Core Principles for Nike by Rob Strasser / 1977.

Shown are the core principles set out by Rob Strasser for Nike in 1977. Impressive right! As we can now see what was planned and in the nearly 50 years thereafter worked towards as part of their story and #brand. I think we can safely say it helped.

Do you have core principles? Values. A Vision. An ethos etc? Are your core principles something you put in practise within your organisation or some stuff one of the creative types set out in a book hidden deep within the CEOs private chambers that nobody has seen? If the core principles aren’t real or shared… better, practised by everyone from top-to-bottom, then you are not living by your words and hence also probably not standing out from your market sharers and competitors. Sometimes it’s not the marketing that isn’t working, we know marketers have a hard job in such a densely populated and noisy market place, it could be that you are not living up to the practices you preach, or should be preaching based on your practices.

When it’s not defined and aligned the message is hard to believe in and/or work with or towards. It's all about clarity and direction. Brand strategy can help with this, and so can I.