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Anitra

Great post. I think your point about too much focus on the tools (as opposed to the thinking) also applies to agencies that cling to proprietary versions of brand values docs--using your analogy, it's kinda like saying only one brand of hammer can help you build a house. I had a job as an editor once where I was given a list of the organization's values on the first day to put up at my desk. Nothing fancy at all, just 5 or 6 bullet points, but looking at that plain little list every day and applying it to all my editing dilemmas really helped tune me in to the job, and I think ultimately made me a better editor in general.

Leon

Nicely put. You've given me something to think about (a good thing).

John Drake

Excellent perspective, Paul. A great way to approach brand value documents. Thanks for sharing the thoughts...

Sam

Such a pertinent post Paul, we're reviewing what tools we use as part of the strategic process at Geronimo and I'm super stoked to see your thoughts on the topic.

My very brief experience of advertising agencies has led me to observe the sometimes alarming insecurity that is displayed when talking about the vast array of proprietary methods that are used.

If we can agree (and I believe more and more agencies are) that our goals are broadly similar (i.e. to succeed as communicators we much provide/facilitate positive experiences for people in exchange for them parting with their hard-earned cash), then surely the roads we take are not separating factors, but they are the things that add variety and enrich the strategic community as a whole?

I love the analogies you've made, they'll be making an appearance in a number of Geronimo strategy sessions very soon!

Great post Paul, stay awesome!

eskimon

So true Paul – another symptom of an ADHD approach to strategy.

Successful brands are built over time; their success comes from dependability. But creating this dependability requires patience and focus – traits that we seem to have lost in our magpie-like quest for the latest shiny tools. Perhaps we've become too concerned with the means rather than the end.

As marketers, we work with our brands, propositions, visions, strategies and campaigns for much of our waking lives, and we tend to tire of them fairly quickly.

But our consumers and audiences only engage with them for a few seconds each day (if we're lucky), and they take far longer to tire of them than we think (more on that here: http://eskimon.wordpress.com/2008/11/24/same-same/ )

Changing what the brand stands for every few months will destroy the very dependability that makes a brand successful. There needs to be some consistency.

That doesn’t mean we must stick with exactly the same approach forever. But instead of continuous revolution, we might have more success with gentle but constant evolution (and more on that here: http://eskimon.wordpress.com/2009/04/14/one-more-time/ )

Business Genome

Great post. The the discussion of how to make progress while staying true the brand's values is really fascinating and very relevant in today's market. We at Business Genome are also interested in today's "tools" for marketing and survey research and what kind of business questions we should currently be asking. You can read more about it here: http://businessgenome.wordpress.com/2009/06/01/horses-that-do-they-really-count-how-to-ask-better-business-questions/
Thanks again for your insight!

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