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April 22, 2008

Citizen Strategist: New Home for Maneuver Marketing Communique, vSente, The Journal For Competitive Marketing and Campaign Engines...

I have consolidated all of my blogs and web sites here at Citizen Strategist. I write, edit, curate and inhabit Citizen Strategist which is part blog, part web site, part library, and part switchboard. The "PAGES" section will take you to my manuals, wizards, and other online campaigning resources (most of which are available for free for the first time). The "CATEGORY" section contains topical blog entries and commentaries going back to 2003. "RECENT POSTS" contain the last 10 blog posts.

For those who have followed my prior blogs - I have consolidated both Maneuver Marketing and Journal of Competitive Marketing here, along with the original web site for vSente and most of the paid content found in vSente's Armory. Much of this content is being offered free for the first time.

I am a campaigner. I'm not a blogger. If you're small or medium-sized enterprise battling a larger competitor then you should give me a call at 415.457.8449. Share with me your current situation. And I can explain in context how I might help you plan, produce and execute a winning marketing campaign. The best candidates for one of my campaigns are enterprises with the following attributes:

1. Difficult competitive environment.
2. Market share threatened or under attack.
3. Mid-market or smaller enterprises.
4. Privately-held capital structure.
5. Business to business markets.
6. Competing against large publicly-traded industry leader.

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 vSente campaign. Not all situations are responsive to a vSente campaign. Enterprise culture and competitive positioning have a significant influence on the potential success of a campaign. 

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. Call 415.457.8449 or email me for more information.

Posted by Mike Smock on April 22, 2008 in 09 - Miscellaneous Marketing Postings |

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    Campaign Engines

    • I developed the Campaign Engine to drive my marketing campaigns. Click here to read more.

      What is a Campaign Engine?

      A Campaign Engine is a campaigning methodology that orchestrates a fusion of human creativity and Web 2.0 technology resulting in effective and accountable advertising and marketing campaigns.

      Engschem250
      Why are Campaign Engines needed?

      To deliver effective and accountable advertising and marketing campaigns.

      How does a Campaign Engine increase effectiveness?

      A Campaign Engine increases advertising and marketing campaign effectiveness by amplifying competitiveness, infusing intelligence and enabling agile campaigning.

      Click here to read more.

    Recommended Reading

    • Most marketers used to the bright colors, short lists and pretty pictures of Seth Godin, Tom Peters and Guy Kawasaki will find this list daunting to say the least. Which is why the list forms a golden opportunity for those marketers with the hearty appetite necessary to devour the contents. While most of your competitors are trying to paint cows purple - you'll be out kicking ass.

      MARKETING: STRATEGY

      Sun Tzu- The Art of War Shambhala/Thomas Cleary version.

      WHY MARKETERS SHOULD READ: Because Sun Tuz is the ultimate marketing strategist. Learn how to win without fighting. And when you do have to fight - how to kick ass and win.

      MONEY QUOTE: Therefore use these assessments for comparison, to find out what the conditions are. That is to say which political leadership has the Way? Which general has the ability? Who has the better climate and terrain? Whose discipline is effective? Whose troops are stronger? whose officers and soldiers are the better trained? Whose system of rewards and punishments clearer? This is how can know who will win. (Pg. 46)

      MARKETING: TACTICS

      Machiavelli - The Prince Mentor Book's version with forward by Christian Gauss.

      WHY MARKETERS SHOULD READ: Because Machiavelli delivers a great primer on dealing with unethical tactics - like blog swarms, short sellers, social activists, corrupt competitors, media relations, etc.

      MONEY QUOTE: A new prince has never been known to disarm his subjects, on the contrary, when he has found them disarmed he has always armed them, for by arming them, these arms become your own, those that you suspected become faithful, and those that were faithful remain so, and from being merely subjects become your partisans. (Pg. 105)

      MARKETING: CAMPAIGNING

      The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War Robert Coram's biography of John Boyd.

