The War Zone

The strategy behind the success

Design has become a war - a war to win the consumer's loyalty. The competitors have become enemies, and behind every popular brand there are armies of designers, marketing experts, sales persons, scientists and even philosophers. Business today is executed as a military strategy.

In many cases, young designers like to be in this profession so they can change the world. Make it better and more beautiful. And many of them believe that it is possible to create utopias and societies where everything can function well, perform well, and look good too. However, the people that hire them are profit oriented. And when designers are hired, they are hired to increase the profits of their employer. And that is the cold realty. Design is in the business of making profit, and if making profit requires beautiful, functional and meaningful products and services, then designers are the right people for the job.

It is not a secret that many managers read, as well as generals (as well as some design & brand strategists, like myself), read Sun Tzu's -The Art of War- to inspire them. And even if the book is 4000 years old, the strategies there are still applicable, and many of them do look like marketing strategies. For example: "In any military operation, it is important first to know the lay of the land. When you know the distance to be traveled, then you can plan whether to proceed directly or by circuitous route. When you know the difficulty or ease of travel, then you can determine the advantages of infantry or mounted troops. When you know the dimensions of the area, then you can assess how many troops you need, many or few. When you know the relative safety of the terrain, then you can discern whether to do battle or disperse."

What makes this different to the research that is conducted by marketers before handing in a brief? It only takes us to change few words, and this could sound like: "In any marketing strategy, it is important first to understand the market. When you know your demographics, then you can plan whether to proceed directly or develop an alternative market. When you know your target groups, you can determine the various approaches. When you know the size of these markets, you can estimate your expenses and revenues. When you know the relative safety of the market, then you can decide whether to proceed or not."

Or what makes this different than planning the marketing mix: "The way to use weapons is to carry out operations only after having first determined your strategy. Carefully examine the patterns of the climate and terrain, and look into the hearts of the people. Train in the use of military equipment, make patterns of rewards and punishments clear, observe the strategy of the opponents, watch out for dangerous passes of both sides, be aware of when to advance and when to withdraw, adapt to force, promote soldiers for their ability, draw up plans for success, consider the matter of life and death - only when you have done all this you can send forth armies entrusted to generals that will reach out with the power to capture opponents."

With the huge investments required developing products and brands, strategies are employed that could rival many military operations. For one victorious product, other must fall.

Copyright by Gjoko Muratovski 2007 - 2008; Men's World Magazine; Nampress Publishing