“No plan of operations extends with any certainty beyond the first encounter with the main enemy force”

Prussian Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke the Elder

Marketing is offense and defensive.  Most focus on the offense. That’s where the planning is. The building. The optimism.  The budgeting. Even the hiring. Marketing by its very nature is optimistic. But what happens when you get punched in the mouth?  That’s when you really need a plan.

That’s when you need a brand strategy. And oppo research ain’t it.

Brand strategy, or as I like to call it “an organizing principle for product, experience and messaging,” is a plan for sales success. However you design your brand strategy, if done well it accounts for consumer preference, expression of product value and a smidge of poetic flair.

Brand strategy is offense and defense.  When enculturated throughout a company it lets every employee know which hill to take, extending the metaphor.

In the movie in my mind (thanks Brandtuitive), when a customer calls your company with a tough question, even the receptionist has the correct answer. 

Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Peace.