Big Brands. Big Trouble. Part 1.

03/25/24 • 33 min

This week's episode finds a few big brands in some hot water! Mark and Lorraine revisit Jack Trout's 2001 book, Big Brands – Big Trouble, and share some more recent examples of big brands making not-so-smart moves. The positioning duo walks through the nine mistakes codified in Trout's book, then provides a definition of each mistake before sharing meaningful examples of what's right - and wrong - with some Big Brands!
Spend 30ish with Mark and Lorraine as they talk all things marketing, advertising, and positioning.

Previous Episode

A Look Back on 50 Years of Advertising - Experiential Marketing

This week, the positioning duo wonder about the power of AI to do the irrational, emotional, creative task of ideation and creative concepting. MKHSTRY claims to reduce concepting from 6-9 months down to hours. What do our fearless positioning experts think about that claim?!
Next up, Mark and Lorraine cover the rise of experiential marketing. This is more than virtual or in-person events - such as the Barbie Movie's AI generator or Lean Cuisine's #weight this - but much more as we see brands today connect with consumers. Starbucks, Nike, and even some small B2Bs are trying to connect with consumers at the top of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.
Spend 30-ish (or 40-ish this time) with Mark and Lorraine as they discuss all things marketing, advertising, and positioning!

Next Episode

Big Brands. Big Trouble. Part 2.

This week, Mark and Lorraine continue with mistakes 3-7 from Jack Trout's Big Brands, Big Trouble: the "Truth Will Win Out" Mistake; the "Other Guy's Idea" Mistake; The "Go Opposite" directive for those who are #2 in the market; the "We're Very Successful" Mistake; and the "Everything for Everybody" Mistake. The positioning duo talks big trouble from brands like UberEats to Raos, and why examples from Hertz, Avis, and Enterprise taught us a lot about how to navigate Marketing Warfare's rule that if you're not #1 or #2, it's time to find something new!
Spend 30-ish with Mark and Lorraine as they discuss all things marketing, advertising ... and positioning!

Brand Shorthand - Big Brands. Big Trouble. Part 1.

Transcript

Mark Vandegrift
Welcome to the latest episode of the Brand Shorthand Podcast. I'm your host, Mark Vandegrift, and with me is the big brand of positioning, Lorraine Kessler. Thing one, your moniker touches on our topic today, which is Big Brands, Big Trouble. Do you remember where you were or what you were doing when this Jack Trout book was published? If not, I'll give you a hint.
Lorraine Kessler
All right, well, give me the hint.
Mark Vandegrift
Okay, 9/11.
Lorraine Kessler