Brands need to inspire, because that optimistic prognosis of what lies ahead holds real opportunities in terms of engaging and involving people. Belief humanises brands. Which is why every brand must dream.

Optimism aligns directly with our worldview. In other words, what we look forward to is a world that is most like the world we believe in and want to live in. Politicians of course understand this instinctively. So, it’s interesting isn’t it, that so many brands deal in the present, without building a clear bridge to that tomorrow. They do so because their commercial imperatives tell them such containment is realistic – but in point of fact, perhaps articulating an optimistic future is an underpinning opportunity to cementing long-term loyalty.

To strategise, you must first dream. You must be prepared to go where your logical mind says you can’t, and, once you have, where your heart begs to stay. You must identify a brighter, stronger, clearer, competitively different tomorrow, and you must be prepared to brave the cynics to state what people secretly want to hear.

To do that, you need to know where that tomorrow needs to be – even before they do. And you need to be able to weigh the value of getting there against the cost of not.

Acknowledgements
Photo by Brian McGowan on Unsplash