ARTICULATING A STRATEGIC TARGET

magine you have just hired a new Brand Manager to take the lead in developing a brand positioning for a major launch. After a few weeks of work with the brand team, this manager presents his thinking on the positioning strategy -- starting with the proposed Target: "Moms with children, 0-2." Knowing that such a Target means all moms in the market with such children and knowing that you do not have the mega-resources to invest equally well again all of these moms, you immediately begin to question if you hired the right guy. If you're like us, the first questions in your mind are probably some like, "And I hired you to lead the brand team's strategic thinking? Do I really need a high-priced MBA to come up with something as common as this?" No. What you really need and want is someone who can craft a Strategic Positioning Target. That's our subject for this week!

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The DISPATCHES^TM for June 28, 2009 can be found here:

ARTICULATING A STRATEGIC TARGET

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

ARTICULATING A STRATEGIC TARGET

It is also available in PDF here:

ArticulatingAStrategicTarget.pdf (PDF File)

GETTING COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGNS TO STICK

A client recently requested us to address the issue of marketers changing campaigns annually. "What are the causes behind this?" they asked. "And, what can we do to manage communication campaigns more effectively?"

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The DISPATCHES^TM for June 21, 2009 can be found here:

GETTING COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGNS TO STICK

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

GETTING COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGNS TO STICK

It is also available in PDF here:

GettingCommCampaignToStick.pdf (PDF File)

Whatever Happened To High Spend Testing?

We were recently inspired by one of our highly respected clients. He told the true story of how his Brand Team, faced with a significant volume-versus-plan shortfall, made an unusual move: they asked their senior management for more marketing funds. But in asking for these funds they realized there was an onus on them to demonstrate that these funds would lead to more volume. So they tested incremental spending behind the brand. Where we come from, incremental-spend tests were not only common, they were expected. Senior Management always wanted to know: if we spent more how much better might we do? This week we reconsider this, more and more it seems, lost business-building discipline.

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The DISPATCHES^TM for June 14, 2009 can be found here:

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO HIGH-SPEND (TESTING)?

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO HIGH-SPEND (TESTING)?

It is also available in PDF here:

WhateverHappenedToHighSpendTesting.pdf (PDF File)

Don't Text Us Bro

New media is on the tongue of many of our clients. It is as if they have fallen out of favor with the traditional and in love with anything non-traditional. This isn't new. It?s been going on for a few years now. So, what do we do about it?

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The DISPATCHES^TM for June 7, 2009 can be found here:

DON\'T TEXT US BRO

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

DON\'T TEXT US BRO

It is also available in PDF here:

Don\\\'tTextUsBro.pdf (PDF File)