Philosophical Investigations of Strategic Planning
{With Apologies to Wittgenstein}

Philosophical Investigations of Strategic Planning

1. Philosophy informs process. A philosophy is a mental model for solving problems.

2. Process informs products. A process is a series of steps taken to achieve a goal.

3. Products inspire, sell and evaluate creative solutions. Products are strategic artifacts that facilitate the process.

4. Planning is an approach {to brand communication} that informs creative solutions with rigor to maximize efficacy.

5. Planning consists of research, synthesis, abstraction, imagination and articulation.

6. Strategic tools illustrate abstractions to organize and explain thinking succinctly

7. Distilling information into recommendations necessitates the imposition of structure on to the complexity of human and corporate behavior.

8. This means creating boundaries [b] and vectors [v] to establish relative co-ordinates and thus model relationships [r],

9. Between: companies & competitors; brands and consumers; causes and effects —

10. In order to explore opportunities.

11. Planning creates useful and persuasive abstractions and articulations that explore & express relationships.

12. Strategic tools may be understood in this way; b x v = r.

13. Insights and propositions are written articulations that express relationships.

14. Planning defines boundaries for entities [company, brand, persona] sets[competitive set, target audience] and abstractions [consumer needs, brand values].

15. Planning defines vectors [time, amount, money, conservatism, modernity, motivation, ease] and boundary co-ordinates [b {x,y}] to model relationships.

16. Boundaries create Venn Diagrams to demonstrate areas of overlap or friction.

17. The intersection of the Venn [the vesica piscis] is the relationship [r].

18. The relationship [r] illuminates shared characteristics

19. Or exposes opportunities.

20. The intersection is where the insight and inspiration are.

21. Boundaries + vectors + relative co-ordinates create Matrices.

22. A matrix is a strategic tool that creates a Map [brand positioning matrix, BCG matrix].

23. Each quadrant explores a segment or typology based on the vectors.

24. Gaps in the map expose uncolonized strategic opportunities [brand position, market opportunity, source of volume, share of voice].

25. Any vector may be applied to a matrix for exploration.

26. Boundaries + vectors model cause and effects relationships.

27. Consumer journeys map the decisions, drivers and barriers of a customer as they navigate a category to buy a product / service.

28. The map highlights influences and opportunities.

29. Ecosystems map customer interactions with brands across touchpoints[like media, services, retail, product].

30. A marketing funnel is not a consumer journey; it is a measurement framework.

31. Planning defines problems in ways that allows for them to be solved [and sold] creatively.

32. Often using the Kipling Method5Ws [Who, When, Where, Why, What] and 1H [How].

33. In order to create strong problem statements that articulate the relationship between the situation and the ambition,

34. Remember to challenge hidden assumptions and/or rephrase the problem,

35. In ways that do not suggest a solution.

36. The philosophy of planning: communications + insight [I] = more effective.

37. The primary source of insight is consumer understanding: behavior, perceptions, beliefs, etc.

37. Because the default communication model is AIDA: Attention-Interest-Decision-Action [Notice-Think-Feel-Do].

38. This creates the stages of the traditional measurement funnel.

40. Other models exist. [All models are wrong, some are useful.]

41. Propositions are articulations that express brand or communication strategy.

42. Classic brand propositions are promise-claims that take the form FOR{target audience / desire or need} ONLY {Unique Selling Proposition} BECAUSE {reasons to believe].

43. Brand propositions are often derived from an escalating hierarchy: product-feature-benefits-emotions.

44. Big Ideas are propositions for campaigns. [The promise remains inherent but the function is creative inspiration.]

45. Propositions are crafted from insights [I].

46. Insights [I] are the foundations for all planning because

47. Planning must have a substantiated [rigorous] point of view.

48. Insights must be non-obvious [interesting] and generative [haveimplications].

49. Insights can come from anywhere — not just human beliefs and behavior.

50. Insight is the “the understanding of a specific cause and effect within a specific context.” [Wikipedia]

51. The purpose of planning is to increase the efficacy of communications {or activities},

52. Meaning planning is inherently predictive.

53. Insights are non-obvious relationships that make predictions: rules.

54. e.g. Because “The Pen is Mightier than The Sword”

55. Therefore: writing better briefs will have more impact than kicking creatives.

This is a companion piece to the two part WARC Webinar Event:

Aug 16 /Sept 13 2017 Genius Steals Agency Planning Register Here!

THANKS FOR READING — IF YOU FOUND IT USEFUL, PLEASE LIKE OR SHARE THIS THINKING WITH YOUR COMMUNITY.

WANT BRIEF BURSTS OF INSPIRATION IN YOUR INBOX EVERY WEEK? SUBSCRIBE BEL


Andre Galhardo

Founder of Colab365, Inforproducer, Creative Strategist, Book Author (@Rio365 I & II).

7y

Beautiful.

Alex Sapounas

Conveyancer | Conveyancing Specialist | CM Lawyers | Conveyancing | Certified Conveyancer | Sydney

7y

This article makes several good points – worth a read!

Paul Bailey

Brand Strategy Director at Halo (Cert B Corps)

7y

Well this is excellent

To view or add a comment, sign in

More articles by Faris Yakob

  • You Are The Media You Eat

    You Are The Media You Eat

    Part One: The Case For a Balanced Media Diet The Food Pyramid The Food Pyramid was a diagrammatic recommendation for a…

    15 Comments
  • Harder, Better, Faster, Cheaper

    Harder, Better, Faster, Cheaper

    Are agencies in a race to the bottom? The CEO of BBDO, John Osborn, recently described his vision for the future of the…

    8 Comments
  • Technology is a Medium

    Technology is a Medium

    And that's the message Until very recently, to publish, the ability to make something public to a mass audience, was a…

  • Why Media Agencies Don’t Win Advertising Awards and What We’re Doing About It

    Why Media Agencies Don’t Win Advertising Awards and What We’re Doing About It

    Making advertising for your agency’s ideas In 2008 I wrote a column for Campaign that pointed out that media agencies…

    2 Comments
  • More Than Data

    More Than Data

    Data can inform beautiful creative ideas not just invasive targeting More than Data is a mini documentary which…

    1 Comment
  • Advertising Worth Talking About

    Advertising Worth Talking About

    Actions Click Louder Than Words When Alex Bogusky was creative director of the agency that bears his name, he insisted…

    2 Comments
  • The Axes of Attention

    The Axes of Attention

    Earlier this month I did a webinar for the lovely people at the World Advertising Research Council about attention…

    14 Comments
  • Win 9 Strategy Books from Strands of [Stolen] Genius

    Win 9 Strategy Books from Strands of [Stolen] Genius

    This is a special edition of Ex Libris since it mostly features books we love from friends of ours. [Previous editions…

    3 Comments
  • Advertisers want your attention, but how do they know they have it?

    Advertisers want your attention, but how do they know they have it?

    originally published: The Guardian Your attention is the most valuable resource in the world. It powers the giant…

    6 Comments
  • Ideas Are Connections Between Bits of Knowledge

    Ideas Are Connections Between Bits of Knowledge

    Our rather brilliant and lovely mate Scott sent me this delightful little film - it won a student design award and very…

Insights from the community

Others also viewed

Explore topics