Focus to Grow

August 4, 2009 | Author: Tim Williams

In turbulent times like these, marketing communications firms are scrambling to identify the best business strategy not only to get them through this recession, but to position themselves for success once the recession is over.

The natural response is to "try a little bit of everything"; to expand your services, broaden your capabilities, and try to appeal to more clients. It seems like common sense, but it's exactly the wrong response. The best growth strategy — in good economies or bad — is to decide what not to do.

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The urge to copy

March 31, 2009 | Author: Tim Williams

In every category, it's virtually inevitable that the brands and companies that market them will become more and more alike. In the seamlessly connected world of today, this phenomenon is both accelerated and exaggerated. Studies show that an increasing number of categories are becoming more commodity-like in the eyes of consumers. In categories ranging from home improvement to insurance, brands are seen as becoming less differentiated.

The copying mechanism

The underlying explanation is the "copying" mechanism that has allowed humans to survive and evolve for the past few millions years. The work of social observers like Mark Earls demonstrates the simple truth that humans are social creatures, not independent agents, and...

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Questions you can’t answer if you don’t have a positioning

March 25, 2008 | Author: Tim Williams

At every turn, leaders of advertising agencies are faced with critical questions and decisions that can – and will – determine the success of their firm. The most basic questions are the most critical. What kind of services should we offer? What kind of people should we hire? What kind of prospective clients should we pursue?

Ignition has come to believe that the only way to answer these questions effectively is to first find the answer to a much bigger question: What is our positioning? Unless you know what the agency stands for, how can you possibly make effective decisions about how to run it?

Effective answers...

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