Get your own strategy.

I came across this billboard on Agency Spy - it's for a Regional pizza chain based in the Denver area.





From their website, it appears they have about 20 locations.





I'd never heard of Anthony's and, unless you live in the Rocky Mountain state, unlikely you have either. Albeit small and unknown, I think this campaign illustrates well what not to do.





Clearly Anthony's headlines, which include the one shown as well as "If their ingredients are better, why isn't their pizza better?" are intended to take a strike at Domino's new 'we made it better' campaign.





This is a bad idea for a handful of reasons, but primarily because it 1) takes for granted people know what Domino's is up to enough to read between the lines and, more importantly, 2) does nothing to leverage its own attributes to build a brand.





Anthony's claims to be "real NY pizza", the kind "NY'ers are proud to eat" and you "fold in half to eat." Assuming it's true, isn't that a positioning better served with an equally authentic campaign rather than one that attempts to trash talk a mega brand that outspends about 500 to 1?

(Perhaps it's just an attempt by the creative team to get Crispin's attention in their own backyard.)

Most of us will never come across an Anthony's pizza joint, but there is a valuable lesson here about positioning for any brand - large or small. Get your own.

OFF STRATEGY.

Made you laugh.

Here's a funny new spot from Sprint. Check it out, then read on.

The bar is high for another wireless company trying to convince me to switch phone plans. Especially when you're Sprint.

Somehow Goodby manages here to give a value-oriented spot a little kick. When you're selling a number attached to a dollar sign, plus your the underdog, that's no easy task.

There's a rich little nugget here that's been leveraged in a way that can't help but get a giggle. That is, when we know our # of text messages and/or emails are "limited", even if limited means 1,000's beyond what we'd ever care to use, we're more selective in who we send them to. BUT, if our plan entitles us to "unlimited", well, we'll text anyone, anywhere, about anything - because sometimes (a lot of times), we just don't want to talk to you.

You can't miss the point here and it hits home on one level or another. Hopefully it hits home for people who are currently paying more.. otherwise, the point sort of becomes moot.

Not sayin' I'll switch to Sprint, but this is as good a try as any.

ON STRATEGY.

Unscripted.

Two new, unrelated spots are sure to remind you (whoever you are) that there's something you need, or just plain want, at Target.

The first is so adorable, I just want to pinch it! And since it managed to tell its own story with virtually no words, I'll do the same. Check it out:

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The second features Shaun 'the flying tomato' White doing what he does best - riding a board, in this case, one with four wheels attached. Shaun's promoting his new clothing line, available exclusively at Target. I don't know about you, but I think a Shaun White collection is a pretty damn smart move by Target. Here's a look at that:



Both use music and capture moments sure to engage their respective audiences, never delivering the product plug before establishing a basic human connection.

I'm in awe of the simplicity, particularly in the baby spot. There's hardly a retailer out there that doesn't face a competitor that offers close - if not exactly - the same stuff (tangible goods). Retail brands don't have the luxury of packaging to help them jump off the shelf or lure the impulse buyer with flashy graphics.

Sure, there's service and price and cleanliness and convenience and all that stuff that weigh in to consumers' decisions about where to shop. But the humanity, the spirit of the brand, this has to really take on the role of "packaging"...and this is something that needs to happen in advance.

Ironically, brand building often falls to the wayside as retailers focus on telling the "stuff" and "how much" stories.

Fortunately not so for Target, who has managed to strike the right balance and consistently keep it interesting. So ON STRATEGY

From insight to execution, well played.

I can't believe I missed this spot from Gillette, which it appears broke about 2 months ago.

Perhaps you did too. Take a look, then read on.



The insight here has to do with men's facial hair and the importance of a close shave - to the people who matter most in the equation - women.

(Positioning men's grooming products as appealing to women is the new black.)

The 65% claim is a tad misleading, but in the product's best interest nevertheless. While I think women prefer to kiss a man with a clean shave, they often prefer the appearance of some scruff. Kudos to Jack Morton for finding the bigger number and leveraging that.

The execution is funny and flawless, even if production value isn't much to write home about.

I'm engaged, I'm laughing, and most importantly, I understand how this links to the product.

The spot misses marginally when it fails to make a comparison to competitive brands. After all, you can get a clean shave with any razor, yes? The spot could have been strengthened with something like "...and Gillette's new Fusion Pro Glide helps men shave closer by x% vs. the leading razor." If that's not true, I'm sure it can shave closer than at least one razor out there, so get that data and use it here.

Enough said. Happy to end the week with an ad that's ON STRATEGY.

Crowdsourcing, you say? How about crowdselling?

