Brand Relevance: Making Competitors Irrelevant - always yours

WINNING THE BRAND RELEVANCE BATTLE 41
coach who believes that competition at every position
makes players better and provides backup if the fi rst stringer
falters, the strategist will do better when there are several
good alternatives.
2. Concept evaluation . Evaluation provides tools to focus efforts
on the best concept prospects. A fatal mistake is to get
bogged down with too many options, which means that
none may get the commitment of resources needed to win,
or to cling to a concept whose prospects are fading.
3. Defi ning and managing the category or subcategory . In addition
to managing the brand, managers now need to defi ne and
manage the category or subcategory The key is to identify
priority aspirational associations, develop a positioning
strategy based on those associations, create innovations to
advance the category or subcategory, and use the brand and
its brand - building programs to create visibility and image for
the new category or subcategory.
4. Creating barriers to entry . Creating barriers is the ultimate
task that will turn a new category or subcategory into a
profi t stream. If that stream can be extended, the results not
only mean more resources recovered but also a better marketing
position and momentum.
The Brand Relevance Model Versus Others
What is different about the brand relevance model of competition?
After all, there are countless authors with theories that
advocate transformational innovation or other strategic avenues
to growth. Blue Ocean Strategy by Kim and Mauborgne, The
Growth Gamble by Campbell and Park, Gary Hamel ’ s Leading
the Revolution , Chris Zook ’ s Beyond the Core, Creative Destruction
by Foster and Kaplan, Winning Through Innovation by Tushman
and O’Reilly, and The Innovator ’ s Solution by Christensen and
Raynor make up a partial list. 14