Brand Shorthand

Dr. Scott Powell, Professor of Marketing at Grove City College, joins the positioning duo today to talk about positioning in the world of academia. Learn how he discovered positioning and why he teaches it in his classes and feels it's THE critical strategy to successful marketing. Also enjoy a few stories about how Scott arrived in marketing and his journey to Grove City College. Spend 30-is...

Your favorite positioning tandem continue to look back on the past 50+ years of advertising, this time focusing on the rise of B2B marketing. What used to be considered risky is now standard practice, and in fact, B2B advertising continues to evolve closer to B2C strategies. Mark and Lorraine consider the examples of Owens Corning, BASF, and Intel, who all moved the B2B advertising needle in a big...

Mark and Lorraine spend over an hour dissecting almost every ad that ran in last evening's Super Bowl. While Kansas City walked away with an overtime win, not every advertiser was a winner. However, the duds were fewer than in past years, and the positioning gurus are happy to report that the ads made our positioning hearts pretty happy. Learn who earned the honors of best and worst ads, alon...

Mark and Lorraine have a long chat about the Super Bowl commercials and why they can be a good or a bad buy, and what makes the difference. Get a glimpse of what's coming as advertisers spend $7 million per spot just for the media buy. Then hear how the rise of transactional media has been one of the significant changes over the last 50 years of advertising and why awareness media still matte...

Take a walk back in time as our two positioning gurus reminisce about the advancement in technology and targeting. How has technology changed, and how has it impacted marketing? What technology has been positive and where has it made advertisers mis-step? Mark and Lorraine talk Bernoullis and Zip disks, Amigas and Commodore 64s, film stripping and strip films. Then the duo talks about targeting an...

Mark and Lorraine kick off the second season of Brand Shorthand while kicking off the celebration of Innis Maggiore's 50th year in business. The duo takes a look back at the past 50 years of advertising and discuss what has changed, and what hasn't. The first category of change they cover is media proliferation. What used to be dozens of media options is now in the tens of thousands, wit...

Mark and Lorraine wrap up the first season of the Brand Shorthand podcast. What does Mark think about the series, "The Pitch?" What are the first season highlights? Find out the answers to these questions and more on this final episode of season #1. Spend 30-ish minutes with Mark and Lorraine as they discuss all things marketing, advertising, and positioning!

In this third and final segment of our interview with the Wizard of Ads, Mark and Lorraine dive deeper on Roy H. Williams' thoughts on why positioning and his philosophies apply whether the marketing is B2C, B2B or D2C. Roy spends considerable time explaining:  why we are consumers regardless of where we're buying (work or home), why  the emotional environment of the prospect is so criti...

Mark and Lorraine share part 2 of the interview with the Wizard of Ads, Roy H. Williams. Roy discusses deep insights on his understanding of the human condition and why we buy what we buy. From discussing reductionism and spirituality to "dead cows everywhere," Roy provides insights that any advertiser will appreciate. Learn:  why demographic targeting is a myth and how to properly targe...

Mark and Lorraine welcome The Wizard of Ads, Roy H. Williams, to the show today. The first 30 minutes of our interview (part 1 of 3) with the wizard covers the genesis of the Wizard Academy, how Roy came up with The Wizards of Ads moniker, and why sound is so critical to human emotion, memory, and memorable advertising. Each word had us sitting on the edge of our chairs and we’re excited to bring...

This week Mark and Lorraine discuss how positioning permeates every single marketing discipline. As a business strategy, positioning should touch every corner of your business, but many marketers give it lip service and execute without a position. Learn why and how the practice of positioning can supercharge your marketing from PR to research and from media planning to investor relations. Spend 30...

Before Mark and Lorraine dive into the latest discussion on ways to differentiate, they spend 15-ish talking about the food category with Campbell Soup's purchase of Rao's. How will this play as Campbell's goes up against Mondelēz and Kraft Heinz, the other big players in the market? Then Lorraine walks through the challenge of trying to claim a low price position and what that real...

