NORTHERN PLANNER

Sometimes it doesn’t matter how much you know something’s the right thing to do, it doesn’t matter how compelling the evidence is, you have to show how it’s worked for something else.

It’s a bit like that silly rule some clients have about only shortlisting agencies with experience in their category.

It’s the ultimate planning Catch 22, you’re looking for a fresh approach, but ever now and then, you’re compelled to prove it’s worked for someone in the past. Right now I’m trying to show, beyond the data, how there doesn’t have to be a choice between product and price advertising and so called ‘brand’ ads. And I’m using case studies.

While I think it’s dangerous to use them as inspiration for your own thinking, they can be very useful to prove your point once you’ve got your ideas. I don’t like using other people’s work to get my own through, but if that’s what it takes, it’s worth it.

During my adventures, I re-read this KFC case study (Download kfc.pdf ) to show how a retail brand can talk THROUGH the product. 

While were at it, it also shows how you need to be brutal with yourself. They found a differentiating truth about product quality, only to ask more questions and find product quality wasn’t compelling for the problem KFC was facing. Many teams would have stopped there.