What has happened this year? We have seen that Trump was elected President of the United States and that Britain carried out its Brexit from the EU. Brazil arranged the Olympics and France the European Football Championship. Geniuses like Ettore Scola and Dario Fo (film and theatre), Zaha Hadid (architecture), Muhammad Ali, Johan Cruyff and Arnold Palmer (sports), Umberto Eco and Harper Lee (two famous writers dying on the same day), David Bowie, Prince and Leonard Cohen (music) has left us this year. Pokemon, however, resurrected and Justin Bieber on his world tour sang about something that has been very important to us as well this year: PURPOSE.

Purpose

Mission's purpose is, amongst other things, to help companies to deliver according to their purpose. Purpose has become an increasingly important and defined focus area for Mission in 2016. We have always been extremely interested in developing identities based on the core, the foundation, and the principles of our customers, but now we have to, at an even larger degree, systematically put this essential point on the agenda in a way that might influence more companies than our own.

The Mission Report 2017

It is not necessarily the case that the average company has its own purpose, or purpose, carved in stone or written in fire writing on the boardroom. The pursuit of purpose is about finding or rediscovering the very, very central lifeblood of the company, the great truth that makes this a fantastic place to work and an actor to count on in the future. We meet both companies that do not have a very conscious relationship to their own purpose and others who have it far ahead in the consciousness. In the spring, we will present The Mission Report, which deals with the largest companies in Norway and take a closer look at how these relate to their own purpose. If you are one of those who take this seriously, you are welcome to talk to us - if necessary even before the actual report is completed, if you so wish.

Insight on purpose

In January 2016, we launched our - INSIGHTS blog. Here we share opinions, experiences and thoughts within our areas of expertise. From time to time challenging for all the Mission writers, but the statistics show us that existing and potential clients, plus Google, value our effort tremendously. Join the fans here.

We hope that we don’t give away so much information that some of you think “thank you very much, we can fix the rest ourselves," but rather concludes that the rest of the iceberg lies hidden under the surface at our place. We’re proud of having accomplished eight projects, 11 white papers, and more than 40 blog entries this year – on top of all the other stuff we have done for our customers. The 90, 000 words we have written in 2016 are approximately the same amount as a typical crime novel, but of course much more exciting, right?

Projects

We have written 26 case descriptions about the customers this year, where we address Challenges, Solutions, Purposes and Results and spice it all up with pictures that document what we have done. Here you will find a blissful mix of what we are doing; from around Norway with healthy ingredients for total identity packages:

Purpose

Regarding purpose , we have written the following articles:

How the power of purpose can improve your brand.
What made you start in business?
Millenials: The purpose driven generation.
Get a strong brand and make your mark on the world.
The millennial generation: the best generation of all time ?!

See here for a complete overview of matters of purpose.

Employer Branding

We have also written a lot about your current and not least future employees. Employer branding is an exciting field where it also helps to have a flawless purpose in the background:

Employer branding, part 1. Why business needs to rethink recruitment.
Employer branding, part 2. How to build a stronger Employer Brand.
Top candidates want to work at the best companies

A complete overview of employer branding can be found here .

Branding

Here we are in the middle of our deepest core area, so feel free to read more about what we have to risk on that occasion. Theaitetos said that "the question is the beginning of all knowledge", but one or two answers are not to be despised either:

Disruption - Now we talk about upheaval. How a new breed of brands are revolutionising business
How to find your own target group and get to know it.
Which nations win Olympic medals in branding?
The KAWS effect: How a street artist from New York was transformed into a global and challenging brand
Why is corporate branding important?
Do not let the brand go into oblivion. - OK, so you have got a great logo. What now?
Location. Location? Location!
Improving over changing
A good slogan says more than a thousand words.

Click here for more more about branding and branding.

"Question is the beginning of all knowledge"
-Theaiteto

Naming and tone of voice

A picture can tell more than a thousand words, but so can a good word. We deliver both new names and helps with the tone of your company's voice, but maybe most importantly, we combine the visual and verbal in a manner that works well for your identity:

Tone of voice. Your company already has a way of speaking.
Name development. A good name gives your brand added value.
Your brands and companies do not always speak the same language
BAMA Storkjøkken’s voice infused with creativity
Tone of choice
Don’t always go out of your way to find a name
Company and product names - where do they come from?
Pursuit of the juiciest name

Click here for more about name development and here for tone of voice.

Design. communication etc.

Communication and design is close to our hearts. Here's some of it:

Photos - an effective brand builder.
Did you remember to anchor the brand with your employees?
Can you tell the story of the company, and if so, will anyone listen?
Understanding the customer's shopping habits is the key to successful store
5 tips for retailers in a time of razor-sharp competition
Google’s best practices for design success
There is new thinking in the retail industry
How do you keep your brand alive?
The traditional customer journey no longer exists.
Smart communication pays
What type of manager are you in a storm?
How to get more design for your money
Nobody can read the new logo? - Good!
Design cuts costs.
How can we further enhance your design?
Find your formula and stick to it.
A brand is not just a cool logo
What’s the big deal about that font?
The value of an idea lies in its use.
Therefore, typography plays a key role in building brands.
Visual everyday. A conversation with photographer Damian Heimisch.

Here you will find more about design. For a comprehensive overview of articles on communication, see here.

As you can see, we have had a lot on our minds throughout 2016. This is just something we have written about. A complete overview of our insights can be found on our blog . Now we look forward to an exciting 2017.

Feel free to contact us if you like the way we look at things. And if you have not yet received our newsletter, just fill out the form below and send it to us.