Acknowledgments

Introduction

PART 1: Development and Planning

Mission IS Possible

Creating a vision of success within the organization

Most businesses today exist in a state of controlled chaos---time constrained, under stress, with employees carrying tremendous workloads

This chapter explains the secrets to developing a clear, actionable working mission statement and operating charter to define objectives and responsibilities within an organization, creating a vision and measurable goals leading to success

Mo' Better Brainstorming

Using Stimulus Response to increase productivity and generate great new ideas

There are two ways to generate new ideas

The most popular is the ``suck'' method of creativity, which assumes that all great ideas already exist in your head and all you have to do is somehow coax them out

For most this is a very short experience

The better way to ideate is Stimulus Response, which surrounds you with a wide and varying range of stimuli and uses your brain as a coprocessor to make new connections and develop ideas

This secret brain-storming technique has been proven to be five times more effective at developing new ideas than standard methods

What Consumer Research Won't Tell You

Finding strategic consumer insight outside traditional research methods

Traditional market research can only take you so far

To create intellectual competitive advantage, marketers must learn how to develop the discipline of strategic learning in everyday life

This chapter reveals secrets top marketers teach their marketing personnel to learn things about their consumers that the competition never knows

The Best-Kept Secret of Branding

Developing a relevant yet unexpected strategic positioning

Brand strategy development is the most difficult task marketers face

Creating a strategic positioning statement defines what your brand will stand for and affects the entire consumer communication effort for your product

This chapter unveils the secrets to creating a relevant-yet-unexpected brand positioning statement that establishes competitive advantage

The New Products Underworld

Increasing your chances of new product success

Should you continue to invest in research and development to create new products and line extensions in-house? No

Most of the big boys are secretly buying their new ideas from outside vendors

This chapter will offer insight into the burgeoning industry of new product think tanks

PART II: Marketing Cornerstones

How You Can Know That the Price Is Right

Maximizing profitability can be a difficult journey

Making money is what it's all about---but pricing is trickier than it looks

Depending upon the price sensitivity of consumers in the product category, a difference of even pennies can drastically affect sales volume and impact the bottom line

The chapter reveals pricing models designed to optimize profitability

Unfair Advantage: How to Own a Category

Offering the right product mix to consumers

Large companies often dominate a single product category with several product that compete for market share

This chapter reveals how top consumer goods marketers analyze product mix to optimize consumer appeal, build share, and neutralize competitors

It demystifies the shrouded world of generics, fighter brands, and premium brands, revealing different strategies to use, depending upon your company's market position

Simple Steps to Powerful Packaging

Creating differentiation and specialness through packaging initiatives

This chapter discusses the hidden truths of how companies willing to break the paradigm and create unique packaging have developed competitive advantage

Solving the Merchandising and Distribution Mystery

Putting your product in the right place for consumers

Everything communicates something about your product to consumers, including where they see it being sold

The store environment and how it is merchandised creates a powerful image about your brand in the mind of the consumer---more powerful than even your advertising message

This chapter unveils merchandising secrets and offers distribution strategy tips

PART III: Consumer Communication

Cracking the Code to Great Advertising

The keys to getting great results from your ad agency

In this chapter we reveal the secrets to creating breakthrough advertising and dealing with advertising agencies/creative teams to produce an ad campaign that not only looks good, but works

The Six Deadly Sins of Advertising

Common mistakes to avoid at all costs

An analysis of hundreds of hours of TV ads and thousands of print campaigns has revealed six secret no-no's that consistently kill campaigns

Solving the Public Relations Puzzle

It's not about finding dancing elephants to wear your brand name on TV

Many public relations people think that their job is to get their product's name in the newspaper or on TV. Wrong

PR has to be integrated with the overall marketing plan and deliver messages strategically aligned to the brand positioning

This chapter defines what great public relations is and its place in the overall marketing mix

PART IV: Promote, Promote and Promote

The Hush-Hush World of Trade Promotions

What you can do besides paying feature, display and slotting allowances

Many retailers won't execute promotions anymore---but it can be done if you know the right buttons to push! This chapter reveals how to create great and effective trade marketing strategies and tactics

What You Don't Know about Consumer Promotions

Create brand personality, competitive advantage and boost sales

Companies spend big chunks of their annual marketing budgets on consumer promotions

Most think of promotions as a way to get a short-term volume increase and don't spend a lot of time thinking about the long-term implications

This is a big mistake

Consumer promotions can be used to effectively create brand personality, build competitive advantage, and stimulate sales, with results that can last long past the promotional window

The Secrets to Effective Sports Sponsorships

Attaching your name to big-time sports is expensive stuff---Here's how to make it pay off

Corporations spend millions of dollars each year sponsoring sports---why? How does it pay off? Most of the time, it doesn't

It's not about putting your name in front of people---that's old-school thinking

Here's an in-depth evaluation and discussion of the benefits of sports marketing and the secrets of how to make it work effectively for your brand---through strategic linkage to a brand's core consumer benefits

Concealed Tactics for Leveraging Alliances

Making partnerships work for you

Many companies form strategic alliances with properties---from concert tours to Miss America pageants to TV programs

This chapter discusses the secrets of how to find alliances, what rights you need to execute effectively, and how to leverage the alliance's imagery for your benefit

What Coke Doesn't Want You to Know about Special Events

Secret tactics for getting noticed and standing out in a crowd

At most major events there are swarms of people and sponsors camped out on every square inch of free space, competing for consumer attention

This chapter reveals secret strategies developed by Coca-Cola for creating effective and cost-efficient presence at special events---signage, covert tactics, and grassroots efforts

The Hidden Benefits of Licensing

A bigger opportunity than T-shirts and coffee mugs

The biggest untapped opportunity for many companies is licensing---through offering your brand to others or via acquiring the rights to use others' names/likenesses in association with your brand

This chapter outlines secrets of how to effectively use licensing---leveraging image, creating brand awareness, generating new profit centers and line extensions

Parting Thoughts

Feedback

Index