Positioning Part 3: Why we should love dumb questions

Part 2 was about the choices to consider when formulating your campaign positioning—now we’ll see why those initial choices are probably wrong.

Over the years, I’ve learned to love the uninformed viewpoint. At TEC, we call this unbiased (and yes, refreshingly ignorant) perspective the tourist’s view. We worship the “innocent bystander”—the guy who asks the dumb questions. Because he’s often the only genius left in the room—the one not tainted by endless research, deliberations, or contrived, clever twists of phrase. He’s the guy that brings into question all the hard work of campaign committees, experts, and executives with this simple exclamation; “I don’t get it.” Bless his soul, because if we listen to him, he might save us. His name is often Larry.

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Positioning Part 2: Choosing what you want to say

In Part 1, I introduced positioning and talked about how easy it is to miss your mark. This time, we focus on how successful campaign positioning depends on saying and doing just the right thing—at the right time—for the right audience.

Advertising is great fun in that you can choose what you want to say about a product or service—but it’s also where trouble begins. Just as there are great salespeople who can captivate their prospects by saying just the right thing—they seem to be far outnumbered by those who boor, badger and don’t seem to understand the needs or concerns of their prospects. Wouldn’t you agree? Read the rest of this entry »

Positioning Part 1: Putting a wet finger into the wind

There is nothing more important to the success of your venture than proper positioning—at every step of your marketing and sales process. I see positioning as not just a branding exercise, but a powerful tool in the nuts and bolts of campaign creation and process.

My own definition: “Positioning” is what you CHOOSE to say about anything—your product, service, sales call, or girlfriend.

Let’s start with a background story:

Years ago, working in the creative department of a newspaper publisher in Edmonton, I was asked to help save a large account who was threatening to pull his advertising. “Make it work,” commanded the publisher. With that, his part in a familiar exercise was pretty much over. My part—saving an advertiser from himself—would be more difficult.

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