Many marketers and agency folk alike have difficulties to distinguish between strategy and tactics - this is particularly the case when it comes to the digital space. Guided by short-term data and metrics, we often jump to so-called efficient solutions, before even having a clear picture on what our positioning is or who we should be targeting. This presentation provides an overall framework and various thinking tools for how to best integrate age-old strategy basics with the creation of (digital) tactics.
10. Gen Z doesn’t
think our brand
is relevant
to them…
No problem.
Let’s do something
on TikTok!
11. We often jump to
“digital” solutions
before even having
a clear picture on
audience and
positioning.
12. STRATEGY IN THE
DIGITAL WORLD…
…is not so much about solving digital
objectives and issues, but more about
achieving “age-old” marketing goals
with the help of digital tools.
13. A FRAMEWORK & TOOLS
TO INTEGRATE STRATEGY
BASICS WITH DIGITAL TACTICS
14. DISCLAIMER
The following tools are by no
means a fully comprehensive
marketing strategy package.
They merely are thinking aids I
personally find useful in my
day-to-day.
18. Aspirations
Worries
Category Habits
& Behaviours
Influencers
Preferred BrandsDemographics
Name
Age
Occupation
Marital Status
Income
Education
What is it that drives your audience?
What does she/he want from life?
What gets her/him out of bed every day?
What worries your audience?
What keeps her/him awake at night?
What are her/his biggest fears in life?
What’s your audience’s
connection to the category?
What does she/he look for?
What annoys her/him about the
category?
Who are the people
your audience looks
up to?
Who are the people
she/he listens to?
Insert logos of your
audience’s most
favourite brands.
PERSONA CANVAS
20. OBSERVATION EXPLANATION GSD INSIGHT
What is a reality you see in regards to
your audience and their connection to
the category or product?
Why is this happening? What’s a
possible explanation for the observed
connection?
If that’s true, then why is your audience
not buying/considering/re-purchasing/
advocating your product/brand?
Many Klingons
like fruit juice.
Many Klingons
like fruit juice,
because of its
sugar content and
the associated
rush of pleasure.
Many Klingons feel
embarrassed to
admit they enjoy
drinking beverages
that don’t seem very
“warrior-like”.
WHAT? WHY? WHY NOT?
?
GSD (GET SH** DONE) INSIGHTS
22. OBSERVATION EXPLANATION GSD INSIGHT
What is a reality you see in regards to
your audience and their connection to
the category or product?
Why is this happening? What’s a
possible explanation for the observed
connection?
If that’s true, then why is your audience
not buying/considering/re-purchasing/
advocating your product/brand?
Not just children but
also adults like pre-
sweetened cereals.
WHAT? Many adults like pre-
sweetened cereals
because they’re a
little indulgence.
WHY?
?
GSD (GET SH** DONE) INSIGHTS
Many adults like pre-
sweetened cereals but
they feel embarrassed
to admit they eat food
they should have
outgrown.
WHY NOT?
24. Consumer Tension
What’s a current consumer
tension/need within your
category?
01
Category Shortcoming
How is the category
responding to this need,
and more importantly, what
are its shortcomings in
addressing it?
02
Brand Truth
How can your brand or
product step in and fill/
overcome the category’s
shortcoming(s)?
03
!
Whitespace Proposition
How do you express your
unique response/offer in a
single -minded manner?
04
WHITESPACE PROPOSITION
25. Consumer Tension
Adults feel embarrassed to
admit they eat food they
should have outgrown.
01
Category Shortcoming
All cereal brands only talk
to families and children.
02
Brand Truth
Our brand
‘Uncerealous’ believes
that the world could do
with a little less serious.
03
!
Whitespace Proposition
Taking the serious
out of adulthood.
04
WHITESPACE PROPOSITION
27. THE ORIGINAL THOUGHT/BIG IDEA
BARRIER ROLE OF COMMS DESIRED RESPONSE CHANNEL FOCUS KPIs
What is the biggest hurdle
our comms needs to
overcome at this
particular stage of the
customer journey?
What does our comms
have to do in order to
break through
the barrier?
What’s the desired outcome -
the behaviour or
perception change?
What kind of channels/platforms
will be best suited to get
the job done?
How will we measure success
at this stage of the
customer journey?
AWARENESSCONSIDERATIONADVOCACY
COMMS MAP
28. THE ORIGINAL THOUGHT/BIG IDEA - TAKING THE SERIOUS OUT OF ADULTHOOD
BARRIER ROLE OF COMMS DESIRED RESPONSE CHANNEL FOCUS KPIs
What is the biggest hurdle
our comms needs to
overcome at this
particular stage of the
customer journey?
Our audience might
not know that our brand
wants to take the
seriousness out of adulthood
Our audience might think
that Uncerealous is not taking
nutrition seriously.
Why would anybody share
anything about their cereal
experience?
What does our comms
have to do in order to
break through
the barrier?
Establish Uncerealous as the
perfect breakfast choice for
adults that sometimes want to
take a break from being adult.
Tell our brand’s ingredients
story, how we produce
our cereals, etc.
