There are countless definitions of the word “genius” online and elsewhere. The one below is a good one.
– Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for the future, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabilities of competitors.

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/genius

– A person having such capacity.
These days one can’t help but think of Elon Musk. Scanning back through recent history, Nelson Mandela, who’s managing of South Africa after his release from prison can’t be deemed anything less, or Winston Churchill during the Second World War.

These are people that demonstrated political genius as opposed to the more common academic genius like today’s news article about the 13-year-old who just graduated college with separate degrees.

https://local12.com/news/offbeat/gallery/13-year-old-graduates-four-diplomas-elijah-muhammad-osu-computer-science-cybersecurity-oklahoma-cincinnati-ibm-google-it-langston-intelligence?photo=7

In October of last year, a genius passed from  the world in which I operate – market research, marketing and PR – the genius was Al Ries.
“Al Ries was the father of positioning, a legendary marketing strategist, a global brand in his own right and the bestselling author of 12 books that have sold over 4 million copies worldwide.”

https://www.alries.com/

After reading Ries’ marketing classic, Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, decades ago I was “hooked” and followed his writings via his many subsequent books and had the privilege of communicating with him on some marketing ideas. I keep his validations of some of my marketing ideas in a secure location on my computer.

When one talks of Al Ries, one must talk of positioning.
There are countless definitions of positioning and how it works.
Simply put, positioning makes the unfamiliar* familiar by tying it to something that is already familiar in the mind.
(*Think of the unfamiliar as your product or service).
This facilitates instant communication (because what you are tying your product to with marketing or PR is already in the recipient’s mind).
Positioning has long been used in politics – usually negatively.
“The famous speaker and politician Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC), for instance, when he defended his supporter Sestius, did not shrink from publicly accusing the enemy Clodius of incest with brothers and sisters,”

Political Debates In Ancient Rome: Great Harshness, Personal Attacks And Unpleasant Atmosphere

(Positioning the enemy with incest.)”

This kind of positioning goes on daily in the U.S. Congress.  One is no longer just a Kennedy Democrat or Reagan Republican today. The campaign, sourced by the Democrats, driven by the media, the intelligence community and the Justice Department to position Donald Trump with Vladimir Putin was one of the most vicious and well organized I have ever seen.
Of course, Cicero did not have access to Twitter, Facebook or any of today’s digital weapons. But he had an enormous presence and ability to communicate. His presence and oratory in the Roman Senate is easily compared to modern social media.

“Cicero was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, writer and academic skeptic who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the establishment of the Roman empire.  He is considered one of Rome’s greatest orators and prose stylists and the innovator of what became known as Ciceronian rhetoric.
His influence on the Latin language was immense. He wrote more than three-quarters of extant Latin literature that is known to have existed in his lifetime.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicero

But politics is far from the only use of positioning. When used correctly in marketing and PR, positioning can not only drive business sales, but, more importantly, establish your brand as an industry leader.
Here are some excellent examples of positioning.

Here’s a commercial for strong cheese that uses positioning very cleverly. Click the link.

One of Burger King’s cleverest commercials starts with a shot from the back of a Burger King restaurant. There is a number of people standing in a single line waiting to order.
In the middle of the line is someone with a hat with orange hair sprouting out of the sides. The person is wearing an overcoat, collar up, obviously trying not to be recognized. He turns his head for a moment and his identity becomes obvious: this is Ronald MacDonald who has snuck into Burger King to get a hamburger, trying not to be recognized.
This is, of course, Burger King cleverly positioning against Mac Donald’s.
One I had a great time creating was some years back. Around 2000, Internet service was largely done via dial up. Remember that?
High speed broad band was just beginning to roll out.
ISPs (Internet Service providers) were just beginning to provide high-speed Internet. Our client, an ISP in the Southeastern United States was just introducing their high-speed service, as was their chief competitor, Time Warner.
Positioning takes two surveys. The first survey that we conducted of small to medium-sized businesses (our client’s public) in that region, found that the main thing businesses wanted from Internet service providers was speed . No surprise.
Time Warner had a visual icon going for it that they could use to promote speed, the Road Runner (a type of bird known for running at high speeds, that was always being chased in a cartoon series by a coyote [Wiley Coyote]. Wiley Coyote was always just about to catch him, but the Road Runner was always too fast).

Road Runner Rd., Runner clip art related keywords to dash wikiclipartwikiclipart.com

When we did the follow-up positioning survey, we found that what represented speed to this public was a Daytona racing car (the client was headquartered in Florida).
The advertisement?

A Daytona racing car with the client’s name on it roaring down the highway. Off to the side of the road bent over and panting is the Road Runner.
Positioning.

Here’s feedback from a couple of startups we positioned.

