Attractive, successful young lady answers the call and takes a break from big city career success to return to her small town roots to choose from column A. Help with the annual Christmas Festival; B. Save the family estate from being sold; C. Visit her elderly parents where she reconnects with her high school sweetheart. There are a few plot twists along the way, but in the end, she decides to stay and live happily after. They seal the deal with a kiss at the end.

Marketing has one basic plot, too…with only four parts. But in the digital age, there are multiple choices at each stage.

STAGE 1 - Know your prime prospect. Do not do anything until you know who you are trying to reach. There are many more tools today to help you determine for sure who your target audience is. In my BBDO days, Agency Client Schaeffer Beer identified the “heavy user,” the 20% of beer drinkers who drank 80% of the beer

STAGE 2 - Know your prime prospect’s problem. Mr. “heavy user” complains that beer number six tastes less than beer number one.

STAGE 3 - Know your product. An ingredient called “croizening” smooths out the taste and delivers consistent flavor, beer after beer.

STAGE 4 - Break the boredom barrier. The slogan “Schaeffer is the one beer to have when you’re having more than one” hits a home run and vaults the product to number one in the competitive New York City Market. Today, with many media choices, including social media, this would be a more significant success.

It’s amazing how one good strategy can assure big success. It works for Hallmark and essential marketing every time.

Happy New Year!

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