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November 13, 2004

Financial Times Book Review - Full Text

Instructions from the side of the pitch
By Stefan Stern
Published: November 11 2004 02:00

American football is one of the most intricate, subtle games in the world, a fact sometimes obscured by the violence and apparent mayhem unfolding on the pitch. There is order in this chaos, and the shots are being called by the coach.

Whether the coach adopts the cool, inscrutable demeanour of the Dallas Cowboys' Tom Landry (in charge between 1960 and 1988), or the less restrained emotionalism of the Chicago Bears' Mike Ditka (1982-92), every good coach has a playbook, a guide to the ingenious or simple "plays"
(manoeuvres) he wants the team to carry out.

John Zagula and Richard Tong have taken this concept of the playbook and applied it to the less athletic (but occasionally equally chaotic) world of marketing. The authors are both veterans of Microsoft's muscular marketing campaigns of the past 15 years. Now set up in a Seattle-based venture capital firm called Ignition Partners, they have decided to share their insights with the rest of the world.

And reading this exuberant book is rather like having two young Microsoft geeks sitting next to you, breathlessly explaining how in a few simple steps you might well be able to conquer the world. Their enthusiasm bursts out again and again, often in the form of sporting or other metaphors.

Stealthy marketing moves are "quarterback sneaks" - the quarterback being the key playmaker in an American football team. Market conditions may be tough, and "no one wants to punt from the 70 yard line against massive head winds". When taking on a tough competitor, remember: "You can wave a flag in front of a bull, but you'd better make sure you know what to do when he charges." And so on.

But this highly energetic style should not put you off. Zagula and Tong have produced an ingenious and persuasive book that really does break marketing strategies down into five simple but compelling models, or "plays".

The first play is the "drag race" - a powerful head-to-head battle against a chosen competitor. This is the approach Microsoft Word took to defeat WordPerfect (remember that?), and which Visa took to knock lumps out of American Express. When Avis car rental started telling the world that "we try harder" than Hertz, that was a kind of drag race play too.

This is the most direct, simplest and potentially most violent marketing play. You have to be pretty sure of your prospects before you "put the pedal to the metal". "A drag race is a spectator sport," the authors say. "The fans are looking for blood. Give it to them. The play is all about taking direct aim at your opponent."

The second play is the "platform play". This involves ignoring the competition, focusing instead on becoming a platform from which a whole sector can win too. "Successful companies that have stayed successful have almost always found ways to intertwine their success more deeply with the success of the whole industry," the authors say. "They do not let short-term greed cloud their vision. They focus more on long-term greed - it's a lot healthier and more durable." Intel, with all its PC and software partners, is a classic platform player.

The third play is the "stealth play", almost the opposite of the drag race. Find a niche where you can grow and peacefully co-exist with larger rivals until you can challenge them openly. Enterprise Rent-A-Car chose not to "duke it out with the heavyweights" (sport again), but built its strengths in home-town America. McDonald's has been undermined, not by another giant burger company, but by smaller, alternative rivals who have nibbled away at its position from different segments of the market (Taco Bell, World Wraps, Starbucks).

The fourth play is the "best of both play" - the Third Way offering, splitting the difference between the high and low ends of the market. Toyota's Lexus is the supreme example of this.

The fifth play is the "high-low" play. The opposite of "best of both", this involves offering an elite product and a "value" one, killing the middle market. Sheraton Hotels' premium and Four Points economy offerings are an example of this. Tesco supermarket's "Finest" and "Value" brands are another.

These plays, intriguing as they are, provide half the material in the book. The second half is taken up with a thorough but less original analysis of market gaps, with advice on how to judge what sort of playing field you are on and what sort of team and campaign approach you will need to adopt.

The authors remain enthused and energetic throughout. But, as they themselves conclude, only by putting plays into practice will you find out how smart you really are. Markets, customers and competitors all change. You will have to be adaptive and agile to make your plays work in the real world.

Or, as the Dallas Cowboys' Landry once said, doubtless with his trademark "snap-brim" hat still firmly pressed on his head: "Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan."

Posted by johnza at November 13, 2004 04:11 PM

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