MEMORIAL DAY 2010

There will be no DISPATCHES article for this week. It is our Memorial Day holiday here in the U.S. It is a time to celebrate our many freedoms purchased with the precious blood and lives of those courageous individuals (fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, relatives, friends and those whom we never met) who responded to the call of duty and fought in wars across the globe. We give special thanks on this day to each of them, and all those who currently serve in our nations' military on behalf of world peace.

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The DISPATCHES^TM for June 1, 2010 can be found here:

MEMORIAL DAY 2010

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

MEMORIAL DAY 2010

It is also available in PDF here:

MemorialDay2010.pdf (PDF File)

HAVING THE "MO DIALOGUE"

We have written a number of times in the past about what we call the "performance gap" in brand marketing ? that gap between what marketers set as business objectives (volume, profit, share) and what they implement as tactics. And foremost among what's missing in this gap are the brand's marketing objectives - those specific customer or consumer behaviors that, when quantified and tallied, will add up to the expected volume, profit, and share. It's astounding, really, that so many marketing plans are approved without both marketers and their general managers knowing exactly what they are trying to get done with the company's annual marketing investments. So, this week we are encouraging both parties to fill the marketing plan performance gap by having - at least at plan presentation time - what we call the "MO Dialogue."

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The DISPATCHES^TM for May 23, 2010 can be found here:

HAVING THE

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

HAVING THE

It is also available in PDF here:

HavingTheMODialogue.pdf (PDF File)

THE PURPOSE OF BUSINESS

Back in the dark ages, when we were attending B-School, we seem to remember being told that the purpose of business is to earn profits. Certainly, a corporation needs to earn profits if it is to survive, remain competitive and fuel growth. Profits are to the corporation what oxygen is to the body. They're absolutely essential.

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The DISPATCHES^TM for May 16, 2010 can be found here:

THE PURPOSE OF BUSINESS

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

THE PURPOSE OF BUSINESS

It is also available in PDF here:

ThePurposeOfBusiness.pdf (PDF File)

PRINCIPLES OF POSITIONING NAVIGATION

We spend a good many weeks each year working with Brand Teams as they develop their brand positioning. And while many teams are looking for a stronger or more competitive brand positioning, virtually every team is looking for something even more fundamental: a consensus articulation of the current or desired-future brand positioning. We've found that the most effective, "best practices" way to help teams arrive at this fundamental need is through a process called "positioning navigation." This week we share some thoughts on how such a process operates - and can work for your Brand Team.

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The DISPATCHES^TM for May 9, 2010 can be found here:

PRINCIPLES OF POSITIONING NAVIGATION

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

PRINCIPLES OF POSITIONING NAVIGATION

It is also available in PDF here:

PrinciplesOfPosNavigation.pdf (PDF File)

10 REASONS WHY POSITIONING BENEFITS FAIL

Due to the heavy travel schedules of both Mike and Richard, this week we are republishing an article from several years ago; however, still worthy of a revisit. We're back next week with a newly written edition.


Each week we probably review at least 4-5 brand positioning statements, which works out to, what, about 200+ per year? When you see and assess this number of statements,

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The DISPATCHES^TM for May 2, 2010 can be found here:

10 REASONS WHY POSITIONING BENEFITS FAIL

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

10 REASONS WHY POSITIONING BENEFITS FAIL

It is also available in PDF here:

10ReasonsWhyPositioningBenefitsFail.pdf (PDF File)