Five words or less. Use consumer language, not "clientese." Follow the 4D rule. These are a few of my guidelines for writing positioning statements that are compelling and executable.
Five words or less. See if you can write your own tagline that clearly captures the essence of your brand. And don't whine and say that's a copywriter's job... if you can't boil down the brand essence into a short, memorable phrase, chances are a copywriter can't either. It's not a quick and easy process, but it pays off.
I read in the WSJ a couple days ago that agency/client relationships are becoming harder to sustain… not surprising as marketers are under increasing pressure to drive results. In the good old days, clients were happy with increases on brand awareness and preference metrics. But given that the average tenure of CMOs at top-branded companies is only 23 months, there’s an intense pressure to demonstrate results – fast – and often at the expense of the brand and its customers.
I've been writing about companies who are committed to making a difference. I think the issue boils down to a very simple question: "Who else can win?"
I've been thinking about brands that are making a difference in our lives and society, and I used the term "worthwhile brand" to define them.
I've noticed an interesting pattern in marketing articles lately: big brands trying to be cool.
Microsoft is the latest company to capitalize on the "customer-made" trend. According to the Mercury News, any game enthusiast can now create video games for the Xbox 360 video console.
My last post, Positioning for Extinction, stirred up quite a debate. Laura Reis, a big proponent of highly focused brands, suggested that Weber stick to charcoal grills and launch a new brand for gas grills.
I just came across Laura Reis' post about why Weber should limit their brand name to charcoal grills (excluding gas) and I just have to disagree.
Thanks to some very insightful comments on my recent Co-creation post by Drew, James and David, we've hashed out the difference between co-creation and customization.
Continuing the conversation about co-creation, here was my definition of it last year on Brandshift.
