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January 24, 2005
Interview in Marketing News
Below is an excerpt of a recent article in the AMA's publication, Marketing News. The site is members only but the writer Michael Krauss graciously allowed us to excerpt here:
Mktg. Exec offers game-winning biz plays
January 24, 2005
BY MICHAEL KRAUSS
John Zagula gives new reason to view SuperBowl XXXIX. Watch the plays.
I admit it. As a marketer I used to watch the SuperBowl for the commercials. Until Janet Jackson, I’d walk away at halftime. Now my focus will be on play selection.
Credit Zagula [and Rich Tong], the former Microsoft marketing execs[s] and co-author[s] of The Marketing Playbook with my transformation. His new book defines a set of five core plays: the drag race, the platform play, the stealth play, the best of both play and the high-low play...
The plays Zagula [and Tong] outline are a framework road-tested at Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft Corp. They provide a simple but potent approach for defining marketing strategy. While many think of marketing as ads and halftime promotions, Zagula believes it’s the marketing strategies, the plays we choose, that are at the heart of our professional success. He thinks we’ll play the marketing game better if we adopt his playbook. Frankly, I think he’s right....
Zagula credits a talented team for the Microsoft success story. Instead of taking credit, he focuses on what he learned. “I benefited from working with a bunch of highly strategic rather than tactical marketers,” Zagula says.
What Zagula [and Tong] gleaned and incorporated into The Marketing Playbook is a commitment to placing the horse before the cart. “Know the core strategy before you go and spend tons of money on marketing tactics that may never succeed,” Zagula says....
With Zagula in mind, I’m going to watch the Super Bowl to see if I can add a sixth play to his book. Even if I can’t, he’s made the game a whole lot more interesting for us marketers.
Michael Krauss is a partner with Marion Consulting Partners based in Highland Park, Ill., and can be reached at Michael.Krauss@Marionpartners.com or news@ama.org.
Posted by johnza at January 24, 2005 09:22 AM
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