BDN International

COMMITING TO MARKET EXCELLENCE

2009-12-06T18:40:00.000-08:00

The New Year is less than one month away. How quickly 2009 year has gone bye. Many of us will be making resolutions for 2010. Undoubtedly, if we do, our resolutions will include what we hope to achieve in our work life. Afterall, we are all marketing professionals. One of the resolutions we hope you will make is to commit to achieving marketing excellence for yourself and your organization.

The DISPATCHES^TM for December 6, 2009 can be found here:

COMMITING TO MARKETING EXCELLENCE

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

COMMITING TO MARKETING EXCELLENCE

It is also available in PDF here:

CommittingToMktExcellence.pdf (PDF File)

THE BIGGEST EXCUSE IN MARKETING: "MY BUSINESS IS DIFFERENT."

2009-11-29T16:07:00.000-08:00

Making the transition from a product to a brand is a challenge for many brand-builders. It's a challenge sometimes because their companies say they want brands (for added shareholder value) but don't always support their marketers in actually developing brands. But it's also a challenge because some marketers - especially those in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries - get into a bad habit of making excuses for things they cannot do because "their category is different." This week we take a harder look at this notion of "my category is different" - a notion we don't buy.

The DISPATCHES^TM for November 29, 2009 can be found here:

THE BIGGEST EXCUSE IN MARKETING:

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

THE BIGGEST EXCUSE IN MARKETING:

It is also available in PDF here:

TheBiggestExcuseInMarketing.pdf (PDF File)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

2009-11-22T19:41:00.000-08:00

The DISPATCHES^TM for November 22, 2009 can be found here:

Happy Thanksgiving

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

Happy Thanksgiving

It is also available in PDF here:

Thanksgiving2009.pdf (PDF File)

ARE YOU TURNING OFF YOUR CUSTOMERS? IT'S THE EXPERIENCE STUPID.

2009-11-15T11:14:00.000-08:00

We've written a few DISPATCHES articles dealing with the importance of the customer's experience with your products and services. We dramatized these articles by exhorting "it's the experience stupid." No, let us reassure you in this article that we are not calling you stupid. Instead, this is drawing, for dramatic effect, from the Bill Clinton versus senior George Bush 1992 presidential campaign where the economy was the critical and deciding issue. Today, people still will confirm the rather obvious learning, "It's the economy stupid."

The DISPATCHES^TM for November 15, 2009 can be found here:

ARE YOU TURNING OFF YOUR CUSTOMERS? IT\'S THE EXPERIENCE STUPID

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

ARE YOU TURNING OFF YOUR CUSTOMERS? IT\'S THE EXPERIENCE STUPID

It is also available in PDF here:

AreYouTurningOffCustomers.pdf (PDF File)

WHY STRATEGIC TARGETING IS SO HARD

2009-11-08T15:32:00.000-08:00

We have been writing a great deal lately about targeting for a brand's positioning because doing it well is so challenging ? and so important. The positioning target sets up the entire positioning, after all. And one of the themes we have been pushing is that it's time to think about the target as not merely the set-up of the positioning, but also as a prime opportunity to differentiate the brand from competition - as in identifying and selecting a strategic target segment (or may be two) that competitive brands have not identified and could not satisfy as well even if they did. This week we reprise this theme and share some of the principal reasons why strategic targeting is so hard to do.

The DISPATCHES^TM for November 8, 2009 can be found here:

WHY STRATEGIC TARGETING IS SO HARD

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

WHY STRATEGIC TARGETING IS SO HARD

It is also available in PDF here:

WhyStrategicTargetingIsSoHard.pdf (PDF File)

GIVE YOUR PROMISE A REASON-WHY TO SUCCEED

2009-11-01T18:12:00.000-08:00

This week we are re-publishing an oldie for your reading enjoyment. This was first published in 2006 and still holds true.

The reason-why is a critically important strategic element of both the brand's positioning and communication strategies. It's also important to ensuring compelling communications. Too often marketers confuse "reason-why" with the rationale ...

The DISPATCHES^TM for November 1, 2009 can be found here:

GIVE YOUR PROMISE A REASON-WHY TO SUCCEED

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

GIVE YOUR PROMISE A REASON-WHY TO SUCCEED

It is also available in PDF here:

GiveYour PromiseRev.pdf (PDF File)

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BEST PRACTICES FOR MARKETING TRAINING

2009-10-25T19:26:00.001-07:00

Business managers today face a conundrum. As one manager put it "a Gordian knot" ? a problem for which it is difficult to find a solution. The problem is that marketing managers are expected to grow sales, market share and profits and yet at the same time resources for marketing support are being slashed. This is truly our conundrum.

