My campaigns are ideally suited for the small or
medium-sized privately-held enterprise intent on increasing their share
of market (quite often against larger better provisioned competitors).
I have created a significant body of work and experience relative
to competitive marketing described via a proprietary campaign
methodology. A methodology based upon maneuver theory that articulates how a
competitor can shape a conflict - whether it is the battlefield or the
marketplace - to his advantage, and to the disadvantage of his
opponent. Applying maneuver theory to contemporary advertising, marketing and branding initiatives can generate remarkable results.
POTENTIAL SITUATIONS AND CANDIDATES FOR A VSENTE CAMPAIGN
Any
enterprise considering engaging a traditional advertising agency to
increase revenues is a potential candidate for a campaign.
Further, any enterprise considering adopting a branding, open source
marketing, word of mouth marketing, customer delight, or other "new"
marketing initiative to increase revenues should consider a campaign. Small and medium-size privately-held enterprises competing
against a larger publicly-traded competitor are the best candidates for
a vSente campaign. Enterprises with the following attributes are
excellent candidates:
1. Entrepreneurial CEO - preferably the founder.
2. Mid-market or smaller enterprises.
3. Privately-held capital structure.
4. Business to business markets.
5. Competing against large publicly-traded industry leader.
6. Desire to gain significant market share.
Additionally the large publicly-traded enterprise looking to defend and
counter attack the smaller privately-held challenger may also be a
potential prospect for a campaign. Not all situations are
responsive to one of my campaigns. Enterprise culture and competitive
positioning have a significant influence on the potential success of a
campaign.
HOW I EXECUTE A CAMPAIGN
A vSente campaign involves three steps - planning, production and execution. Planning engagements begin around $25k and last two to four weeks.
Planning and production engagements start around $50k, last 4 to 8
weeks and and deliver everything a client needs to execute a campaign.
A turnkey engagement where we plan, produce and execute a campaign
begins around $100k and can last 6 to 18 months. I work via a
virtual organization with more than 30 associates worldwide. I form a
campaign team based upon the industry and the specific requirements of
the campaign. Analysts, strategists, producers, writers, directors are
selected from a worldwide pool of talent most of whom are veterans of
at least one vSente campaign. All campaigns are led by me and I
never have more than three campaigns in play at one time.
HOW TO ENGAGE A VSENTE CAMPAIGN
The first step towards engaging a campaign is a phone call to discuss
your current situation - 415.457.8449. During this
exploratory call I will determine if your current situation is a
candidate for a campaign. After the phone call the next step is a one-hour briefing via teleconference with you and your
key managers. During the briefing I will walk through the basic concepts of
maneuver theory and the campaign process. After the
teleconference, assuming both parties want to continue we then do some
basic backgrounding in order to prepare a campaign proposal. The last
step is to negotiate and finalize a campaign agreement.
Since we quite often deal with urgent situations this process can be completed in as little as two weeks. We work quickly and efficiently. To the right is the campaign deal sheet, for Moss software, scrawled on a cocktail napkin over lunch. Moss was later purchased by E.piphany for $40 million. Generally most agreements take 30 days to finalize and are written on real paper.
Confidentiality in the execution of a campaign is critical. I never announce new clients and rarely do we publicize the results of a campaign. The reason for this is to maintain the advantage of surprise and to not tip client competitors to successful approaches. Also, there are situations where we engage incognito in order to assure confidentiality or in situations where we may be brought in by an agency to augment their staff or competency set.
Call me to discuss a campaign - 415.234.6757
The Second World War, Volume 2: 
