In her book “The End of Competitive Advantage,” Rita Gunther McGrath suggests that businesses must leave behind the practice of building their brands on sustainable comparative advantage, and adopt transient competitive advantage strategies in order to stay ahead. Due to the unpredictability of both consumers and competitors, it seems essential for companies to “constantly start new strategic initiatives,” which would include coming up with new ideas and increasing the “speed with which a firm can execute” them.

Consequently, perhaps, due to companies being unable to “afford to spend months at a time crafting a single long-term strategy,” executive roles in companies, such as Chief Marketing Officer, have such short tenure. In fact, companies such as Starbucks and Coca-Cola have replaced their CMO’s five times in seven years, and four times in six years respectively.

Indeed, it seems as though the short-term thinking and accessibility required for a strategic advantage arises from creating new and transient initiatives.

Sources:

1. Gunther McGrath, Rita. “Transient Advantage.” Harvard Business Review. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2013. <http://hbr.org/2013/06/transient-advantage>.

2. Merchant, Nilofer. “Viewpoint: Twitter’s All-Male Board Spells Failure.” Time Ideas. N.p., 07 Oct. 2013. Web. 08 Oct. 2013. <http://ideas.time.com/2013/10/07/viewpoint-twitters-all-male-board-spells-failure/>.

3. Fishburne, Tom. “Cmo of the Month.” Tom Fishburne Marketoonist. N.p., 06 Oct. 2013. Web. 08 Oct. 2013. <http://tomfishburne.com/2013/10/cmo-of-the-month.html>.

4. Littlewood, Mark. “COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IS DEAD! LONG LIVE TRANSIENT ADVANTAGE!” Business of Software. N.p., 04 Oct. 2013. Web. 08 Oct. 2013. <http://businessofsoftware.org/2013/10/competitive-advantage-is-dead-long-live-transient-advantage/>.

Back in 1956, Procter & Gamble began marketing the first deodorant for women, Secret, which encouraged women to “be active, get nervous, lift their arms and live their life without fear of embarrassment over the fact that they sweat.” Along with this Value Proposition, P&G collaborated with independent women who are considered fearless and courageous, such as Diana Nyad, who attempted to swim from Cuba to Florida. These initiatives spiked “interests of the like-minded in a common cause,” which profitably reflected as a double in their deodorant sales, including Secret Clinical Strength Waterproof, their most expensive deodorant for women.   Detailed below is a Value Proposition I’ve written for P&G’s Secret Clinical Strength Waterproof with the aid of their brand value statements from their website:

To women seeking “clinically proven extra effective wetness protection,” our Secret Clinical Strength Waterproof is a deodorant that provides women “the protection they need to take on life fearlessly” through innovative active ingredients that offer waterproof protection in eight “unique scents.”

Indeed, by positioning their brand in terms of women’s lives, P&G was able to, not only secure, but inspire consumers to affirm a shared belief on the topic of empowering women.

Sources:

1. Procter & Gamble. “All About Secret.” Http://www.secret.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2013. <http://www.secret.com/en-ca/deodorant-history.aspx>.

2. Garfield, Bob, and Doug Levy. “Advertising Age.” Advertising Age News RSS. N.p., 2 Jan. 2012. Web. 07 Oct. 2013. <http://adage.com/article/news/secret-secret-finding-inspiration-perspiration/231791/>.

Getting into the mind of the consumer in order to promote a product is not an easy task, and there are various aspects of marketing communications that have to be taken into account in order to excel in the positioning of a brand. According to Interbrand’s annual Top 100 Best Global Brands report, Apple has done just this, becoming the world’s number one brand.

In addition, Interbrand’s global CEO, Jez Frampton, stated that “Apple continues to respond to emerging needs, improve its products, and break new ground in design and performance.” [1] These are aspects reflected on the brand’s points of difference, their “all day” MacBook Air battery life guarantee and innovative iOS 7 system, allow for “legions of adoring fans, as evidenced by the record-breaking launch of the iPhone 5c/5s.” Apple also seems consistent with their value proposition of being environmentally committed, planning to “achieve 100 percent renewable energy for its data centers and facilities worldwide.”

Indeed, just as Victor Ho states in his blog, I too did not foresee Apple’s success in the release of their iPhone 5c. Nonetheless, as 2013’s world number one brand, they seem to have a clear idea on their consumer’s perceptions and their brand’s positioning.

Sources:

1. Interbrand. “Interbrand – Best Global Brands 2013 – Apple.” Interbrand – Best Global Brands 2013 – Apple. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2013. <http://www.interbrand.com/en/best-global-brands/2013/Apple>.

2. Molina, Brett. “Apple Dethrones Coca-Cola as Top Global Brand.” USA Today. Gannett, 30 Sept. 2013. Web. 02 Oct. 2013. <http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2013/09/30/apple-best-global-brand/2894841/>.

3. Ho, Victor. “Victor’s Blog.” Victors Blog. N.p., 02 Oct. 2013. Web. 02 Oct. 2013. <https://blogs.ubc.ca/hovictor/2013/10/02/apple-vs-coca-cola/>.