Instagram: one product, two needs

Kevin Systrom, Instagram’s CEO, provided an interesting example of why we need to understand and focus on consumer needs, instead of being dazzled by product features. Talking about the launch of Instagram Stories, in an interview with Kara Swisher for the Recode Decode podcast, he said: We found that the biggest problem people had with … Continue reading Instagram: one product, two needs

A great marketing lesson an unlikely place: drug dealing

Sometimes, good (marketing) lessons come from bad places. For instance, the dark web gives us great lessons about branding, reputation and social proof. And here is another one. It is an interview with an ex-drug dealer, Coss Marte, for the Gimlet Media's podcast Start-up. The interview gives us an amazing insight into: Segmentation – There … Continue reading A great marketing lesson an unlikely place: drug dealing

RyanAir CMO says: It’s not cheap. It’s smart.

What do RyanAir, Aldi, Ikea, H&M and Amazon have in common? According to Kenny Jacobs, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at RyanAir, these are all brands that appeal to customers because they allow them to spend money smartly. It is less about “The brand is cheap. The customers are skint”. More about “The brand is … Continue reading RyanAir CMO says: It’s not cheap. It’s smart.

Positioning: be different but familiar

The textbooks will tell you that the key to succeed in the market place is to differentiate yourself from competition; to carefully choose your positioning. And that means that you need to start by answering this question: What is it that only we can do? However, a recent chat over coffee, made me think of … Continue reading Positioning: be different but familiar

What cat food says about the cat owner

When I teach about positioning, I often refer to the market for cat food, using an example unashamedly stolen from my fabulous former colleague, David James. There are 2 key aspects to positioning. One is to find an angle for the product that is unique and, hence, differentiates it from the competitors. Otherwise, you … Continue reading What cat food says about the cat owner

New paper: Segmentation practices in the age of the social customer

I am delighted to let you know that the paper ‘Segmentation practices in the age of the social customer’, which I co-authored with Moira Clark and Paul Fennemore, has been published in the Journal of Strategic Marketing. It is available here. The paper reports on research that we conducted into whether traditional segmentation approaches are … Continue reading New paper: Segmentation practices in the age of the social customer