The DISPATCHES^TM for October 25, 2009 can be found here:

BEST PRACTICES FOR MARKETING TRAINING

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

BEST PRACTICES FOR MARKETING TRAINING

It is also available in PDF here:

BestPracticesForMktTraining.pdf (PDF File)

MULTIPLE MESSAGING IS NOT POSITIONING (LET US BE HONEST)

2009-10-18T16:49:00.000-07:00

We are privileged to have worked in many, many pharmaceutical drug classes. Even more, we are fortunate to have been involved in teaching pharmaceutical marketers how to better build their brands - sometimes within their company's "Marketing Excellence" curriculum. There are many fundamentals that drug-brand marketers can learn and adapt from fast-moving consumer goods marketers. One of them is that Positioning ≠ Advertising (or "Messaging" as many pharma folks call their communication efforts). This week we take a harder look at the challenge of building differentiated, leadership brands within pharmaceuticals. And, as part of that, the necessity of being totally honest about those efforts that implement a brand positioning and those that run counter to implementing a brand positioning.

The DISPATCHES^TM for October 18, 2009 can be found here:

MULTIPLE MESSAGING IS NOT POSITIONING (LET US BE HONEST)

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

MULTIPLE MESSAGING IS NOT POSITIONING (LET US BE HONEST)

It is also available in PDF here:

MultipleMessagingIsNotPositioning.pdf (PDF File)

CONVERSION

2009-10-11T17:21:00.000-07:00

Marketing Objectives are the specific target-customer behaviors we expect and need to achieve in order to deliver against the Business Objectives of sales, market share and profits. We do not generate sales unless we first stimulate behaviors. And...

The DISPATCHES^TM for October 11, 2009 can be found here:

CONVERSION

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

CONVERSION

It is also available in PDF here:

Conversion.pdf (PDF File)

WHEN YOUR COMMUNICATIONS DON'T HAVE AN IDEA

2009-10-04T17:49:00.000-07:00

If you are a longtime reader of DISPATCHES, you already know how strongly we feel about developing Communication Campaign Ideas. Over time, we have offered a good many reasons why an idea can make a big difference-- and backed these up with a number of brand examples. This week we once again urge brand-builders to insist upon having an idea in their communications, whatever media form they may take. But, instead of adding to the advantages of having an idea, this time we suggest some of the real downsides to not having an idea.

The DISPATCHES^TM for October 4, 2009 can be found here:

WHEN YOUR COMMUNICATIONS DON\'T HAVE AN IDEA...

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

WHEN YOUR COMMUNICATIONS DON\'T HAVE AN IDEA...

It is also available in PDF here:

WhenYourCommDontHaveAnIdea.pdf (PDF File)

CREATIVE BRIEF - THE IMPORTANCE OF PROCESS

2009-09-27T18:46:00.000-07:00

Both Richard Czerniawski and Mike Maloney are traveling abroad this week so we are bringing you a DISPATCHES first published two years ago that still carries a pretty valid message.

All the functional disciplines establish, pursue and attempt to follow quality processes.

The DISPATCHES^TM for September 27, 2009 can be found here:

CREATIVE BRIEF DEVELOPMENT - THE IMPORTANCE OF PROCESS

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

CREATIVE BRIEF DEVELOPMENT - THE IMPORTANCE OF PROCESS

It is also available in PDF here:

CBDev-TheImportanceOfProcess.pdf (PDF File)

IN DEFENSE OF MARKETING

2009-09-20T14:21:00.000-07:00

Ever feel the need to defend your role as a marketer? Or even the need for marketing at all? Read on...

The DISPATCHES^TM for September 20, 2009 can be found here:

IN DEFENSE OF MARKETING

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

IN DEFENSE OF MARKETING

It is also available in PDF here:

InDefenseOfMarketing.pdf (PDF File)

THE (POSITIONING) MATRIX RELOADED

2009-09-13T16:26:00.001-07:00

We are always on the lookout for helpful ways to think (about brand-building) better. And in our training workshops, we often refer to various tools and formats that are an aid to better thinking - what we sometimes call "how think" tools. From time to time we share some of these tools in the Dispatches. It surprised us to discover that we have never really featured our most versatile (and one of our very favorite) formats in these weekly e-letters. So, this week we offer the highlights of that format: The Positioning Matrix. We hope you find it as useful as we always do.

