I once heard a a wise man speak of the simple side of complexity within a business context. And I found an important dogma.
Branding and reputation management isn’t anything new, despite our discipline’s attempts at inflating our self importance. When you think about it, isn’t good branding and reputation management simply good leadership… uh, rebranded?
My approach to marketing planning is to avoid rabbit-holes. I believe that it’s a strategist’s job to get to the simple side of complexity. Not inflate their self-importance with complexity. Understand the context. Listen. Be humble enough to uncover. Then create plans that are simple and actionable. Strategies so simple that the tactics developed from them are rational and clear: the first and most critical step to engage those responsible for effective execution.
Big ideas come from execution. The idea alone isn’t enough.
The pocket knife metaphor comes from this article about simplicity – Google’s dedication to approachable design. If Google can keep their offerings so simple, so abundantly useful, shouldn’t you demand the same from your marcom plans?