Marketers - if you haven't read Roy William's 3-book series, The Wizard of Ads, you're missing a real treat. Mark and Lorraine dive into three of his chapters with topics on: 1) finding your diamond, 2) the perspective of your ads, and 3) whether audience targeting is the holy grail. Learn more about the simple approach Roy takes to creating great advertising. Spend 30-ish with Mark...

Mark awards a Purple Cow Award to a non-purple mattress, then Lorraine and he dive into another Way to Differentiate: How a Product is Made. Learn the secret ingredient to this positioning method and how differentiating one ingredient, technology, or approach in your product or service can separate you from the competition. Learn how Sleep Number, Papa John's, Goodyear, and a few other big br...

Obvious Adams, a short-read pamphlet, has influenced millions across the globe for its obvious principles. Mark and Lorraine talk through the five tests of obviousness and how it influenced Jack Trout's last book, In Search of the Obvious. Learn how positioning is directly related to the five tests of obviousness and why finding a position can be problematic if it doesn't pass the "...

Corporate speak runs amok today as Mark and Lorraine try to figure out what Calvin Klein's CMO is saying. Marketing 101, Public Relations 101, and other basic positioning principles rarely change and continue to be used by even the big brands. Once their frustrations are vented, the positioning gurus spend time explaining Preference as a way to differentiate. How does influencer marketing --...

The positioning gurus get to the point immediately on this episode of Brand Shorthand, that being a commentary on Roy Williams' Monday Morning Memo, "Why Most Ads Don't Work." It's a brief, but brilliant commentary on the advertising industry. Williams' point is that most ads are written "not to offend." Mark and Lorraine spend the episode walking through Wi...

Mark and Lorraine play a game of positioning point-counterpoint about Overstock's acquisition of the Bed Bath & Beyond brand name. Lorraine thinks it will work and Mark's not so high on the idea -- see what factors are in play that will make one of these positionists right, and the other wrong. Then the podcast continues with the series on Ways to Differentiate, this time tackling th...

Lorraine goes off on a few topics including the Barbie movie and the move by Twitter to rebrand as X. It's no holds barred. Then Mark shares how he arrived at the podcast name of Brand Shorthand and why it makes so much sense given the line of work we find ourselves: advertising. Learn how your brand can reach the nirvana of a shorthand and what that really means. Spend 30-ish with Mark and L...

Italian wines. French romance. German engineering. Amish furniture. These all have a common thread and are the topic of today's discussion — how to differentiate using a Heritage position. Mark and Lorraine do a deep dive on why Heritage can be such a powerful position, including some sensitivities and potential competitor moves that can back your brand into a corner. Spend 30-ish with Mark a...

Yes, this is a marketing podcast, but Mark and Lorraine decided to tackle the closely related topic of sales. How does positioning impact sales? Is there a framework under which both marketing and sales operate? Can positioning supercharge your sales team? These questions and others are answered on today's episode. Spend 30-ish with Mark and Lorraine to learn more about advertising, marketing...

The Ways to Differentiate series continues with a focus on the Market Specialist position. Mark and Lorraine share how one of the best startup strategies is to enter the market as a specialist to position against the established generalist/leader. Also, take the specialist quiz with Lorraine and see how you score against her answers. [This is the third episode in the Ways to Differentiate series -...

In this latest episode, Mark and Lorraine talk about the two definitions of re-positioning: 1) what we do to competitors every time we position a client and 2) what happens when clients have to re-position their own brands. From Coke/Pepsi, Avis/Hertz, and about another dozen brand examples, including one of our clients who is currently re-positioning, Mark and Lorraine explore the excitement and...

This week, Mark and Lorraine discuss a position of Leadership and what it means to a brand and its messaging. Discover the multiple layers of not only claiming leadership, but how to act as the leader and communicate to your audience. It's not braggadocio to claim leadership if it's executed the right way. Spend 30-ish with Mark and Lorraine to learn more about advertising, marketing, an...

Mark and Lorraine dive right into an explanation on one of their most critical positioning tools: Ways to Differentiate. After some discussion on how and why the tool is used, they take a deep dive on what it means to Own an Attribute as your differentiating idea. Spend 30-ish with Mark and Lorraine to learn more about advertising, marketing, and positioning.