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I was speaking with a client a few weeks ago about the appropriate order for developing and implementing a marketing plan. To me this is common sense, but it was a bit of a revelation for the client. He runs a large organization and has countless areas of expertise; admittedly, he says, marketing is not one of them. So he asked me to write the steps down for him so he could reference them as we go through the process together.

1. Strategic Planning. Before you can figure out your messaging and the appropriate ways to get that messaging out to your audience, you need to determine what it is you should be focusing on: what works, what doesn’t, what’s profitable, what’s growing, who your competition is and how you are superior. These questions – and many more – are answered in a strategic planning session. Read the rest of this entry »

I have always been a fan of Winnie the Pooh stories.  Milne was a genius at Capturing the Beauty of Friendship in its simplest, purest form.  My father used to read Pooh stories to me, and for our first Valentine’s Day as a married couple, my husband gifted me the complete collection in one volume. My grandfather, Mac, was so taken with the stories during one visit to my house that I bought him the same volume, which I later read to him on his deathbed in January of 2008. He would squeeze my hand and chuckle from time to time, and after the last story he faded away.

I say this to explain that I am Intimately Familiar with the original tales of Winnie the Pooh and the characters that comprise them.  In fact, I could even be considered an expert.  Although I have seen the newer versions of Pooh and have peripherally watched with my daughter the Super Sleuths cartoon on Disney, I’m not sure who Darby is or what she did with Christopher Robin. Because I am a Classic Pooh lover.
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