CEOs Need to Be Chief Story Officers

The CMO is in charge of the brand's story at most companies. This can be a mistake, says Ty Montague writing for Harvard Business Review.

Marketing, you see, should only be one part of a company's story efforts. Take Amazon. Story is its lifeblood. In fact, it drives everything that the company does — from product development, to advertising, to HR policies.

Montague is the author of True Story: How to Combine Story and Action to Transform Your Business and a founder of co:collective, a consultancy that helps clients develop their strategy and brand story using the principles of storydoing.

Amazon, of course, isn't the only company that does this. Red Bull, Jet Blue, and TOMS shoes follow the same strategy as well, and their CEOs, just like Jeff Bezos at Amazon, are the ones who oversee their company's story — not their marketing departments. 

Why? 

They're the only ones who have the reach to do so.

If you are a CEO or an aspiring CEO, the evidence is clear: 

1. Become a student of the underlying narrative of your business;
2. Learn how to manage and tell that story through coordinated action;
3. Make understanding and telling your company's story both a shared responsibility across the whole organization and a core value of the company. 

If you do this, you (and more importantly, your shareholders) will reap the rewards.

Olympic-size tactical thinking

Photo Credit: Reuters/ Lewis Whyld/Pool

I recently facilitated a tactical ideation workshop in which we applied “Olympic” thinking to the client’s media planning.

Digital media spending by London 2012 Olympics sponsors amounted to as much as 20% of budgets.

Digital outlets attracted funds that might have gone to television in prior years.

And while ad agency and brand representatives don’t provide budgets or spending estimates for their Olympic campaigns, it’s believed that a comprehensive multimedia Olympic campaign cost between $30 million to $50 million.

The pricetag was worth it, most brand executives said, because they believe they were able to weave tighter connections between their brands and target customers during the Olympics compared to other events.

Here are some of the media ideas inspired by our Olympic-size thinking:

 

1.4 billion people mature: the China market for healthcare

Idaho Gov. Butch Otter

 Idaho brands like Simplot and Micron have benefited from the emergence of China as a global economic giant.  Idaho's exports to China have risen from $700 million in 1987 to more than $5 billion today across all sectors.

But what are the new opportunities for Idaho businesses to grow dramatically as the nation of 1.4 billion people matures.

"China is moving from being the world factory to being the world market," said Manuel Menendez, a businessman who has been making deals in China for 30 years.

This shift, along with huge wealth accumulated by individual Chinese, will help nearly every segment of Idaho's economy – including health care.

Menendez was the keynote speaker at a one-day China Business Summit I attended last month in Boise. It was sponsored by the state and several Idaho businesses. I joined business executives from around Idaho to hear how to integrate China trade into our brand strategies.

Gov. Butch Otter opened the session, sharing advice he has gained from visits to 83 countries in 18 trade missions since 1987. Both he and Menendez spoke of the importance of having partners in China who know the country, and the cultural and political landscapes.

N-of-8 case study: Leveraging an existing asset to a larger vision

It's good to look back on successful uses of N-of-8 to learn how it might apply to your current challenges.

Here was one situation from a few years ago:

Precedex is an important product for Hospira, one that can change practice and benefit patients.  The company was committed to reaching big goals and making this a blockbuster product for Hospira.   

And step one was bringing the corporate decision-makers together in one room for a workshop to use their collective experience and expertise to drive thinking, establish priorities, and focus on the most important things – the right things in the right order.

The Precedex team recognized the importance of developing a “vision” strategy – building a solid foundation for this unique and valuable product.

The main goal for this N-of-8 Vision Advancement was to initiate the development of a three-year Precedex strategy map that would identify the overarching strategy, sub-strategies, issues and top-line tactics for increasing awareness, expanding reach, and increasing sales. The team understood the importance of identifying and articulating a value proposition from the perspective of the customer and came together to explore and develop Precedex strategy maps using the N-of-8 along with our Strategic GPS® process.

We began the N-of-8 initiative with pre-workshop “listening” interviews designed to gather preliminary ideas and thinking around what was possible.  In the session, the team determined “where we are” in relation to the customer, and advanced the thinking to identify “where we want to be” in 3 to 5 years, from a customer perspective.

This exploration further focused and defined thinking as it relates to overall strategy and vision development.

