile devices company.”
2. Define your role in this business.
Then, based on this, it is necessary to determine the objective that the company wants to achieve with its brand. The role it has to play. To whom and what values do you want to provide? How do you want to impact the lives of your customers? This is the moment when you can get carried away as much as possible. Your goal may be lofty, based on dreams and ambitions — and not necessarily focused on business and finance. We will get to them later (after all, business will be a tool for its implementation).
Together, this creates the roots of the brand. The basis for formulating the guiding principle. Sounds overwhelming? Don't worry. That's our job: to help you.
“We all have a vision for ourselves and our business. But not everyone has the courage to implement them. Our task is to bring them into the light of day — and visualize them with design. Say: “Look, this is how the world may look according to your vision.”
— Simon Kordylewicz
Here are some examples:
- Kellogg's: “Kellogg's business is food. And what does this company want to achieve in it? He wants to feed families properly so that they flourish. So it is developing a portfolio of first-class food brands to bring pleasure to families in this humble way.”
- P&G: “P&G's business is consumer products. What is the role of these products? They want to improve the lives of their customers. Ambitious role. This means that the company must constantly think about improving the quality of life of its customers. Nowadays, such a dynamic vision of “improvement” is extremely difficult to realize. A.G. Lafley, at the helm of P&G, noted that improving lives is only possible through bold innovation. Customs observation. What did he do? He started selling food brands (for example Folgers Coffee), because in this area, he said, innovative advances could not be made that would really improve life. Instead, he bought companies in those categories where he saw progress was possible (Wella, Gillette, among others). It has also changed the company's approach to innovation. Instead of constantly confirming the benefits gained, he focused on discovering new needs and meeting them better. This has resulted in product diversification of many leading brands: Olay Total Effects, Tampax Pearl, Downy Single Rinse, Tide Coldwater, etc.”
Why do you want to have them?
Definition of winning aspiration:
- provides clear benchmarks for all activities related to
the brand, - provides consistency and clarity in internal communication and
external company (effective image), - facilitates decision-making related to its development,
- saves your time for years to come.
Formulating a guiding principle not only allows you to build a strong and recognizable brand — it also allows you to manage your business more effectively. The result of this math is simple: winning aspiration translates directly into market advantage and higher profits.
Want to talk (not just about your winning aspiration)?
Write to us
or call: +48 663 518 743
