Marketing of the Meaning - I

It is clear that marketers should identify the anxieties and desires of the consumers to be able to target their minds, hearts, and spirit. In the globalization paradox, the “generic” anxiety and desire of the consumers is to make their society—and the world at large—a better and ideal place to live in. Therefore, companies that intend to be the icons should share the same dream with them and make a difference. Some companies are making a difference by means of corporate philanthropy for a social or environmental cause.
At most companies, corporate philanthropy typically gets started in one of two ways. The first way occurs when the CEO gets passionate about a particular cause and decides to donate personal and/or corporate money to it. The second way is when the company decides that it needs to do philanthropy for PR/marketing reasons and begins making grants, either through a corporate giving program or a foundation. However, as discussed in Compassionate Capitalism, these two approaches often failed. The companies that take the first approach usually failed to incorporate philanthropy as part of the corporate culture. The ones that take the second approach usually have difficulty to maintain commitment, especially during difficult times.

Mission can be defined in simple terms as your company’s reason for being, that expresses the business your company is in, and second, your company’s basic purpose. The first dimension is relatively dynamic, while the second is more enduring. A company that determines its mission broadly and fundamentally can endure for decades, or even hundreds of years.19 The act of defining, understanding, and communicating your mission is critical to the success of your brand, both internally and externally.20 

Inspired by a famous principle of Charles Handy, we symbolize a company’s mission with a doughnut.21 The doughnut principle basically says that life is like an inverted doughnut, in which the hole is on the outside and the dough is in the middle. In the doughnut view of life, the core is fixed and the bounded space around the core is flexible. The company’s mission is the core which cannot be changed. The operations of the company are flexible but should be aligned with the core.

While mission is firmly rooted in the present, vision is about inventing the future. Vision simply defined is a picture of the desirable future state of the organization. A vision explains what you aspire to become, to achieve, to create. When you aspire to be at a future place that you have not previously reached, the first and most important thing you should do is to have a “mental picture” of how the place should look. This picture is your vision.22 It is symbolized by a compass that guides you to the future state of the organization.