The DISPATCHES^TM for September 13, 2009 can be found here:

THE (POSITIONING) MATRIX RELOADED

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

THE (POSITIONING) MATRIX RELOADED

It is also available in PDF here:

TheMatrixReloaded.pdf (PDF File)

TWEAKING YOUR COACHING

2009-08-30T22:42:00.000-07:00

Far too often client managers use mitigated speech when providing direction on agency creative submissions. We tend to sugarcoat (i.e., to make something unpleasant seem much less so) our comments thereby giving the wrong impression regarding our true feelings about the work and what is needed to make it more productive.

The DISPATCHES^TM for August 31, 2009 can be found here:

TWEAKING YOUR COACHING

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

TWEAKING YOUR COACHING

It is also available in PDF here:

TweakingYourCoaching.pdf (PDF File)

MARKETING TRAINING IN THE AGE OF SAMENESS

2009-08-23T15:40:00.001-07:00

For nearly the past twenty years, we have been in the Professional Marketing Training business. And that means we have not only had the privilege of teaching practical, best practices processes and "thinking formats," but we have also had the chance to observe many, many marketing organizations as they try to build their own marketing development curriculum. One thing stands out from these many observations: virtually every marketing organization thinks it is creating a unique curriculum; but because virtually all of them also insist upon the same requirements, their programs end up looking alike. We think it's time for organizations really seeking "marketing excellence" to get beyond the "age of sameness" in their thinking. Read on.

The DISPATCHES^TM for August 23, 2009 can be found here:

MARKETING TRAINING IN THE AGE OF SAMENESS

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

MARKETING TRAINING IN THE AGE OF SAMENESS

It is also available in PDF here:

MktTrainingInTheAgeOf Sameness.pdf (PDF File)

GETTING CHARACTER REFERENCES FOR YOUR BRAND -- AN UPDATE

2009-08-16T19:59:00.000-07:00

This week's DISPATCHES is an update of an earlier publication. We hope you enjoy it.

Why is it that, whenever we think about differentiating our brand positioning, we automatically think only about the brand's Benefits and Reasons Why? Why do we not just as automatically think about making our Brand Character differentiated - from other brands in our company's portfolio and, even more critical, from competitive brands? We think the answer, more times than not, has to do with the ineffective "languages" we typically use to express our brand's character. We need other modes of expression to get this all-important job done right. This week we offer an updated version of Dispatches we first issued in 2002. We hope you find it helpful for your brand.

The DISPATCHES^TM for August 16, 2009 can be found here:

GETTING CHARACTER REFERENCES FOR YOUR BRAND - AN UPDATE

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

GETTING CHARACTER REFERENCES FOR YOUR BRAND - AN UPDATE

It is also available in PDF here:

GettingCharacterReferencesForYourBrand2007.pdf (PDF File)

BECOME A CHAMPION OF CUSTOMERS

2009-08-09T17:55:00.000-07:00

Are you a champion of customers? Only you can answer that question. Read on for an in-depth look.

The DISPATCHES^TM for August 9, 2009 can be found here:

BECOME A CHAMPION OF CUSTOMERS

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

BECOME A CHAMPION OF CUSTOMERS

It is also available in PDF here:

BecomeAChampionOfCustomers.pdf (PDF File)

WHAT'S IN A WORD

2009-08-02T16:46:00.000-07:00

If you think about it, we marketers produce compilations of words. We don?t make the product underneath our brand (Manufacturing does that); we don?t merchandise or display the product in the store (Sales does that); and we don?t produce the advertising that showcases our brand (our Agencies do that). What do we produce? Words! Most of the time, these words take the form of strategic documents or brand plan presentations. So we ought to be darn good with words, right? But, if we're honest, our words often fail us, or at least, don't serve us as well as they should. This week we take a look at some ways to get more from the words we use in one of our most important marketing "productions": our Communication Strategy.

The DISPATCHES^TM for August 2, 2009 can be found here:

WHAT\'S IN A WORD?

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

WHAT\'S IN A WORD?

