75 Success Stories in 20 Years

One evening a little over 20 years ago, on the corner of Bygdøy Allé, Bård Annweiler and Gary Swindell decided to change direction and start on their own. They wanted to work with brands that made a difference in people's lives. Based on this, Mission was created, a company that would work with and for meaningful brands.

We spent the first years on the upper floors of the Postgiro building, which had recently been refurbished. These years were the start of what was to become several long and fantastic customer relationships. Then, in 2003, we found new premises in Inkognitogaten behind the castle. Within a few years, the agency went from being just the entrepreneurial duo Bård and Gary, to becoming a larger team of experienced designers and consultants.

After ten years in the industry, we moved into what was to become a permanent home for our company at Solli Plass. Here we have airy premises, in the middle of one of Oslo's hubs, with a view from our roof terrace over Bygdøy Allé, where the idea of Mission first appeared.

With our love for design and new experiences, we have travelled a lot together over the years. Curiosity about subjects has led us to regularly attend design weeks in London and Milan, and to go to innovation and brand seminars in the US. Through lectures by several of the best in the industry, we have been able to dig deeper into the topics we love the most - brands, identity and strategy.

For us, is at the core of every brand, and the summer after The Fuse Conference in 2017, Bård decided to write his first book on the subject. It was a whirlwind of an autumn, and by the Fuse Conference in New York the following year, he was able to present the first edition of "Point of Purpose", and a later had a proper launch at Amazon in Chicago in 2019. The book has received international recognition and has been called a fantastic guide to how Purpose builds stronger brands.

Through our 20 years in the industry, we have gained a repertoire of customers and experiences. We have worked with the best of the best in their fields and helped several of Scandinavia's largest brands highlight their strengths through design and strategy. We have ambitions to constantly improve, and understand that we can still learn a lot from the international market. That's how we evolve.

Twenty years is an important milestone for a brand agency, and we want to thank all our customers and partners for having been on the journey with us so far. We look forward to continuing to work with you and to meeting new challenges over the next 20 years.