Mission Impossible is a powerful movie franchise. It’s also a powerful brand.
Yes, it has a mission, but what is its secret? And what can brands learn from it?
In its 20-year history, it’s done what many brands hope for longevity, anticipation, interest, and loyalty.
(And yes, if it wasn’t already obvious, I am attending the 5th installment of the Mission Impossible series opening weekend.)
It’s a brand that’s navigated itself brilliantly over the course of two decades. How does it do this when so many have attempted this and failed?
What is the Mission Impossible secret?
(By the way, I donât smoke. It’s just a prop “to remain in characterââŚ.)
While many factors are involved, I’ll focus on one important one that brands too often forget about expectations.
Mission Impossible delivers on many fronts; to understand it, we must understand expectations from a branding perspective.
Delivering what’s expected is doing business as usual.
Going above and beyond what’s expected is where you, as a brand, start to reap some significant returns.
Doing business as usual in the case of a movie empire:
- Having a good story
- Having a good cast
- Having a good director
- Having a good balance of story, action, intrigue, and humor
While those are good, none of those are “optional,” meaning, without those, we simply won’t show up.
Brands make this daily mistake, treating some essential points as “optional.”
No, those aren’t options. That’s the price of entry when doing business â things like having a message that differentiates â or being pleasant and/or inclusive, and/or offering something exceptional.
To truly shine as a brand, as Mission Impossible has done, one must exceed expectations.
For some brands, it’s best understood this way: add an element of “I didn’t know that” to your mix, or what I call “the Discovery factor.”
Do something, say something, or inform customers with something new and unexpected that adds an OMG aspect to your brand’s persona.
This is not the exception “when we get around to it.”
To work, it must become the usual.
Will Your Brand Become a Blockbuster or Simply Go Rogue?
If you do this often enough (providing something above and beyond, something more informative than what is expected, way beyond the usual, something well beyond the “expected transaction”), it becomes routine, and your brand starts to become “exceptional” as part of its DNA and meaning.
In the case of Cruise, he does his own stunts, works with a different director for each installment, and raises the bar that few, if any, actors of his age would even consider.
So, the question becomes, how will your brand exceed expectations?
Not certain? Then read this article to help you work it out, and then this one.
These two posts will give you tools to kick some major butt and rise above the usual noise.