Vision Board

Seeing as how the buzz of new beginnings lingers in the January air, I’d like to ask you a question. Have you made a vision board?

I don’t make a vision board every year, but I can see the value in it. You are visually reminded by handpicked images of each category of your life you would like to grow in or enter altogether. 

So, I was thinking of the marketing powers that be, as one does. Is your vision board, your vision board? Or is your vision board the vision board that companies have made for you? Oooh, introspection. Always fun. 

I will say this: Companies have spent millions of dollars on branding, so you can bet your bottom dollar that the fonts, the colors, the shapes, the symbols—all of the elements—are by design. 

For example, I once saw a young teen cut out the name Rolex out of a magazine and put that on their vision board. I wholly support working hard to achieve financial independence, and in doing so, being able to enjoy items of the highest quality. (Not to say that Rolex offers the highest quality of timepieces, but that’s a conversation for another day.) If anything, what the company lacks in innovation and design (in recent years,) they make up for in genius marketing. 

The name Rolex itself was created. There is no Mr. Rolex that lived in Switzerland hundreds of years ago. The word was created and intended to be fun to say, catchy, and memorable. I always say it’s the presence of the letter “x” in the name that gives it a bit of an edge. Not wanting to sound overtly Swiss or overtly German and, therefore, creating a new word, was a brilliant move on their part. If you want to read more on the matter of marketing watches, please read The Marketing Behind the Watch Face here. I had a good time writing it—ha!

If that young child wholeheartedly wanted a Swiss-made timepiece at some point in their life, great, no argument here. But, and however, some may point out that a young person in their situation would be wise to focus on finishing high school and successfully graduating from a four year university, instead of solely thinking about the aesthetics of it all. 

A vision board is meant to be as personalized to the individual as possible. Imagine if we were all walking around with the exact same vision for our lives—for shame!

Joking aside, I implore you to create a vision board (on an app or on paper) and have a tangible collection of words and images that encapsulate what you plan to achieve this year. 

The past few blog posts I’ve written on overconsumption and influence (such as the recent Be the Person You Want to Be) have reinforced my thought process when it comes to marketing. Marketing, the way I see it and use it, is meant to get to know you, your needs and your values and present goods and services as a complement to your lifestyle. I’m of the belief that you shouldn’t have to push too hard to convince a buyer to choose your goods and services. If you have to play mind games, you may need to reevaluate data on your audience and the positioning of your brand. 

So, the question remains. Is your vision board, your vision board? Or is your vision board the vision board that companies have made for you?