“The positioning that grew out of your research was nothing short of stellar work. We now have a strategically researched, laser like position that will dramatically assist us in rolling out our new brand.”
J.D. – President

“ In launching our new company, I considered one of the most important things we would do is brand and position the company. Your work to help us get into the minds of our customers and prospects really pinpointed – with precision – what our brand should represent. And the rest fell in place from there.  …I feel confident that we have hit on a position and brand that impinges on our public and will have lasting value. I look forward to continuing to work with On Target as we build our company.”    M.D.  – EVP

This came after we implemented an in-depth market research program followed by positioning surveys.
“When we implemented On Target’s research survey findings, our profits increased and marketing cost decreased. From a financial analysis of our company, we discovered that over a two-year period, On Target Research saved our firm over $300,000 a month or, ballpark, a total of $7.2 million so far.”      R.C. – President

Does your company have a position that drives sales? If not, give me a call. We can discuss what would be involved.

Bruce Wiseman
President & CEO
On Target Research
www.ontargetresearch.com
Br***@br**********.net
1-818-397-1401

We surveyed the marketing directors of the 7 largest oil companies on the planet.

We’ve surveyed state legislators, orthopedic surgeons, movie producers, Mexican cell phone users, and German businessmen. We’ve surveyed CEOs, CFOs, IT directors and consumers of virtually every kind of consumable.

The answers to many of the survey questions are often surprising. Not always, but often.

Here’s an example.

The relationship between the United States and Russia has gone through its ups and downs. There was the Cold War, of course – if a Russian was caught having a conversation with an American in Moscow in the 80s, Lubyanka awaited.

What a change after Gorbachev dissolved the Soviet Union in December of 1991.

It was just 6 months later, in June of 1992 that I handed my passport to the surly immigration officer at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport.

I subsequently traveled to Moscow several times in the 90s and, in so doing, developed a close relationship with the senior executives of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) – the federal Russian police (like the FBI).

It was a fascinating relationship, made more so because the MIA execs were fascinated with survey technology.

You may have seen this picture previously but, if not, this is a snapshot of me delivering a talk to 50 senior MIA executives in an historic conference room in the headquarters of the MIA. Yes, that’s a picture of Lenin behind me.

In the course of my meetings with a Colonel Pylov, he “confessed” that they were having trouble recruiting police – could we conduct surveys to help?

Yes.

The survey of Russian police required bilingual surveyors and tabulators but, once completed, the answer to the key question was startling. Though it really shouldn’t have been.

“What was the primary reason that you joined the MIA?”

“To get free transportation on the metro.”

What?

Yes. Ordinary Russians didn’t own cars in the late ’80s and early ’90s when these policemen would have originally joined the MIA. And police rode free on the metro. This was a big benefit.

There is more to the recruitment story, but I tell this to make the simple point: you don’t really know until you survey.

Something we have been doing for more than 25 years.

If you want to know what your customers think about your products or service, or what will motivate your prospects to buy from you as opposed to your competitors, call us or shoot us an email.

Best,
Bruce

Bruce Wiseman
President & CEO
On Target Research
www.ontargetresearch.com
Br***@br**********.net
1-818-397-1401

“On Target Research is fantastic. Their ability to extract relevant and powerful data from C-level executives is remarkable. In the short period of time, we were able to get profound insight into the hearts and minds of our potential clients. The research is invaluable for all of our marketing branding and sales initiatives.”

MA – President

What is the common denominator between Martha Stewart, Superman, Alex Trebeck, Britney Spears, David Beckham, Kermit the Frog and Muhammad Ali?

That’s right, they all wore the milk mustache in the fantastically successful “Got Milk” ads, as did just about every celebrity in the 90’s and 2000’s. Here’s a few others: Tony Bennet, Lauren Bacall, Wolverine, Taylor Swift, Larry King, Elton John, Angelina Jolie, Yoda and Beyonce.

(The pictures with milk mustaches are copyrighted)

The ads were produced for the California Milk Processor’s Board in 1993 with the mustache added in 1995. The ads were created by advertising agency, Goodby Silverstein & Partners and were directed by Michael Bay. Driven by the country’s biggest celebrities, the ads ran for more than two decades and became a part of the culture. In 2022, they were named one of the best commercials of all time based on a poll by USA Today.

You will not be surprised when I tell you that the ad agency did an exhaustive amount of research and surveys before having the creative light bulb go on. Almost all successful corporate advertising campaigns are based on information the advertiser gets from his customers and prospects.

And that is true for our clients as well. Let me give you an example.

A company came to us looking to market telecom systems to the correctional industry – payphones for inmate use. (Unfortunately), this is a billion-dollar industry.

We conducted surveys of wardens and sheriffs across the country to find out what it is that they thought was important or valuable about an inmate phone system.

We found one “button,” a hot button that really resonated. They wanted the phone system to be indestructible. (If the phone breaks, the inmates get upset, fights break out, the press gets wind of it…you get the picture.)

Okay, so we had a button — a point of agreement among this public.

But we wanted to position the company so it stood out from the competition; so that the company’s advertising was not only unique but communicated instantly. The way this works is that we use a button/s from the first survey and create and then conduct a second survey based on that information, called a positioning survey.

