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    Strategy Must Be Interesting.

    By
    Steve Poppe
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    The foundation of What’s The Idea?, the eponymous brand consultancy attached to this blog is strategy.  It is about a particular framework that organizes product, experience and messaging.  Brand strategy is binary. You are either off or on.

    The fuel for brand strategy here at What’s The Idea? is “proof.” Or evidence. Proof is tangible. It builds conviction. If I say my cleaning liquid cuts grease better than competitors I need to explain what a surfactant is. And how it works. That’s what Dawn Dishwasher Detergent has done so well. For me, the duck befouled by an oil spill, cleaned by Dawn, was the perfect demonstration of proof.

    But here’s thing. Proof and evidence by themselves are great in a science project. But they are not necessarily compelling theater.  That’s why the creative side of the business is so, so important. It’s why we need writers and designers. It’s why we need smart creative directors. Strategy must be interesting or it lies fallow.

    To build your brand properly, you need a motivating strategy then you need to land that strategy with brilliant, on-piste creative. It’s a time-tested formula.

    Peace.

     

     

     

    Flah, flah, flah…

    By
    Steve Poppe
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    0

    My brand discovery, from a functional point standpoint, is a lot like others: stakeholder interviews, interviews of customers, qualitative research, experience research, a review of available quantitative data. Perhaps some primary research and scouring of social media.  I may toss a few curve balls into the mix and, of course, questions vary from brand planner to brand planner, but that’s the tool kit.

    What sets one planner apart from the next is what they do with the discovery. How they wade through and mine key data and insights. Some use a brief. I use a brief. It allows me to tell a story and forces me to tell that story by prioritizing the learning.

    All that said, one differentiator that sets What’s The Idea? off from others brand strategy consultancies is its reliance on proof. Or evidence of value. The kernels of proof that demonstrate value. For me that’s the science. If I was to tell you I’m strong, you might not believe me until I proved I can pick up 200 lbs. If I claimed to be fast, you might want to see me run and time me in the 40 yard dash.  

    Having grown up in the advertising business I understand how often we bandy about superlative claims with little or no proof.  Copy or salesy words fall of deaf ears today. Consumers are inured to claims without proof. It’s flah, flah, flah.

    Find your claim, prove it, then prove it again and again. Don’t waste a breath on copy without proof.

    Doing so is costly.

    Peace.

     

     

    Finitie-osity.

    By
    Steve Poppe
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    0

    Marketing and advertising would be much better if they focused solely on proof.  Proof of value. Demonstration of value. Honestly, you needn’t even be best-in-class, you just need to support your value claim.  But 90% of advertising today tells consumers what to believe but doesn’t show it.   

    There was a time when you could sing your product’s praises and it sold. That was the era of “We’re here” advertising.  If you were simply top-of- mind, you won.  It’s a strategy Geico still employs. But ladies and gentlemen, we live in an era of analytics. Of measurement. Of Finite-osity.  There are ways to prove a claim. 

    Analytics are the friend of proof. 

    If you say you are the best-selling dishwasher detergent, there’s data to prove it.  If you say you are the hotdog eating champ of Brooklyn, there’s a contest. Most snow in Utah? NOAA measuring stick. But for some reason we still prefer to sing the praises of our products.

    My job as a brand planner/brand strategist is to rid the business of this horrid and wasteful selling practice. My job is to organize product and service values into groups of proof which existentially (there’s that word again) reflect a product’s superiority.

    Love to show you how it works and prove how it has worked for clients.

    Write Steve@WhatsTheIdea.com

    Peace.

     

    Proof Or Truth.

    By
    Steve Poppe
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    0

    At McCann-Erickson, a huge and venerable global ad agency, the tagline is Truth Well Told.  Lots of agencies make up taglines — more like ad lines — but few have them for their own brands. Truth Well Told is one of the better ones.  Back when invented, the McCann shop stewards understood advertising would be rife with untruths and near truths.  The word truth is bandied about a good deal by planners (strategists) today. I’ll let you decide what the word means along with it nuances but, certainly, there is nothing wrong with hanging you marketing laundry on a truth.

    At What’s The Idea? we are in the brand strategy business. Not the ad business.  In this world one must convince consumers a brand is better. Songs are nice, so are pretty pictures. Funny is good too. But to convince a consumer your product is better you have to prove it. It’s not good enough to just say it.  This is where advertising and much brand strategy falls short. Planners’ day jobs are to dig for insights. Insights that make marketing communications more personally motivating and unique.  But those insights, which may be truths, aren’t always proofs. They may be stimulating for creative teams, yet might not create muscle memory around a brand position. That’s the job of proof.

    I often tell clients brand strategy is about finding that business-winning claim then proving it every day. That’s the job of the planner, the brand manager, the marketer and the ad agencies.

    There are a lot of truths out there in the world. But not all truths, which may or may not capture the attention of consumers, will sell your product. That’s the job of proof.  If you would like examples of how proof and proof planks are organized into real brand strategies, write Steve@WhatsTheIdea.com

    Peace.

     

     

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