This presentation outlines how a strategic narrative can help companies differentiate and win in the market.

1. Strategic Narrative
Messaging and
Marketing
An
Overview
Boulder Marcom Group
October 30, 2014

2. Today’s Objectives
• Examine positioning and messaging from a higher,
industry level perspective
• Outline the basics of the strategic narrative and how
can it help align companies
• Discuss practical approaches to strategic narrative
messaging and marketing
• Leave with a new mindset

3. Messaging Challenges
• Crafting messaging that is truly compelling and
stands out is difficult
• Traditional positioning and messaging approaches
often are too inward and self-centered
• Many companies explain “how” they do things – not
what they do
• They leave it to others to define their market space
• They lack a central “cause” that all facets of the
business can rally behind

4. The Opportunity
• Organizations can define existing or new categories as a
means of creating a market-leading position
• The “category story” becomes the basis of a corporate
narrative that engages influencers, employees, investors,
partners and customers, and impacts perceptions and
drives positive change
• The narrative becomes more than a marketing message; its
a corporate strategy that reaches all facets of business
• It can be leveraged through PR and marketing campaigns
• The results are profound – helping align companies and
providing a roadmap to execute against

5. Strategic Narratives
• Strategic Narratives are central to the practice of
international relations. Governments use narratives
strategically to achieve desired objectives: defining their
countries’ identities, explaining their role in the world,
identifying allies and enemies, establishing the nature of
the relationships among them; contextualizing historical
events, as well as policy decisions.
• They provide a “concise statement of what it is doing,
why, and how that links to a positive vision of the future
with the individual actions of members of its own
societies and members of other societies whom it wishes
to influence”

6. Strategic Narrative Messaging
• Defines the landscape and trends
– Industry level, category focused – then company “what”
• Vision for the Future
– Market segment growth/promise, company “cause/purpose”
• What the Company Does
– Advance cause and industry, customer benefits tied to trends
• Tangible Company-wide
– Brings company vision to life – everyone can support it
• Single Message, Company-wide Initiative
– Clear, with purpose, confidence and pride
• Open and Inclusive
– Company, industry and competitors – the more the merrier
6

7. Basis of
Strategic
Narrative
Market
Dynamics
Popular
Perceptions
Challenges
Opportunities
Best
Practices
Benefits/
Value
Strategic Narrative Discussion
• Think up at industry
level
• THINK BIG!
• Be provocative,
contrarian and bold
• Think like a visionary
Don’t worry about
competitors
• Think like a teacher
• But, act like a leader!
• Dare to change the
world!
7

8. #1 Add Context to Mega-trends
• Most industries are being disrupted – define the
mash-up of industry dynamics?
• Aim to provide insight and context into industry
trends
• Provide a viewpoint and opinion on what’s
happening outside of your own company

9. #2 Define and Honor the Category
• Step outside of your company to define the category
as you see it
• How can your company advance the adoption and
the evolution of the category?
• Is there a process or framework you can develop
and “give” to the industry?
• Always make it a priority to champion the overall
good of your category or market space

10. #3 Shape a Better World
• Outline a vision statement for the industry
• Where would you like to see your industry in three
to five years?
• What contributions can your market segment make
to industry/customers/mankind?

11. #4 Define Your Role
• Define your company’s goals and course of action
• What overall role do you play in the world you’ve
defined?
• What is the company vision for innovation?
• How will it benefit customers and align with the
mega-trends you’ve defined?

12. #5 Be Inclusive
• Don’t define a strategic narrative that “only applies
to us”
• Re-shaping a category/industry – welcome visitors,
including competitors!
• Think how it touches each and every employee,
partner, customer and influencer
• Talk less about yourself, and more about the world
you live in

13. Strategic
Narrative
Website
and Digital
Marketing
Analyst
Relations
Media
Relations
Content
Marketing
Thought
Leadership
Social
Media
Rally Around and Promote the Narrative!

14. Example: CodeFutures
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15. What does CodeFutures Stand for?
• A new, much-needed approach for gaining value
from databases and the data they hold
• Total commitment to data agility – through a
combination of streaming technology and flash
• Accelerating access to information that matters for
real-time big data and operational intelligence
• Simplifying data access complexity – with back-end
structure for dynamic customization
• Making databases more agile and useful
• Aligning big data and IT process agility – “Agile”
• Sharing knowledge and expertise

16. What Do We Do – Tagline Set-up
We’re all about agile data, combining flexibility with
structure, the ability to leverage big data to its fullest,
and enabling the real-time enterprise
That’s what CodeFutures does!

17. CodeFutures:
Making Your Data Agile
Championing: Agile Big Data

21. Thank you!
&
Questions?