6 ideas to more accurately reflect today's modern family

“Today's modern family is more than a hit TV show,” writes Rob Rosenberg is president of  Springboard Brand and Creative Strategy.  “It's a new composition of your customer groups, and you have an opportunity to make a greater impact with your marketing and creative strategies.”

In his latest blog post, Rob offers 6 ideas to more accurately reflect customers in your messaging – to reach out in more genuine and authentic ways.

1. Re-examine your marketplace
2. Align your customer service strategies
3. Evaluate research methodologies
4. Push your service-line strategies 
5. Reflect the marketplace in your creative
6. Continue to explore new media channels and networks 

Read the full article at http://www.hospitalbranding.blogspot.com/2012/11/modern-families-require-new-thinking.html

6 things strategic thinkers do well – and how brand innovators can learn from them

I know how it is with inventors, innovators, and entrepreneurs. 

In the beginning, there’s just you and maybe a partner. You do everything. You make the calls, and you answer the phone. You make the presentations, and you make the powerpoint. You write the website and you code it. You order the midnight pizza and you take out the trash.

 

So, when it’s time to “be strategic,” I know how tough it can be.

A recent article in Inc. Magazine helps provide some guidance.

“Every leader's temptation is to deal with what's directly in front, because it always seems more urgent and concrete,” writes Paul J. H. Schoemaker. “Unfortunately, if you do that, you put your company at risk. While you concentrate on steering around potholes, you'll miss windfall opportunities, not to mention any signals that the road you're on is leading off a cliff.”

One reason the job is so tough: no one really understands what it entails. It's hard to be a strategic leader if you don't know what strategic leaders are supposed to do.

Schoemaker says, “After two decades of advising organizations large and small, my colleagues and I have formed a clear idea of what's required of you in this role. Adaptive strategic leaders — the kind who thrive in today’s uncertain environment – do six things well.”

Here’s his list:

1. Anticipate – Look for game-changing information at the periphery of your industry. Build wide external networks to help you scan the horizon better.
2. Think Critically – Reframe problems to get to the bottom of things, in terms of root causes. Uncover hypocrisy, manipulation, and bias in organizational decisions
3. Interpret – synthesize information from many sources before developing a viewpoint. Question prevailing assumptions and test multiple hypotheses simultaneously
4. Decide – balance speed, rigor, quality and agility. Leave perfection to higher powers. Take a stand even with incomplete information and amid diverse views
5. Align – foster open dialogue, build trust and engage key stakeholders, especially when views diverge. Bring tough issues to the surface, even when it's uncomfortable.
6. Learn – encourage and exemplify honest, rigorous debriefs to extract lessons.

I know this may seem daunting. I’ve run companies and advise start-up companies, including my latest venture Bioscience Bridge. So I appreciate the chance to share strategic insights and experiences with other innovators.

4 tips for creating a consistent transmedia content strategy

At the office, at home, and on the go, consumers are digesting and interacting with content on multiple platforms in increasing numbers. As marketers and content strategists, we need to be able to anticipate and meet their needs to engage, connect, and motivate them — whenever and wherever they need information.

At the heart of our ability to reach this goal is developing a consistent transmedia content strategy, writes Denise Zimmerman, president & chief strategy officer at Netplus, a full service digital agency.

Denise Zimmerman is a 25-year marketing veteran who has spent the past 18 years of her career focusing on the emerging digital landscape and best practice applications in marketing and communications.

She is blogging in conjunction with Content Marketing World2012 which will take place on September 4 – 6, 2012 at the Columbus, Ohio Convention Center.

It’s 2 full days dedicated to keynotes, 30 breakout sessions, and multiple tracks of programming, such as How to Develop a Content Marketing Strategy and Organizing Your Marketing Department for Publishing Success.

Here’s more of what Denise has to say about content strategy:

A consistent transmedia content strategy will not only help facilitate stronger and more meaningful connections with your customers, but it can also significantly extend the value of your content and amplify its overall impact.

While the best practices for content strategy are still evolving, there are steps you can take now to implement an effective transmedia content agenda that can be updated as content marketing practices continue to take shape.

