Sunday, November 30, 2008

The Perceptual Competitve Framework - You CAN Get There From Here

In our brand positioning work with clients, we keep coming back to one of the most innovative and competitively powerful new positioning concepts - the Perceptual Competitive Framework. We have written about it many times in these DISPATCHES pages. Yet when we share the concept with many participants in our training seminars, while many participants find it intriguing, many also seem skeptical about being able to craft a perceptual frame for their brand. This week we take another look at the concept - with some practical tips to help brand-builders develop a differentiating frame for their brands.

The DISPATCHESTM for November 30, 2008 can be found here:

Perceptual Competitive Framework - You CAN Get There From Here

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

Perceptual Competitive Framework - You CAN Get There From Here

It is also available in PDF here:

ThePerceptualCompetitiveFramework-YouCANGetThereFromHere.pdf (PDF File)

Sunday, November 23, 2008

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2008

We're taking a break from publishing DISPATCHES this week to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends. Hope that you all have a wonderful day of Thanksgiving! Be back next week.

Your BDN International Team:
Richard Czerniawski, Mike Maloney, Dave Roche, Lori Vandervoort, Brenda Bence, Sherry Greve, Donna Budreau, Vince Sevedge, and Cindy Finley

The DISPATCHESTM for November 23, 2008 can be found here:

THANKSGIVING 2008

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

THANKSGIVING 2008

It is also available in PDF here:

Thanksgiving2008.pdf (PDF File)

Sunday, November 16, 2008

WHEN THE BOUGH BREAKS

Dealing with failure goes beyond the world of politics. It extends into all walks of life from sports to commerce. The current economic news abounds with companies failing to deliver against expectations for growth. And, as a consequence, stock markets around the world are punishing these companies with some of the lowest P/E (price/earning) multiples in decades. These failures appear to be multiplying and are expected to worsen during this precarious economic climate.

The DISPATCHESTM for November 16, 2008 can be found here:

WHEN THE BOUGH BREAKS

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

WHEN THE BOUGH BREAKS

It is also available in PDF here:

WhenTheBoughBreaks.pdf (PDF File)

Sunday, November 09, 2008

THE THREE - NO FOUR - CLIENT HATS

How often do we find ourselves saying things like, "Let me put my customer hat on," or "Let me put my regulatory hat on," or more likely, "Let me play devil's advocate here"? In so many of our daily business interactions we stop ourselves as brand-builders and, in an effort to gain another perspective, "put on another's hat." Sometimes these other hats really help us; different perspectives can help us make something that's good even better. But there are also some hats we wear (often unconsciously) - especially when reviewing creative work from our various agencies - that are not always so helpful. These hats can actually prevent us from providing value-added direction to that work. Take a look.

The DISPATCHESTM for November 9, 2008 can be found here:

THE THREE - NO FOUR - CLIENT HATS

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

THE THREE - NO FOUR - CLIENT HATS

It is also available in PDF here:

TheThreeNoFourClientHats.pdf (PDF File)

Sunday, November 02, 2008

MORE LESSONS FROM POLITICAL MARKETING

On Tuesday, 4 November 2008, we'll be going to the polls in the U.S. to cast our ballot for the 44th president of our crisis laden young nation. A few weeks ago we issued a DISPATCHES article dealing with Lessons from Political Marketing. In our opinion political marketing is quite sophisticated today. We cited many important lessons for marketers that may be applied to help drive preference for their brands. This initial article seems to have struck a nerve. Many of our subscribers lavished compliments on it. Given the response, and the race to the rapidly approaching finish line, we are offering what we feel are more lessons from political marketing. We hope you find it helpful in marketing your brand.


The DISPATCHESTM for November 2, 2008 can be found here:

MORE LESSONS FROM POLITICAL MARKETING

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

MORE LESSONS FROM POLITICAL MARKETING

It is also available in PDF here:

More Lessons From Political Marketing.pdf (PDF File)