      WHY MARKETERS SHOULD READ: Because Boyd articulates the secret to successful campaigning. Boyd's O-O-D-A Loop and thoughts on organic command and control should be mastered by all marketers.

      MONEY QUOTE: For a time, Boyd and Spinney were reluctant to fully explain the O-O-D-A Loop; it was far too dangerous. If someone truly understands how to create menace and uncertainty and mistrust, then how to exploit and magnify the presence of these disconcerting elements, the Loop can be vicious, a terribly destructive force, virtually unstoppable in causing panic and confusion and - Boyd's phrase is best - "unraveling the competition." This is true whether the Loop is applied in combat, in competitive business practices, in sports, or in personal relationships. (Pg. 334)

      MARKETING: CRISIS

      The Second World War, Volume 2: Their Finest Hour Winston Churchill's WWII chronicles.

      WHY MARKETERS SHOULD READ: Because everything you read today about crisis management is wrong. Churchill's personal experiences leading up to and during WWII provide a practical foundation for dealing with crisis.

      MONEY QUOTE: There never was an occasion when powers were abrogated or challenged, and anyone in this circle could always speak his mind; but the actual war direction soon settled into a very few hands, and what seemed so difficult before became much more simple - apart of course, from Hitler. In spite of the turbulence of events and the many disasters we had to endure, the machinery worked almost automatically, and one lived in a stream of coherent thought capable of being translated with great rapidity into executive action. (Pg. 17)

      MARKETING FUNDAMENTALS

      Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors Michael Porter's classic.

      WHY MARKETERS SHOULD READ: Porter provides a fundamental primer on competition including practical tools and techniques that are even more important today than they were 25 years ago.

      MONEY QUOTES: One broad approach is to use superior resources and capabilities to force an outcome skewed toward the interest of the firm, overcoming and outlasting retaliation - we might call this brute force approach. This sort of approach is possible only if the firm possesses clear superiorities, and it is stable only as long as the firm maintains these superiorities, and as long as competitors do not misread them and incorrectly attempt to change their positions. (Pg. 91)

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    About Citizen Strategist

    • Citizen Strategist is written by Mike Smock, EVP Sales and Marketing for Charles J. Read, Inc. He is also Managing Director of vSente, a San Francisco based marketing consultancy. vSente helps challenger enterprises battle larger competitors. Prior, he was Chief Marketing Officer of CRM vendor Moss Software (sold to E.piphany) and Chief Revenue Officer of outdoor clothing producer Gramicci.

      In his early career Smock held senior sales and marketing positions with AFG Industries later sold to Asahi Glass and Allied Tube and Conduit now part of Tyco. He was the Cofounder of Dynaquest Corporation an artificial intelligence pioneer, and led the successful leveraged buyout of AP&E from Johnson Controls.

      Smock has executed 100's of marketing campaigns in almost 50 different industries over a 30 year career.

      Click here to read his biography.

      You can reach him by phone at 415.234.6757 or at mike@vsente.com.

    Citizen Strategist Resources

    • Citizen Strategist is the online resource for competitive marketers. It aggregates print and web assets dedicated to effective and accountable marketing practices including worksheets, interactive planners, manuals, links, articles and 100's of other resources.

      1. Planning a campaign. Use the Campaign Manual and Campaign Wizards to plan a campaign... marketing, advertising, new product launch, customer acquisition, key account defense, etc.

      2. Developing strategy and tactics. Utilize the Campaign Wizards to assist with a current effort... determining strategy, sizing up a competitor, developing tactics, interpreting market signals, etc.

      3. Research new marketing techniques. Explore resources most marketers never consider. Learn how to win without fighting. And learn how to fight when fighting is necessary.

      Below are several threads containing commentary about marketing strategy and enterprise competiveness. Click the tile to read the commentary.

    Campaign Wizards

    • The campaign wizards are specialized tools designed to help develop individual campaign elements like strategy and tactics or to quickly assess the potential of your campaign. All wizards are Excel worksheets or workbooks. Click to download any of the wizards.

