In 1963, Aston Martin had to make a challenging decision. They had a successful racing team. But the company was struggling financially. And the costs of maintaining a racing team became unbearable. So despite their passion for racing, they decided to close the team. Now, racing is not only a passion project for car brands.…
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Scissors-Rock-Paper: How To Turn Your Company’s Size Into a Competitive Advantage
In 1982, two employees at Xerox —John Warnock and Charles Geschke— decided to quit and start their own business. They were excited about developments in tech. So they wanted to ride the wave. Their idea was simple. As more people used computers, the world needed better ways to work with digital files. So they created…
Customer Inertia: How To Beat It And Increase Sales Beyond Expectations
In the early 1970s, The Fidelity Bank had a lot of money to lend. But nobody was asking for a loan. So they hired Ogilvy & Mather agency to make a new campaign. Now, imagine you are an Ogilvy copywriter. You have to write an ad to sell more loans. But there is a problem.…
Counter-Positioning: Why Your Brand Needs An Enemy To Grow Faster (And How To Choose One)
In the 1970s, BMW was an unpopular brand in the US. The other German brands already captured a place in American drivers’ minds. Mercedes meant comfort. Porsche meant sporty luxury. And Volkswagen meant practicality. But BMW? It had no identity. Some people didn’t even know that it was German — they thought BMW stood for…
Anchoring Beyond Pricing: How To Increase Your Brand’s Perceived Value
In the mid-1940s, the diamond cartel De Beers had a challenge probably no other company ever had. They controlled almost all the diamond mines in the world. And they had an excessive supply after the discoveries of huge mines a few decades earlier. But they had a dilemma. If they reduced the price and made…
Cross-Industry Innovation: How to Differentiate Your Brand By Ignoring Best Practices
In 2001, all business and tech publications were saying Steve Jobs just made a big mistake. Jobs announced that he decided to change Apple’s retail strategy. Up to that point, Apple had partnered with electronic retailers like Best Buy and Circuit City to sell its products. But it never worked out as Apple expected. Apple…
The Framing Effect: How To Give Customers a Good Reason to Choose You
You’ll remember the scene if you’ve watched Mad Men. In the 1960s, the FTC bans tobacco companies from making any health claims in their ads. Before that, it was normal to see ads with the “health benefits” of cigarettes. But public opinion was starting to change on tobacco. So Lucky Strike executives ask for help from Don Draper’s…
Repositioning: How to Turn Your Strengths Into Profitable Growth (Without Spending More)
In the 80s, the Swiss watch industry was in an existential crisis. Japanese brands had flooded the market after quartz technology became accessible. Seiko, Casio, Citizen… It was like a revolution. Suddenly, Japanese brands could produce less expensive and more accurate watches. Put yourself in the shoes of the Swiss. You see mechanical watchmaking as…
Cognitive Dissonance In Marketing: How To Make Sales Easy
On a winter day in 1971, McCann’s young copywriter Ilon Specht was frustrated. She was chosen to write the ad for an expensive hair color brand called L’Oréal. And her colleagues (mostly men) were after the same old ideas. Show a woman changing to a new hair color to be more attractive to a man.…
Bowling Alley Strategy: How New Players Dominate Big Markets
In 2000, Marc Benioff decided to declare war. He founded Salesforce a year earlier and entered the competitive CRM market. And Siebel Systems was the market leader with a 45% market share. So Salesforce desperately needed to get known. Benioff worked with an agency to come up with a bold campaign. You know what was…