In this survey, we asked this same public, not necessarily the same respondents but the same public, what object or activity represented indestructible to them.

The answer was a TANK.

This information went to the marketing department and this company rolled out a whole marketing and PR campaign: The Indestructible Tankphone with all the graphics to match.

The company (a startup) went from zero to $30 million a year in sales in three years and became the largest independent provider of inmate phone systems in the country.

Why? Because we found out what the sheriffs and wardens thought was valuable – “indestructible” – and then we got what represented that to them: a tank. The company used the survey results to create a sales and PR campaign around that positioning. Sales soared; the company skyrocketed.

It is hard to overestimate the value of a surveyed position for your company’s marketing and PR.

Do you have one?

“The positioning that grew out of your research was nothing short of stellar. Now we have a strategically researched, laser-like position that will dramatically assist us in rolling out our new brand.”

JLD, President

Best,

Bruce

Bruce Wiseman
President & CEO
On Target Research
www.ontargetresearch.com
Br***@br**********.net
1-818-397-1401

Let’s say Fox had a good hair day last Sunday as they generated almost $600 million dollars in Super Bowl ad revenue.

You can’t blame the corporations for spending $7,000,000 for a 30 second commercial as this year they got 113 million pairs of eyeballs. Huge exposure.

Add the cost of A-list talent (a few million), to the cost of the air-time and you’re beginning to talk real money. The commercials featured everyone from Bradley Cooper to John Travolta, Ben Affleck and Will Ferrell.

But dear God how do these CEOs confront their shareholders having spent that kind of money on what in many cases was nothing other than marketing dreck.

Why the harsh language? Marketing is supposed to sell something. That’s its purpose. But the majority of these commercials do anything but.

Here’s an example. One of dozens. This commercial is for a skin care brand called e.l.f.

The actress puts the skin care primer on her hands and then rubs it on her face. It is very sticky. So sticky that as the actress answers her cell phone, the phone sticks to her face at which point she loses her balance knocking the bottles and other items off of her vanity as she falls to the floor. When she gets up, her face sticks to her mirror.

Go ahead, take a look. It’s only 30 seconds long.

https://tinyurl.com/2pcfcuxb

Someone at e.l.f. forked over around $8 million dollars for that commercial. A commercial that positions the brand with a  fiasco and serious personal discomfort.

There are dozens of others. Commercial directors today think their purpose is to be funny. Not only is the “humor” slapstick, it is not truly funny, even with celebrities, and more to the point it, doesn’t sell.

This from the advertising giant of the 20^th century, David Ogilvy.

       “99% of advertising doesn’t sell a thing”

“The title of this post is a quote attributed to one of the biggest names in advertising, David Ogilvy…

“Advertising works, it’s just that most of the people who produce or sell advertising don’t have a clue how to make it work.”

https://ducttapemarketing.com/99-of-advertising-doesnt-sell-a-thing/

“Anna Tuchman, an associate professor of marketing at Kellogg, and her collaborators analyzed the effect of TV commercials on sales for more than 200 consumer packaged goods, including food, drinks, and basic household products…

“For many products, the return on investment (ROI) was negative: the companies had spent more on commercials than they earned back in additional sales.” 1

Whoa!  Why is that?

The answer is two-fold: first, as noted above. The essence of commercials today has changed. Commercial directors consider that they have to be funny now. But the writers are not Jonathan Winters or Robin Williams and most turn out to be silly as opposed to funny. The above commercial is a perfect example.

I repeat, the purpose of advertising is to create want for the product or service and to sell something.

Here’s a commercial that made me want the product. It showed how it was used and I saw a personal benefit. There’s a bit of humor and celebrity, it’s not a big deal but I want one of these.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faQSp4KxCoU

The other missing ingredient is surveys.

“Bottom line, surveys increase sales and traffic because they help you provide your buyers with exactly what they want.”2

A key question I like to ask customers of an existing client is,

“What is it that was said or done that made you decide to buy (the product from the client).”

For prospects, we want to know specifically what they consider valuable about whatever is being sold.

Trust me, when you get answers to questions like these and then use them in your marketing, the clouds part, the angels sing and the cash register rings.

If you want to see what’s involved – cost wise, time wise, give me a call or drop me an email.

Best,

Bruce

“Bruce is the man when it comes to all things to do with marketing. I hired Bruce to do market research prior to opening up my CrossFit gym in Los Angeles and have to say it was money very well spent…. As a result of these steps and my own management experience we were able to turn a profit our very first month. And we have steadily expanded since then. Bruce’s standard use of surveys and not just opinion or “feelings”, but hard plain facts really makes a difference in terms of the results you get with your marketing. I will use Bruce and On Target when we are ready to open our next location. “

Guy LaBruciano

1-https://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/tv-advertising-is-usually-not-worth-it

2- https://www.papernstitchblog.com/5-reasons-why-you-should-be-using-surveys-as-a-sales-strategy/