StratTalk eNews — Issue 5, August 2008

Welcome to this edition of the 60 Minute Strategic Plan eNews. Summer is winding down and we have been on the road, conducting workshops and meeting those in need of strategic planning. To our delight and satisfaction, the 60MSP process continues to meet enthusiastic response regardless of the industry or the issue to which it is applied. The positive feedback not only encourages us but also reinforces our belief in the fact that the 60 Minute Strategic Plan needs to be experienced to be appreciated. We thank everyone who has participated.

We also want to encourage companies who were unaware that we do 60 Minute Strategic Plan workshops, to please give us a call to sign up. Call Anne Marie Smith or John Johnson at 916‑669‑8478 or visit the 60MSP website.

On another note, many medium- to small-sized businesses or individuals out there could also greatly benefit from picking up a copy of our book. We’ve met dozens of business owners and independent contractors in need of a plan but intimidated by what might seem like a time-consuming difficult process. We want you to know our book is easy to read and ready to apply. You can have a full-blown and powerful strategic game plan in 60 minutes. Don’t be afraid to pick up a copy and get started. Copies are also available through Amazon.com. If our claims do not meet your expectations we will promptly refund your purchase; no need to return the product.

John E. Johnson, CEO
Anne Marie Smith, President

The Problem with Advertising

The last act

Advertising makes known your product to your prospect. Strategic advertising communicates the strategic features and benefits you believe will be of greatest usefulness to your prospect. Advertising is typically the last act and evolves from the overall strategic marketing plan which encompasses research, development, packaging, pricing, distribution, and financials.

A force multiplier

Advertising promises to deliver what the military calls a “force multiplier”; that is, a multiplied return on your investment. Advertising can ratchet sales like few other elements in the marketing mix. Unfortunately is doesn’t do that very often for several good reasons which we will explore in this and subsequent newsletters.

A necessary evil

Enterprise owners and managers have a love–hate relationship with advertising. Some see it as a cure‑all, others as an elective and optional evil expense to be cut when times get hard, and a rare few know how to use the tool effectively. Owners and management have requisite operational skills but few possess talent in third‑party media communication (i.e., advertising skills). So to a large extent, the process is often managed and controlled by amateurs on the subject.

Half of it is wasted

Management is fond of saying, Half my advertising is wasted. The problem is I don’t know which half. If you suspect 50 percent of your advertising is wasted, I bet it’s a lot more than half. Why is it that advertising, a key ingredient in any marketing effort, is under constant suspicion as to its effectiveness? The answer relates to the stakeholders involved in the process and potential conflicts of interest therein.

Many Cooks One Kitchen—by John E. Johnson

I was involved in marketing management for 28 years with two industry leaders (Unilever, Levi Strauss & Co.) and a major advertising agency (Foote, Cone & Belding). I functioned as client with major agencies reporting to me and later working directly for the agency. This is what I concluded as to why advertising often fails to fulfill its role in the strategic marketing mix.

Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen: the WIIFM (What’s In It For Me) Principal

There can be as many as six groups or individuals involved in the advertising process and six different, overlapping, and sometimes conflicting perspectives, all centered on the WIIFM principal:

• The advertiser. The enterprise’s primary need is to have advertising successfully deliver its role in the overall product/service marketing strategy, which is to generate and activate customer response in the form of direct purchases or activities that ultimately lead to purchases.
• The client company’s advertising manager, whose primary motivation is job fulfillment as defined by managing the advertising process such as in staying on strategy and on budget, meeting deadlines, directing the agency, satisfying internal decision makers, managing a staff, and avoiding advertising failure.
• The advertising agency, whose primary motivation is stable client relationships and growing client billings.
• The agency’s account management person, who represents the client at the agency and the agency at the client. A perilous fence to walk and whose primary motive is keeping the client happy by producing timely satisfactory advertising within budget while not losing internal agency credibility due to being seen as a client shill or rollover (i.e., not seen as fighting hard enough for agency recommendations or giving in too readily to unreasonable client requests).
• The agency’s creative team, whose primary motives involve showcasing their creative talent to the client, their peers, agency management, and prospective employers.
• The customers or consumers of the advertising, who could give a rat’s behind about the previous five groups and, in fact, whose primary inclination is to find reasons to reject the 3,000 advertising messages with which they are daily bombarded.

Handle with care

Advertising has the potential to be explosive, but like dynamite, can resemble a useless inert mixture of ingredients, blow up in your face, or move mountains. It all depends on how you handle it, prepare it, and apply it. We will explore more on this issue in our next newsletter. In the meantime, love to hear from you.

What Others Say About 60MSP Workshops

If you haven’t had John speak at your groups, book him while you can. If you have had John present to your group, but it’s been a few years and you have had some turnover, his presentation is one of the best “repeats” I’ve had in my 11 years as a chair.

Randy Yost
Master Chair, Vistage International
Sacramento CA