Sunday, January 27, 2008

10 MOST CRITICAL POSITIONING ERRORS - PART IV

Now we arrive at the final installment of our 4-part series identifying what we judge to be "the10-Most Critical Errors in Brand Positioning." We have been counting down from number "10" to "1." Each issue of DISPATCHES in this series has revealed three critical errors, their causal factors and the resultant impact on brand marketing. In this final issue of the series we reveal number "1."


The DISPATCHESTM for January 27, 2008 can be found here:

10 MOST CRITICAL POSITIONING ERRORS - PART IV

It is also available in PDF here:

10MostCriticalPosErrorsPartIV.pdf (PDF File)

Sunday, January 20, 2008

(S)ELECTING YOUR TARGET

It's election time! And there's a buzz in the U.S. marketplace now that hasn't been heard in quite a while. Already six states have held primary elections or caucuses and neither the Republicans nor Democratic party has a bonafide front-runner. To make things even more interesting, one of the Republican candidates, Rudy Giuliani, has implemented a unique "brand positioning" by consciously not targeting much of his message or monies against voters in those first six contests. Can it be that he actually knows whom he wants to target the Giuliani Brand against, and whom he does not? And if so, does he not know what any good marketer knows: you need to target the brand as broadly as possible to get the biggest volume in return? This week we take a closer look at the Giuliani Brand Targeting -- as much good marketers may think they know, there is much to be learned from studying the marketing efforts of "politician brands."



The DISPATCHTM for January 20, 2008 can be found here:

(S)ELECTING YOUR TARGET

It is also available in PDF here:

(S)electingYourTarget.pdf (PDF File)

Sunday, January 13, 2008

10 MOST CRITICAL POSITIONING ERRORS - PART III

This is the third installment of a 4-part series identifying what we judge to be "the 10-Most Critical Errors in Brand Positioning." We're counting down from number "10" to "1." Each issue of DISPATCHES in this series has revealed three critical errors, their causal factors and the resultant impact on brand marketing.


The DISPATCHTM for January 13, 2008 can be found here:

10 MOST CRITICAL POSITIONING ERRORS - PART III

It is also available in PDF here:

10MostCritical PosErrors-Part3.pdf (PDF File)

Sunday, January 06, 2008

TEN TRENDS

It was 8 years ago this month that we launched Dispatches for e-distribution. And, as with any significant passage of time, much has changed in the fast-moving world of marketing since then. But, it seems to us, the speed of change has accelerated noticeably in, say, just the past 12-18 months. Much of this probably ties to the acceleration in the availability of marketing possibilities - ones that simply never existed before. Take, for example, the web 2.0 phenomenon, which has accelerated the degree to which consumers can share their experiences with and thoughts about various brands ... with thousands of others instantly! Not to mention the new possibilities for learning about consumer or customer attitudes and behaviors from these same "social networks." In light of these events, for our first 2008 Dispatches we offer up Ten (Marketing) Trends that we think will only continue to gain momentum. See what you think - and which ones you can take advantage of.



The DISPATCHTM for January 6, 2008 can be found here:

TEN TRENDS

It is also available in PDF here:

TenTrends.pdf (PDF File)