It is also available in PDF here:

WhatsInAWord.pdf (PDF File)

GETTING A HANDLE ON MARKETING PRODUCTIVITY

2009-07-26T20:16:00.000-07:00

How productive is your marketing? We're not searching for a qualitative answer here. Instead, we want the facts. A key fact is the return on investment (ROI) your marketing produces. But as we have pointed out in past DISPATCHES articles, and you know from your own experience, the vast majority of marketers don't know the ROI for their marketing mix elements nor specific tactics.

The DISPATCHES^TM for July 26, 2009 can be found here:

GETTING A HANDLE ON MARKETING PRODUCTIVITY

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

GETTING A HANDLE ON MARKETING PRODUCTIVITY

It is also available in PDF here:

GettingAHandleOnMktProductivity.pdf (PDF File)

SOME QUOTABLE QUOTES

2009-07-19T18:55:00.001-07:00

No doubt at some point in your school or business career you have spent time leafing through Bartlett's Familiar Quotations looking for that perfect line to open or close with, to express your meaning in a highly memorable way. But have you ever kept your own list of clever, useful quotes - you know, ones that you have actually heard one of your bosses or colleagues express? Well, we have. And the ones we tend to recall again and again are those that bring home an important principle about brand-building and marketing. This week we share some of these with you (and ask you to share some back with us). Who knows, maybe this is the start of Richard's & Mike's Familiar (Brand-Building) Quotations?

The DISPATCHES^TM for July 19, 2009 can be found here:

SOME QUOTABLE QUOTES

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

SOME QUOTABLE QUOTES

It is also available in PDF here:

SomeQuotableQuotes.pdf (PDF File)

BRIDGING THE PERFORMANCE GAP

2009-07-12T20:12:00.001-07:00

Wonder how productive your marketing is? Don't have a clue? Read on...

The DISPATCHES^TM for July 12, 2009 can be found here:

BRIDGING THE PERFORMANCE GAP

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

BRIDGING THE PERFORMANCE GAP

It is also available in PDF here:

BridgingThePerformanceGap.pdf (PDF File)

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

2009-07-05T18:58:00.000-07:00

BDNI will not be publishing our DISPATCHES this week as we are celebrating our annual Independence Day Holiday. Look for a new issue next week.

ARTICULATING A STRATEGIC TARGET

2009-06-28T20:05:00.000-07:00

magine you have just hired a new Brand Manager to take the lead in developing a brand positioning for a major launch. After a few weeks of work with the brand team, this manager presents his thinking on the positioning strategy -- starting with the proposed Target: "Moms with children, 0-2." Knowing that such a Target means all moms in the market with such children and knowing that you do not have the mega-resources to invest equally well again all of these moms, you immediately begin to question if you hired the right guy. If you're like us, the first questions in your mind are probably some like, "And I hired you to lead the brand team's strategic thinking? Do I really need a high-priced MBA to come up with something as common as this?" No. What you really need and want is someone who can craft a Strategic Positioning Target. That's our subject for this week!

The DISPATCHES^TM for June 28, 2009 can be found here:

ARTICULATING A STRATEGIC TARGET

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

ARTICULATING A STRATEGIC TARGET

It is also available in PDF here:

ArticulatingAStrategicTarget.pdf (PDF File)

GETTING COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGNS TO STICK

2009-06-22T09:03:00.000-07:00

A client recently requested us to address the issue of marketers changing campaigns annually. "What are the causes behind this?" they asked. "And, what can we do to manage communication campaigns more effectively?"

The DISPATCHES^TM for June 21, 2009 can be found here:

GETTING COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGNS TO STICK

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

GETTING COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGNS TO STICK

It is also available in PDF here:

GettingCommCampaignToStick.pdf (PDF File)

Whatever Happened To High Spend Testing?

2009-06-14T18:57:00.000-07:00

We were recently inspired by one of our highly respected clients. He told the true story of how his Brand Team, faced with a significant volume-versus-plan shortfall, made an unusual move: they asked their senior management for more marketing funds. But in asking for these funds they realized there was an onus on them to demonstrate that these funds would lead to more volume. So they tested incremental spending behind the brand. Where we come from, incremental-spend tests were not only common, they were expected. Senior Management always wanted to know: if we spent more how much better might we do? This week we reconsider this, more and more it seems, lost business-building discipline.

The DISPATCHES^TM for June 14, 2009 can be found here:

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO HIGH-SPEND (TESTING)?

A printer / handheld friendly version can be found here:

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO HIGH-SPEND (TESTING)?

It is also available in PDF here:

WhateverHappenedToHighSpendTesting.pdf (PDF File)