You know I’m like a dog on a bone when it comes to brand strategy. Especially in this blog. It’s all I talk about. Why is that? Because I’m in the brand business of course. The reality is, not everyone is in the brand business. They have their own businesses and may not think about brand more than one or two days a year. As a brand planner if I go in to meet with C-level execs and ask them brand questions, they look at me funny. So I don’t. I ask business questions.
To that point, a new question I’m employing in my interview process is this: “At executive level meetings, when you use the word “strategy” what other word do you most often paired with it?” Usually the word precedes “Strategy.” A publisher might say “editorial.” A retailer might say “price.” A healthcare provide might say “Medicare” or “Physician.”
When you find the word most often paired with “strategy,” you are on to something. You need to probe and follow that trail. As I said in an email yesterday “always thinking, sometimes right.” Hee hee.
Peace.
