Continuing the long term/short term theme.
In case you can't be bothered to read it, I'm suggesting there is less tension between short term and long term than many folks like to think.
Define barriers to more people buying you, solve it with plan that addresses what that looks like in real life, do in a way that can't be missed, that only your brand could do.
Now as it happens I've been reading Messy by Tim Harford (another book that isn't really business or marketing, but is bloody useful).
He identifies the power in keeping on doing lots of stuff the competition can respond, don't know how to respond to or wouldn't dare to do.
It's really how Amazon succeeded. They started out creating chaos, getting into the toy market by buying all of Toys R US stock and selling it direct themselves, by committing 100% to online sales, while Barnes and Noble were still basing their infrastructure on servicing stores while not really committing to online- and spending far too long planning, evaluating and triangulating rather than doing stuff.
It's how Trump won the Presidency. While they calculated evert move, he just said what the hell he liked. While they calculated worked out how to respond, he was onto the next move.
It's how Paddy Power originally built fame. They had a very clear strategy of being the brand that listened to sports fans in a world where the money men were taking over. However they executed by one tactic after another. No one knew what to expect, they just kept on picking the things everyone thought, that real fans thought and talked about, but what other brands wouldn't get involved in.
I think it's a different way of looking at Nike at their best. Consistently digging into one cultural flashpoint after another, while Adidas sat on their hands, Nike Just Did It.
You might think this only works for challenger brands or those who are big on disruption and innovation.
The thing is, markets are so complex, no one REALLY knows what will happen. The only proven way to survive is to innovate as much as you can, some of it won't work, hopefully much of it will.
So, planners and strategy types. There is a tension here. Folks love process, but layers of research, testing and evaluation can get in the way.
Maybe the planning cycle itself can get in the way- you know, the BIG changes to where we are now and where we want to be.
Maybe the trick is the same as it's always been. Own the consumer, make sure the 'advertising' works for the people it's intended.
But now maybe, thanks to the tools, the data and all that, it's about getting a handle on what's really going in their lives, so can continually weave the brand and product into their lives, endlessly doing lots of tactics that work in the short term, adding up to a brilliant long term.
It's what the best retail brands tend to do really well by the way.
The trick is to use your brand guidelines as a platform to generate new stuff. Do what the hell you like as long as it builds your story.
Sadly most brand guardians stop you from doing stuff based on a collection of words that rarely relate to what people really think of the brand, and almost never unlock ways to capture their imagination.
Churchill said 'My best off the cuff remarks were all planned'. What's the strategy version of that?
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