2. Today’s Objectives
• Examine positioning and messaging from a higher,
industry level perspective
• Outline the basics of the strategic narrative and how
can it help align companies
• Discuss practical approaches to strategic narrative
messaging and marketing
• Leave with a new mindset
3. Messaging Challenges
• Crafting messaging that is truly compelling and
stands out is difficult
• Traditional positioning and messaging approaches
often are too inward and self-centered
• Many companies explain “how” they do things – not
what they do
• They leave it to others to define their market space
• They lack a central “cause” that all facets of the
business can rally behind
4. The Opportunity
• Organizations can define existing or new categories as a
means of creating a market-leading position
• The “category story” becomes the basis of a corporate
narrative that engages influencers, employees, investors,
partners and customers, and impacts perceptions and
drives positive change
• The narrative becomes more than a marketing message; its
a corporate strategy that reaches all facets of business
• It can be leveraged through PR and marketing campaigns
• The results are profound – helping align companies and
providing a roadmap to execute against
5. Strategic Narratives
• Strategic Narratives are central to the practice of
international relations. Governments use narratives
strategically to achieve desired objectives: defining their
countries’ identities, explaining their role in the world,
identifying allies and enemies, establishing the nature of
the relationships among them; contextualizing historical
events, as well as policy decisions.
• They provide a “concise statement of what it is doing,
why, and how that links to a positive vision of the future
with the individual actions of members of its own
societies and members of other societies whom it wishes
to influence”
6. Strategic Narrative Messaging
• Defines the landscape and trends
– Industry level, category focused – then company “what”
• Vision for the Future
– Market segment growth/promise, company “cause/purpose”
• What the Company Does
– Advance cause and industry, customer benefits tied to trends
• Tangible Company-wide
– Brings company vision to life – everyone can support it
• Single Message, Company-wide Initiative
– Clear, with purpose, confidence and pride
• Open and Inclusive
– Company, industry and competitors – the more the merrier
6
8. #1 Add Context to Mega-trends
• Most industries are being disrupted – define the
mash-up of industry dynamics?
• Aim to provide insight and context into industry
trends
• Provide a viewpoint and opinion on what’s
happening outside of your own company
9. #2 Define and Honor the Category
• Step outside of your company to define the category
as you see it
• How can your company advance the adoption and
the evolution of the category?
• Is there a process or framework you can develop
and “give” to the industry?
• Always make it a priority to champion the overall
good of your category or market space
10. #3 Shape a Better World
• Outline a vision statement for the industry
• Where would you like to see your industry in three
to five years?
• What contributions can your market segment make
to industry/customers/mankind?
11. #4 Define Your Role
• Define your company’s goals and course of action
• What overall role do you play in the world you’ve
defined?
• What is the company vision for innovation?
• How will it benefit customers and align with the
mega-trends you’ve defined?
12. #5 Be Inclusive
• Don’t define a strategic narrative that “only applies
to us”
• Re-shaping a category/industry – welcome visitors,
including competitors!
• Think how it touches each and every employee,
partner, customer and influencer
• Talk less about yourself, and more about the world
you live in
15. What does CodeFutures Stand for?
• A new, much-needed approach for gaining value
from databases and the data they hold
• Total commitment to data agility – through a
combination of streaming technology and flash
• Accelerating access to information that matters for
real-time big data and operational intelligence
• Simplifying data access complexity – with back-end
structure for dynamic customization
• Making databases more agile and useful
• Aligning big data and IT process agility – “Agile”
• Sharing knowledge and expertise
16. What Do We Do – Tagline Set-up
We’re all about agile data, combining flexibility with
structure, the ability to leverage big data to its fullest,
and enabling the real-time enterprise
That’s what CodeFutures does!
