Latest STRATEGY articles

The Chinese Multinational Brand: A Long Road to Rome

No Chinese consumer brand is ready go head-to-head against Western counterparts on the latter’s home turf, despite Lining’s open a new store in Singapore. This is true in every category, from autos to alcohol and pharmaceuticals to hotels, although some non-consumer brands (e.g., Huawei electrical components) have made significant in-roads and will continue to.

That said, many Chinese brands are making progress in emerging markets such as India, Africa and South America.

Conversational Capital: RSO

Nothing is more powerful than when consumers make your brands story part of their story.
The best products and experiences owe their success to word-of-mouth communication. What follows is an explanation of the Myth & Relevant Sensory Oddity Engines described in greater detail in the book derived during memorable walks and epic conversations along Lake [...]

Conversational Capital: E.P.O.

As part of our full review of Conversational Capital for ihaveanidea, what follows is an explanation of the second engine illustrated in greater detail in the book – Exclusive Product Offering (EPO). In a nutshell, EPO is about letting consumers create an experience that emphasizes and actualizes their individuality.
People often become vocal, committed advocates of [...]

Planning Account Planning in the Hispanic Market

Why should agencies in the Hispanic market start seriously to implement true account planning within their organizations? Because the Hispanic consumer deserves it.
Let’s be honest. Until recently our market has had a pure implementation of two kinds of “mirror” approaches: One is the “brand-centric” approach, based on a re-application of the brand message with the [...]

The Lessons Of West Jet

It’s not hard, folks. It’s not like being president of the United States, a job function which Mr. Bush described as being “hard, hard work.” It’s not like brain surgery, which takes training, courage and intuition. Hell, it’s not even hard like a day old donut.
It’s just not hard.
It’s common sense – you have an [...]

Remember The “Thank You” Wave

You’re sitting in traffic. Up ahead, a driver is trying to merge into your lane but no one seems willing to give this person a break. Feeling compassionate, you stop and allow them in ahead of you. After all it’s the neighbourly thing to do, right? But what do you get in return for this [...]

The War Room

I am in the knowledge business. My role is business development – I understand it, I like it. As hard as I work, I have always found that the best clients aren’t the ones that I prospect; but those who find me.
Over the past few months, I have been approached by a handful [...]

Customer Conversations Unplugged

Customer Relationship Management can sometimes seem like a mirage. It promises much while remaining just beyond the grasp of most. With the overall tech washout of the past few years, it’s getting increasingly difficult to pinpoint just what it is about CRM that can be most valuable to your organization, and, who can truly deliver [...]

Leadership Is An Art

“The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.”
- Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader had it right. Leadership is not about running anything – rather it’s about empowering and supporting a group of talented and diverse individuals to realize your vision by performing up to their own personal best.
When asked to write on [...]

For A Succesful Integration, Just Add Advertising

In her article, FEAR, PARANOIA, AND CONVERGENCE, Joan McArthur makes a number of salient points about the roadblocks on the path to successful convergence or integration faced by your typical ad agency.
Frankly, I think she’s right. Which is why I’d build my integration model on the back of a stand-lone, below the line (BTL) agency, [...]