In 1977, British Rail decided to do something about declining passenger numbers. Their executives couldn’t find a clear reason why results were getting worse. So they blamed marketing and decided to change their advertising agency. And as it’s a huge company, all advertising agencies in the UK competed to get the British Rail account. One…
Articles
Narrow Positioning: How Saying No To Some Customers Increases Your Chances of Winning Big
In 1982, programmer John Walker decided to make a big bet. His friend Michael Riddle had a computer-aided design (CAD) program that he struggled to sell. But Walker believed in the idea. Designers who worked on complex projects —like engineers and architects— needed precise measurements. And doing that on paper was painful. You had to…
The Isolation Effect: Why “Isolated” Brands Win (And How To Become One)
In 1892, the Financial Times was struggling. They had started the newspaper a few years ago. And they were competing against other newspapers that covered business and finance news. The shark in the pond was Financial News. But the Financial Times team believed they had better content than them. They didn’t just cover the news.…
3C Analysis (Competition): How To Find Your Unique Positioning In Crowded Markets
We’ve talked about the 3C’s that drive a brand’s positioning in our Profit-Led Branding Framework: Company, Competition, and Customer. In this article, we’ll look into the second C: Competition. Now let’s see how a rental company with seven cars became a global giant, how to find gaps in crowded markets, and how to discover your…
Satisficing: Why Customers Choose The Least Risky Instead Of The Best
In the 1970s, IBM was under attack from all sides. They were the leaders in the business computers market. And IBM System/360 computers were the iPhone of the 60s. But just like any new technology, there was a rush. Competitors were announcing their new breakthrough computers every month. RCA, Digital Equipment Corporation, Xerox… Some were…
How Sacrifices Grow Brands (And Three Sacrifices You Can Make)
Have you ever bought avocados? They are tricky. One day they are too firm to eat. So you wait for them to get a bit ripe. But right when you are excited about the avocado toast you are going to make, you realize they got bad. All the avocados you bought go to the trash.…
3C Analysis (Company): How To Analyze Your Company To Find The Winning Positioning
In our Profit-Led Branding Framework, three elements drive a brand’s new positioning: Company, Customer, and Competition. Only the right insights from these 3C’s can make the new positioning obvious. In this article, we’ll dive into the first C: Company analysis. – In 2003, the iconic toy brand LEGO was in trouble. They had a negative…
Why B2B Customers Are Also Driven by Emotions
There is a common misbelief about how B2B buyers vs consumers make a purchase decision. You’ve probably heard it before. It goes like this: Consumers are emotional. They are prone to impulse buying. So they buy things without thinking rationally. But B2B buyers are the opposite. They are totally logical. They evaluate options rationally and…
How Positioning Shapes Everything About Your Business
Positioning shapes everything about your business. How? Let’s make a simple thought experiment. Imagine you have a new business. You want to sell a service — sales training. One way to position it could be “training for sales teams in B2B software companies.” And that would define your: This is clear. Now, another way to…
Brand Narrative: Why You Need A Bold Narrative To Stand Out (And How To Create One)
In 2003, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) realized the city needed a new story. Las Vegas had been associated with gambling over the years. Casinos were indeed a key feature of the city. But Vegas offered many other things. Shows, restaurants, parties… So they hired R&R (an advertising agency) to create a…
