Marketers are often playing a second game of chess against an unseen opponent

Every couple of years Byron Sharp writes to me and sends me a copy of ‘How Brands Grow’. Flattering though it is to hear from the professor, the imposter in me wonders if he actually thinks my marketing stinks so much, he has to keep sending me his little masterpiece in evidence-based marketing science.

But re-reading this excellent book for the third time reminds me of how easy it is to get brand strategy wrong. To forget that behaviour often drives attitude, that the biggest brands have more customers that stay with them for longer, and that these very same customers often use competitor brands too. But perhaps the most poignant reminder is that building and maintaining brand salience must be the foundation of any decent brand strategy.

The term ‘brand strategy’ can mean different things to different people. In this instance, I am referring specifically to three things in particular. Firstly, the identification of the core commercial audiences where the brand needs to win over the course of a 3-year plan. Secondly, the positioning of the brand so it is highly resonant with this audience, and thirdly, focusing on building distinctiveness to increase brand salience i.e. ensuring brand recall is high with the core audience at the critical consideration and decision moments.

It’s true that in some categories you really only need to focus on building brand distinctiveness at a mass market level, as choice is a no brainer, and everyone is a potential customer, for example, in a low involvement purchase like toothpaste or a loaf of bread. But in categories where there is higher perceived value you might not be able to just rely on being recognisable and recallable. Positioning to help capture attention and build an emotional connection becomes vital too.

I’ve never really been convinced about the importance of differentiation. It seems so fleeting, as most products or services regress to being broadly the same. So, for me, positioning the brand ensuring it has great resonance with the audience comes to the fore. Positioning can be wonderfully imaginative too. Fizzy table water or a drink for adults? Under arm perfume for teenage boys or bottled self confidence for a night out? This is the stuff that can elevate brands and drive commercial success beyond being recognisable and easily recalled.

Is your marketing plan a rabbit or a duck?So, if all this is the strategic brand table, then balancing the pull of short-term activation vs the push of long-term brand building is the game of chess played time and again between MDs, FDs, sales directors and CMOs. It’s a good game too. Easy to see all the pieces, and even easier to anticipate the moves – pawn to queen 4 focus on in year sales targets, knight to king 3 protect future cash flows by building a stronger brand amongst future customers.

But there is another game of chess being played out of sight. Let’s say it’s under the table, in the dark. In this game very few players are allowed in and it can sink or swim a marketing function or CMO in an instant.

The rules may be opaque, but the objective is clear. This game is about resetting the business model, raising or lowering levels of ambition, and working with the right leaders. This is where the real business gets done, where the strategy is agreed at a principle level before it goes to any ExCo meetings, alongside identifying the right people who will lead out the new approach.

You can always tell if the second game of chess is on because a couple of things tend to happen. What seemed impossible organisationally a few months ago becomes instantly unlocked. Teams are brought together in unexpected ways to form new centres of excellence. Poor but seemingly unmovable tyrannical leaders suddenly leave. A big breath of fresh air sweeps across the organisation unexpectedly.

I’ve experienced this several times in my career; these big unseen changes that presage a major shift in strategic focus. A couple of times it has left me, and my marketing team, utterly hobbled. Sunk under the weight of change and shift in focus, colleagues departed, strategy in tatters. But at other times, my team and I have been lifted on the crest of a wave of optimism and ambition. Remit increased, new mission set.

It’s possible to turn restructures from cost-saving crisis to strategic advantageSo, how can the CMO and marketing team mitigate the risk of things going against them on the second chess board?

In my experience, chess game two only happens when major events force change. Often these are not directly controllable by the team, for example, a major operational cost overrun, losing a significant customer, or a national recession etc. This being the case, the key to longevity is in three areas:

1) Develop a reputation for being both strategic in outlook and ruthlessly commercial in execution. This means understanding audiences, commercial drivers, and setting ambitious but achievable smart brand and marketing objectives.

2) Build a track record of success. Deliver with excellence consistently. Actively hold the tension between investing in both the long and short term, demonstrating how they work together to drive growth.

3) Lead with exceptional behaviours. Set a vision, build the plan collegiately with colleagues and stakeholders, seek advice from experts, and listen. There is such power in empowering teams and celebrating their successes. Ultimately your true value lies in being known as a leader who has the ability to create a culture of creativity, learning and trust.

An old friend of mine – formerly a chief creative officer at a number of leading global ad agencies – once told me a lovely story when I asked him about how he was settling into his new agency. He told me he had been teaching his team to make honey.

Astounded, I still remember now, 10 years on, how he vividly described about how bees can only make honey at a specific temperature. But the thing about the hive is that no matter how hot or cold it is outside, the temperature can be kept at the right honey-making level because the bees control the heat. All they need is an environment where they are happy and gainfully led by their Queen. Maybe marketing leaders can learn a thing or two about leadership from nature.

Back in the office, and in between the earthquakes and winds of change from game two, its time to play chess against our old friends in sales, finance and commercial. But at least now I can prop up the chessboard with all those copies from the don on How Brands Grow.