Here are a few tips to consider as you get started:

1. Establish content strategy as a practice and discipline in your organization

2. Connect your content efforts to existing brand and/or marketing goals

3. Identify, analyze, and prioritize your assets

4. Make content findable, distributable, and extendable

Make sure you build in checks and balances, set benchmarks, and be prepared to apply a number of different measurement scenarios and tests to help you gauge how well your content efforts performed. Some common measurement guidelines you can use include:

• conversion rates
• engagement rates
• new customer acquisition rates
• cost per sale calculations
• earned impressions
• changes in the number of “shares” your content generates

Read more from Denise on the different ways to develop a consistent, transmedia strategy at http://www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/2012/03/creating-a-consistent-transmedia-content-strategy/

I also write about transmedia strategy in my upcoming book, N-of-8, so if you'd like to read more, click to why-transmedia-storytelling-is-future

Inspiration for a strategist: Centre d’analyse stratégique

While I was in Paris last month, I passed by the Centre d’analyse stratégique.

Of course, as a strategist, the name got my attention.

I set out to learn more about it. The Centre d’analyse stratégique is a research-based advisory institution under the authority of the Prime Minister of France.  Its mission is to advise the government in defining and implementing its strategic policies on economic, social, environmental and technologic matters.

In fact, the week I was in Paris, the Centre released “The areas of new growth: a projection for 2030”.  The most important aspect of this report highlights the potential for reinvention of traditional industries, so that France is able to position itself for the future of specialization and services of tomorrow.  This will create room for growth in productivity and quality.

You can learn more about the Centre, and even download the full report, at www.strategie.gouv.fr

The Halo Effect: a force of a winning team

"The halo effect," write John Hechinger and Curtis Eichelberger in BusinessWeek, "is the remarkable force a winning sports team exerts on a university’s brand and student recruiting power."

Boise State University credits its Broncos football team with giving the school a big boost after the team won the Fiesta Bowl in both 2007 and 2010. 

One donor from California specifically cited an article about the team when he sent a $250,000 pledge in support of a new business building, says spokesman Frank Zang. 

Applications soared 9 percent after the 2007 victory and 4 percent after 2010. The percentage of out-of-state students, who pay almost three times the tuition for in-state students, now stands at 19 percent. Members of this year’s freshman class hail from as far away as Saudi Arabia and Japan.

2012 and its layers of objectives

The central challenge for business leaders looking over the horizon to 2012 is:  how to address many layers of objectives at the same time.

It’s not enough to just find new revenue growth or to create more profitability; the problem is to do both at the same time.

It isn’t just the need to produce better brand performance in the short term that makes our jobs hard, but also the need to produce results today and build for tomorrow at the same time.

Every leader and every company I know in health, science, and technology faces these seemingly impossible and simultaneous objectives.

That’s why the companies which are winning are those that not only strengthen individual brands, but also increase the innovation ability of the whole portfolio. That means new products contributing profitably sooner. Sales at launch that endure through the entire lifecycle. And high-performing brands within a valuable whole.

In my book, N-of-8, I offer a look at some obstacles that managers can fall into that can break up a brand team rather than lead to breakout innovation.

Specifically, I present details of each of the four primary ways to apply the N-of-8 methods. For each, I identify what can make N-of-8 compatible the objectives of the team.

Contact me for a personal preview.

Stinson Joins GSW Worldwide

Dear Clients & Friends:

I’m pleased to share with you the news that I have joined GSW Worldwide, an inVentiv Health company and one of the largest healthcare advertising agencies in the world.

For the past 7 years as President of Stinson Brand Innovation, I have enjoyed building a brand consultancy for health, science, and technology products. Now with my integration into GSW Worldwide, we will be able to expand these brand strategy and account planning capabilities.

As of May 1, I am moving my operations to the GSW Worldwide office in Columbus, Ohio, where I will serve as Senior Vice President of Account Planning to lead the strategy and branding process for current and new clients. Other Stinson Brand Innovation staff members will also have various roles at GSW Worldwide.
I’m excited about joining such a well recognized and admired agency as GSW Worldwide. Our approach is aligned with the culture and branding philosophy of GSW Worldwide, so I believe our combination has a lot to offer clients. I see it taking our tools to a whole new level.

Thank you to our most valued clients and supporters who played a part in Stinson Brand Innovation over the years. And we look forward to working with you in the future at GSW Worldwide.