STRATEGY FOR ACCOUNT MANAGERS

1. STRATEGY FOR ACCOUNT MANAGERS Developing and Honing Your Strategic Skills Presented for the 4A’s, 11/17/11, by Robin D. Hafitz, CEO Open Mind Strategy

2. Welcome

3. Me: An Introduction • My company: • Insight services – innovative research, facilitation, and consulting services to help clients solve strategic problems • Pitch Doctoring (100% win rate this year) • Media brand strategy (AMC, Syfy, Food Network, USA TODAY, Amazon Kindle… USA: Characters Welcome) • My background: • Account Planning (an early American in what was once a British-dominated field) • Chiat/Day, etc. • Mad Dogs & Englishmen (Co-chair) • Eatbigfish (Partner/practitioner) • KBP (CSO) • My strategic philosophy: • Jujitsu strategy • Strategic alignment • Play to learn

4. A Few of Our Clients

5. Now, you...

6. Name, details…And what you hope to get out of today

7. It’s Not Fair “Creatives” AccountManagers Planners

8. Let’s Change It! Creatives Responsibles Intelligents

9. Being “Strategic” Is a Frame of Mind Creatives Responsibles Intelligents What? When? Why?

10. Being “Strategic” is about asking questions

11. Defining some key terms

12. brand\brand\n [ME, torch, sword, ..to burn] 1. A charred piece of wood 2. Sword 3. A mark made by burning with a hot iron to attest manufacture or quality or to designate ownership4. A mark put on a criminal with a hot iron, a mark of disgrace 5. A class of goods identified by name as the product or a single firm or manufacturer: MAKE 1. To mark with a brand 2. To mark with disapproval 3. To impress indelibly In marketing, a trademark that “stands for something”

13. strategy\n [Gk, fr. Stratos army+ agein to lead] 1. The science and art of military command aimed at meeting the enemy under conditions advantageous to one’s own force 2. A careful plan for achieving an end In marketing, often the word or phrase that encapsulates the message of the advertising/communications effort

14. Round 1: “Name That Strategy”What’s they key message they’re trying to get across?

15. A tiny bit of history…

16. WHAT’S THE POINT? “Advertising helps turn products into brands; and, in turn, brands build a company’s value, sustain higher market share and higher margins, and provide a powerful barrier to competitive entry.” Jon Steel, Truth, Lies, and Advertising

17. A USEFUL STRATEGIC CONCEPT: THE USP “In the 1940’s and 1950’s, Ted Bates Worldwide promoted one of the industry’s most enduring theories, the Unique Selling Proposition. According to the USP approach, one factor alone determined the success of an ad campaign: the memorability of a single message.” Rothenberg , Where the Suckers Moon, 1994

18. A USEFUL CHALLENGE: BRAND PERSONALITY “David Ogilvy... promoted a theory of brand personality, arguing that the association of a company or product with consistent and appealing images, ‘rather than any trivial product difference,’ could thread into the woof of the consumer’s psyche.” Rothenberg

19. A HUMBLING THOUGHT “In 1923 an American advertising agent, Claude Hopkins, wrote ads. They were press ads because TV had not been invented. They were in black and white because color printing had not been invented.. They were about products, because the concept of brands had not been invented. Claude predicted, ‘We now know 90% of how advertising works, and very soon we shall know the other 10%.’” Mike Hall, Hall & Partners, 1998

20. Talking strategy

21. Strategy Words...ObjectiveVisionMissionBrand PositioningPropositionStrategyBriefMessageExecutionTactic

22. The Business Objective THE STRATEGIC PROCESS Execution The Communications Strategy The Creative Idea The Communications Objective

23. Execution The Communications Strategy The Creative Idea The Communications Objective The Business Objective How will we make more money?

24. Execution The Communications Strategy The Creative Idea The Communications Objective The Business Objective What must our campaign do to achieve our business strategy?

25. Execution The Communications Strategy The Creative Idea The Communications Objective The Business Objective What message do we want to convey to achieve our objective?

26. Execution The Communications Strategy The Creative Idea The Communications Objective The Business Objective What’s a powerful way to communicate our message?

27. Execution The Communications Strategy The Creative Idea The Communications Objective The Business Objective How do we express our creative idea in different media?

28. Execution The Communications Strategy The Creative Idea The Communications Objective The Business Objective How do we express our creative idea in different media? What must our campaign do to achieve our business strategy? How will we make more money? What’s a powerful way to communicate our message? What message do we want to convey to achieve our objective?

29. Execution The Communications Strategy The Creative Idea The Communications Objective The Business Objective How do we express our creative idea in different media? What must our campaign do to achieve our business strategy? How will we make more money? What’s a powerful way to communicate our message? What message do we want to convey to achieve our objective? de-position “the real thing” as the old thing “choice of a new generation” steal market share from Coke the younger alternative “pop star anthems”

30. HOW THE CLIENT MAY THINK ABOUT IT COMPANY Vision Mission Positioning Proposition Tactics (including communications) COMMUNICATIONS Objective Strategy Brief “Big Idea”

31. Round 2: “Name That Strategy”

36. The Brief: The “Strategy”Product

37. Execution The Communications Strategy The Creative Idea The Communications Objective The Business Objective How do we express our creative idea in different media? What must our campaign do to achieve our business strategy? How will we make more money? What’s a powerful way to communicate our message? What message do we want to convey to achieve our objective? <---------------The Brief Zone---------------->

38. Defining the term

39. “A brief is a focused point of view on what the communications need to do.” - client

40. A good brief is kindling. It starts a spark. Nick Cohen, Founder Mad Dogs & Englishmen (creative)

41. What it comes down to: “What should the communication be about?” Apple 1984: Radical ease of use Snapple: All-natural marketing Zappos: Delivering happiness

42. DIGITAL vs. “GENERAL” STRATEGY BRIEFS “General” Focused on perceptions Often a “story” One-to-many (less personal) More “art” Television is the model Tends to be “big picture” “Digital” Focused on actions Often a “roadmap” One-to-one (less cultural) More “science” Direct is the model Tends to be granular

43. Brief Formats Vary Triangles... Ladders... Charts... Documents... Before and after descriptions (or not) Cultural factors (or not) Thoughtstarters (or not)

44. Brand Models Vary(Hall+Partners) Persuasion Involvement Salience Promotion

45. WHATEVER THE FORMAT... Good briefs: Pick a lane Express the decision clearly Spark creativity rather than dampen it Are (fairly) brief Take on board the individual – and social – aspects of brand connections Get people moving

46. A “standard” creative brief... What are we trying to do? Who are we talking to and what should we know about them? 3. What’s the main idea? 4. Why should they believe this? 5. What tone of voice should the advertising have? 6. What practical considerations are there?

47. What’s wrong with most client briefs? They often answer none of these questions, really... And instead, offer a claim

48. The Issue Ignored By Most Client Briefs Life Your Brand

49. A Claim An Idea • cleans dirt • dirt is good

50. A Claim An Idea • moisturizes your skin • enhances your femininity