      QUICKLY DETERMINE THE POTENTIAL SUCCESS OF A CAMPAIGN

      Use the Campaign BOT wizard for a quick (couple of minutes), down and dirty assessment of the potential success of your campaign. The Campaign Bot is a simple rubric that measures your strengths relative to your primary competitor and weighted according to the Campaign Bot indicates a potential success then proceed with planning your campaign. Click to download.

      IN-DEPTH BATTLE SCREENER IDENTIFIES POTENTIAL AVENUES FOR A CAMPAIGN

      The Campaign SCREEN is a comprehensive version of the BattleBot offering more questions and greater sensitivity generating a more accurate indication of the potential for a successful campaign. Use the Campaign Screen if the results from the Campaign Bot are inconclusive. Click to download.

      HOW TO ANALYZE AND EXPLOIT COMPETITOR VULNERABILITIES

      The Campaign COG wizard generates an in-depth competitive analysis resulting in the identification of your competitors primary vulnerability (center of gravity). Use the Campaign COG to better understand and exploit your competitive strengths relative to your competitor weaknesses. The Campaign COG includes an interactive set of step-by-step instructions. Click to download.

      20 CAMPAIGN SIGNALS - ARE YOU SIGNALING OR IS YOUR COMPETITION?

      The Campaign SIGNALS wizard describes 20 signals a competitor may demonstrate indicating potential vulnerabilities. An example of a potential campaign signal is a competitor launching an expensive high profile strategic branding campaign which then makes them vulnerable to low profile direct marketing campaigns. Why? Traditional branding theory advocates the need for a consistent message broadcast over time. So while your competitor is waiting for the branding to "work" you're already at work taking market share. Click to download.

      SEVEN FUNDAMENTAL BUILDING BLOCKS OF KILLER COMPETITIVE STRATEGY

      The Campaign STRATEGY wizard describes seven fundamental building blocks of strategy with specific examples. These seven building blocks are price, quality, service, features, infrastructure, relationships and execution. Strategy is the enabler between ends and means. The ends represent the objective. The means includes enterprise resources, competencies, etc. In order for strategy to perform this enabling function it needs to be effective, comprehensible and executable. An example of strategy would be for the challenger to attack a leaders premium price, with their own premium pricing (NOT discount pricing!) in tandem with superior quality, features or reputation. Click to download.

      54 TACTICS TO SELECT FROM IN BUILDING YOUR OWN PLAN OF CAMPAIGN.

      The Campaign TACTICS wizard is designed to provide a catalyst to drive strategy and tactics. This wizard is based upon Robert Cantrells innovative Strategy Card Deck and describes 54 different strategies and tactics. Each strategy has a one line description, an explanation of the strategy, the basis for the strategy and a potential tactical application. Click to download.


      DETERMINING ASYMMETRICAL ADVANTAGES - WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE COMPETITION CHEATS.

      Campaign SYMMETRIES indicate the "fairness" of your campaign. Some competitors are willing to go further than others in order to win a battle. A battle between two competitors with essentially comparable offering, infrastructure, relationships and execution, and, committed to playing by an established set of rules, can be considered a symmetrical conflict. When a competitor resorts to breaking or bending the rules, and you are unwilling to match their tactics, then you have the makings of an asymmetrical conflict, a battle you will likely lose. The Campaign SYMMETRIES wizard provide a gauge by which to measure the symmetry of your battle for market share. Click to download.

    Planning, Producing and Executing Campaigns

    John Boyd's O-O-D-A Loop


    • John Boyd articulates the secret to successful campaigning. Boyd's O-O-D-A Loop and thoughts on organic command and control should be mastered by all marketers. Boyd's phrase is best - "unraveling the competition." This is true whether the Loop is applied in combat, in competitive business practices, in sports, or in personal relationships. Click here to read more on the use of O-O-D-A Loop..

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