It's partially my obsession with food and partially my obsession with product innovation that makes today's topic so fascinating.

Every ounce of me applauds the team behind the new burger concept due to open its doors in Midtown Manhattan next month.

The concept will be called 4Food.

Part of its brilliance comes from its simplicity. A burger joint that starts with high quality patty options - choices include lamb, fish, turkey, veggie and the standard beef variety, plus a couple others. The burgers have a hole in the middle so they can easily be loaded with a "scoop" topping, also of the customer's choice. There's a bunch of other choices to be made as well including bun, cheese, sides, veggies and so on.

The notion of customizing one's own burger is admittedly not all that revolutionary. But the next part is.

Servers take orders on iPads. Likewise, customers can place their own order using their own iPads (in advance or in store). Customers give their burger creation a name - whatever name they want, presumably. And it gets better from there..

Here's the part I'm calling "crowdselling". That's a made up term for now, I think. The customized creations, complete their given names, are fed electronically to a jumbo electronic screen that greets people as they walk in. Others will enter the store, see the creations built by others and elect to order one of those or build their own.

Still, there is more.

The creator will actually be compensated for "selling" his or her burger creation - 25 cents per burger creation sold. Customer-creators are thereby incentivized to "market" their burgers via twitter, facebook, iPad to the jumbo screen, word of mouth, whatever they like. The quarter is given in the form of store credit.

It's a great big cycle that not only involves asking people what they want and letting them have what they want, but essentially bringing them on as part of the marketing / sales team.

Time will tell whether this is a concept sustainable beyond a single unit and / or whether its just too complicated for its own good. For now it's just a cool glimpse into the way social media can be harnessed to leverage the strength of consumers in truly building a brand.

ON STRATEGY.

Over-positioning is bad for your (brand's) health.

I'm shocked at Chef Boyardee's new ads.

Not shocked in a good way. Shocked in a "I can't believe that passed legal muster" sort of way. Here's a look:



In my own experience, it's been a ferocious arm wrestle to call things like pickles healthy or even suggest they might be better than other alternatives, simply because of the sodium content. Where does Chef Boyardee get off calling this microwaveable slop "nutritious"? Children hugging vegetables? Give me a break.

I'm less concerned with the lawyers who let this stuff slide and more concerned with the disingenuous positioning - ultimately, because I think it does the brand a great disservice.

Parents today are a far more saavy bunch when it comes to judging what's healthy and what's not. Organic is nearly mainstream. Sugar is taboo. Sodium is the new trans fat. School cafeterias are under strict watch with what they're allowed to serve - even sell in vending machines. And though they may not do cartwheels over frozen peas, young kids have a much firmer grasp on what's good and bad for their bodies - and care- than this advertising gives them credit for.

So the insight about kids not wanting to eat food they know has veggies in it - or perceive to be "healthy" - frankly, I think that's antiquated thinking.

This is the sort of advertising that can't help but get a negative reaction from parents. While I'm sure the great Chef's microwaveable bowls have an infusion of liquid vitamins to check the boxes and cover the bases, "nutritious" is still a massive overpromise - the kind that's only apt to make moms and dads more likely to reconsider what they put on the table for their kid.

I think the miss is obvious here, so I'll stop and call this OFF STRATEGY.

Dear Jet Blue, it's time to board.

I hate to be redundant, but since the Steve Slater story seems to be getting so much continued attention, I must.

Time for Jet Blue to make a critical distinction - Steve Slater is now his own brand and Brand Slater is beginning to present a serious threat to Brand Jet Blue.

The guy now has his own PR manager. Reality show producers are interested in a spin off that leverages his 'stick it to the man' story? Really?

Frankly I find it hard to support Steve's behavior and I'm shocked at the outpouring of support, but nevertheless his story seems to resonate. And while he's getting TV deals by the handful, Jet Blue is keeping its mouth shut about the incident, instead tweeting about upcoming airfare promotions.

Judicial nuances aside, I think it's time for Jet Blue to take a stand here. And by "take a stand", I mean make some public statement about what happened and how it supports or flies in the face of its brand promise. To repeatedly say nothing but "we don't / won't comment on the ongoing investigation" is simply not enough given all the Slater buzz.

Jet Blue may have free snacks, decent deals, a pretty good flight schedule and a cushy terminal at JFK, but it built its brand on something pretty simple - better service. Jetting, unlike flying, is supposed to be nice - and that not only involves, but revolves around the customer service supplied by its flight attendants.

Time for Jet Blue to comment, as generically as it may need to at the moment, on how Steve's behavior is not in line with the Jetting principles.

As for Jet Blue's silence thus far.....OFF STRATEGY.