One of your best posts in ages (and that's a high standard). The Bud Light Lime story is an instant classic. One of the interesting things I notice in the consulting work we do is the huge desire of organisations to see how they compare to their competitors. There is a deep desire to know they're beating their competitors vs. delivering the best experience/products/satisfying clients' needs.
How would you think about designing a 'be different' strategy as a consultant? In an era when anyone can set up a consultancy practice, everyone has 10 to 15 years of experience at a top organisation, and the skillsets are relatively balanced?
As for the "Be Different" strategy as a consultant, it comes down to 2 questions:
1. What one thing makes your business special?
2. How special is that one thing in your industry?
We're helping consulting/entrepreneur pirates work through these in our Strategy Therapy course, and it's been full of a-ha moments.
Most people don't know their 'one thing,' so they wind up offering the same services as everyone else. And if they do know it, they don't understand how to language it to design their consulting category.
For example, Pirate Eddie's superpower as a "growth" consultant is how to shift through weird data to find what a company's Superconsumers really want. (The Bud Light Lime story!) He did something no other consultant could/would think to do—and honed in on that new category.
It took him years to fully understand and find this superpower as a new consultant. But that's because he didn't have a solid direction or these two questions. Once he thought about what outcomes he drives for clients (the one thing that makes him special), he leveraged it into a niche consulting offer that was 'different' in the CPG space.
I am trying to figure whether the new Strategy Therapy course is just the piece of the puzzle to get started with Category strategy, or it also includes frameworks for languaging, creating content, lightning strikes, etc.
And good question - the course focuses specifically on honing your strategy and ultimately, creating a concise 1-page strategy narrative. Languaging, lightning strikes, and content creation are all important. But if you're working in the wrong direction, none of that matters much.
If you're looking for a deep dive on the core aspects of category design, that'll be in the full 12-month program.
Loved the in-depth case study with Bud Light Lime. That's the kind of concrete example I love to read about. But I have a question: how is it that Bud Light Lime isn't an example of falling into the Line Extension Trap? Of course, it's a new category - lime flavored beer - but wouldn't it cause problems to the Bud Light brand? After all, according to the Law of Focus (I know you guys love Ries & Trout), the brand should only own one word/thing. Why not create an entirely new brand around the lime flavored beer and position it as the category leader? Really curious about this :)
Bud Light Lime was merely a bridge to a new mega-category of mixed drinks/spirits in a can, towards the ultimate goal of being the first beverage alcohol brand across multiple categories. The goal was to see how broadly it could go both within spirits, but if you look at canned wine now was it possible to go into wine?
The core POV of Bud Light and Anheuser overall was "making friends is our business". This was not well known, but if Bud Light could bring all types of people together (beer drinkers, spirits drinkers and wine drinkers) that would be the ultimate goal.
One of your best posts in ages (and that's a high standard). The Bud Light Lime story is an instant classic. One of the interesting things I notice in the consulting work we do is the huge desire of organisations to see how they compare to their competitors. There is a deep desire to know they're beating their competitors vs. delivering the best experience/products/satisfying clients' needs.
How would you think about designing a 'be different' strategy as a consultant? In an era when anyone can set up a consultancy practice, everyone has 10 to 15 years of experience at a top organisation, and the skillsets are relatively balanced?
Arrrr! You're spot on, Richard.
As for the "Be Different" strategy as a consultant, it comes down to 2 questions:
1. What one thing makes your business special?
2. How special is that one thing in your industry?
We're helping consulting/entrepreneur pirates work through these in our Strategy Therapy course, and it's been full of a-ha moments.
Most people don't know their 'one thing,' so they wind up offering the same services as everyone else. And if they do know it, they don't understand how to language it to design their consulting category.
For example, Pirate Eddie's superpower as a "growth" consultant is how to shift through weird data to find what a company's Superconsumers really want. (The Bud Light Lime story!) He did something no other consultant could/would think to do—and honed in on that new category.
It took him years to fully understand and find this superpower as a new consultant. But that's because he didn't have a solid direction or these two questions. Once he thought about what outcomes he drives for clients (the one thing that makes him special), he leveraged it into a niche consulting offer that was 'different' in the CPG space.
Exhausting mini-book as always.
I am trying to figure whether the new Strategy Therapy course is just the piece of the puzzle to get started with Category strategy, or it also includes frameworks for languaging, creating content, lightning strikes, etc.
Curious what you mean by exhausting?
And good question - the course focuses specifically on honing your strategy and ultimately, creating a concise 1-page strategy narrative. Languaging, lightning strikes, and content creation are all important. But if you're working in the wrong direction, none of that matters much.
If you're looking for a deep dive on the core aspects of category design, that'll be in the full 12-month program.
Gotcha. I assume the one coming out this fall?
Yes, that's the one!
Loved the in-depth case study with Bud Light Lime. That's the kind of concrete example I love to read about. But I have a question: how is it that Bud Light Lime isn't an example of falling into the Line Extension Trap? Of course, it's a new category - lime flavored beer - but wouldn't it cause problems to the Bud Light brand? After all, according to the Law of Focus (I know you guys love Ries & Trout), the brand should only own one word/thing. Why not create an entirely new brand around the lime flavored beer and position it as the category leader? Really curious about this :)
Great question!
Bud Light Lime was merely a bridge to a new mega-category of mixed drinks/spirits in a can, towards the ultimate goal of being the first beverage alcohol brand across multiple categories. The goal was to see how broadly it could go both within spirits, but if you look at canned wine now was it possible to go into wine?
The core POV of Bud Light and Anheuser overall was "making friends is our business". This was not well known, but if Bud Light could bring all types of people together (beer drinkers, spirits drinkers and wine drinkers) that would be the ultimate goal.