Give our audience a
convincing reason to share
their Uncerealous experience
What’s the desired outcome -
the behaviour or
perception change?
“Wow, this seems like
something for me. How come I
didn’t know about this?”
“They don’t take themselves too
seriously, but they’re serious
about their product.”
“Enough of all this sophisticated
brunch food porn. This is me.”
What kind of channels/platforms
will be best suited to get
the job done?
How will we measure success
at this stage of the
customer journey?
TV, OOH,
and Online Video, etc.
Unaided awareness, views
Website, Events,
Social Content etc.
Website traffic, data base
increase, engagement
Facebook, Instagram, etc.
Shares, number of social
mentions & positive social
sentiment
AWARENESSCONSIDERATIONADVOCACY
COMMS MAP
29. A quick way to get to
digital tactics…
not a substitute for
steps 1-4 though
NEXT UP:
31. + ++ =
Consumer
Insight
Existing
Asset
New
Technology
Random/
Miscellaneous
The Idea
An insight about
your audience
and its relation
with the category.
Anything you
already own -
website, stores,
social channels,
etc.
All that shiny,
usually overhyped
glitter - AI, AR,
VR, 3D printing,
etc.
Literally anything.
Memes, movies,
pop culture
stuff…maybe a
Star Trek
character?
MASH-UP CARDS
33. Redshirt is a term used by fans of
Star Trek to refer partially to the
characters who wear red Starfleet
uniforms, and mainly refer to
those characters who are
expandable, and quite often killed.
REDSHIRT
34. + ++ =
Consumer
Insight
Existing
Asset
New
Technology
Random/
Miscellaneous
The Idea
An insight about
your audience
and its relation
with the category.
Anything you
already own -
website, stores,
social channels,
etc.
All that shiny,
usually overhyped
glitter - AI, AR,
VR, 3D printing,
etc.
Literally anything.
Memes, movies,
pop culture
stuff…maybe a
Star Trek
character?
Starfleet security
personnel often
get killed on
away missions,
because of their
red uniform.
+
Dynamic textile
displays (colour-
changing
threads)+
Starfleet
Uniform Shirt
+
Kanye
West
=
Uniforms that,
when in potential
danger, change
from red to
Kanye West
designed
patterns.
MASH-UP CARDS
35. CHALLENGES EXPECTED OUTCOME
THE HEADLINE
EXPLORE ELIMINATE ELEVATE
20 Minutes90 Minutes 60 Minutes
No-filter speed ideation,
prioritising quantity over quality
Discussion and collaborative
elimination of extremely unfeasible ideas
Fine-tuning of shortlisted ideas
and definition of action steps
UTILISE MASH-UP
IDEATION TECHNIQUE
MAP IDEAS AGAINST
EXPECTED DIFFICULTY & IMPACT
USE ELEVATOR
PITCH TEMPLATE
Consumer
Insight
Existing
Asset
New
Technology+ + =
Difficulty
Impact
MECHANICS COMPLEXITYRandom/
Misc+
SPEED INNOVATION
36. CHALLENGES EXPECTED OUTCOME
THE HEADLINE
EXPLORE ELIMINATE ELEVATE
20 Minutes90 Minutes 60 Minutes
No-filter speed ideation,
prioritising quantity over quality
Discussion and collaborative
elimination of extremely unfeasible ideas
Fine-tuning of shortlisted ideas
and definition of action steps
UTILISE MASH-UP
IDEATION TECHNIQUE
MAP IDEAS AGAINST
EXPECTED DIFFICULTY & IMPACT
USE ELEVATOR
PITCH TEMPLATE
Consumer
Insight
Existing
Asset
New
Technology+ + =
Difficulty
Impact
MECHANICS COMPLEXITYRandom/
Misc+
SPEED INNOVATION
37. CHALLENGES EXPECTED OUTCOME
THE HEADLINE
EXPLORE ELIMINATE ELEVATE
20 Minutes90 Minutes 60 Minutes
No-filter speed ideation,
prioritising quantity over quality
Discussion and collaborative
elimination of extremely unfeasible ideas
Fine-tuning of shortlisted ideas
and definition of action steps
UTILISE MASH-UP
IDEATION TECHNIQUE
MAP IDEAS AGAINST
EXPECTED DIFFICULTY & IMPACT
USE ELEVATOR
PITCH TEMPLATE
Consumer
Insight
Existing
Asset
New
Technology+ + =
Difficulty
Impact
MECHANICS COMPLEXITYRandom/
Misc+
SPEED INNOVATION
39. Retro-engineer “It’s more fun in the Philippines”
EXERCISE 01.
Whitespace Proposition
What’s the brand truth?
What was the category shortcoming?
What was the consumer tension?
41. IF NOTHING ELSE,
REMEMBER THIS…
It’s not about doing ‘digital marketing’, it’s
about marketing effectively in a digital world.
Strategy in the digital world is about
achieving “age-old” marketing goals with the
help of digital tools.
Strategy is long-term and an overall plan.
Tactics are short-term, helping to bring the
strategy to life.
Consumers are actual human beings, not
data sets, social media handles or hashtags.
01
02
03
04