Impossible Advantage

Andreas Buchholz, an engineer, and Wolfram Wördemann, a communication specialist, first met at Procter & Gamble in Schwalbach, Germany. After earning their marketing spurs at P&G, they jointly founded the marketing strategy consultancy ‘Buchholz Wördemann Partners’ located in Königstein near Frankfurt am Main. Together with the team they have assembled, BW Partners have served a large number of multinational corporations across Europe and beyond, always with a focus on breakthrough, “out of the box” strategic thinking. Their extensive list of clients includes Amexco, Bayer Schering, IBM Lenovo, Nestlé, Pepsico, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, Sanofi-Aventis, Siemens, T-Mobile, and World Vision. Andreas and Wolfram co-authored the Financial Times bestseller ‘What Makes Winning Brands Different: The hidden method behind the world’s most successful brands’ (John Wiley & Sons 2000). Ned Wiley first made a mark in the world of television thirty years ago when, as Procter and Gamble’s first European Brand Manager, he introduced Italian television audiences to the soap opera. His career spans consumer marketing, advertising and interactive digital communications, at firms including Foote, Cone & Belding, Publicis Group and Gist Communications. Today, Ned is with one of the world’s largest media companies, Axel Springer. As a Managing Director of Axel Springer Digital TV Guide, he is once again working to revolutionize the way advertisers engage consumers by helping consumers navigate the ever-changing landscape of television and video entertainment. Ned is an alumnus of The University of Chicago College and The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

"... reveals that success can be achieved by changing the market in which you operate." (Finance & Management Faculty, March 2009)

• About the Authors ixForeword xiThe Surprising Limitation of the World’s Number One Business Strategy 1Why There Are Limits to the Power of Positioning 1The Rule Maker’s ‘Impossible’ Advantage 3Game Changing Strategies Start Where Positioning Stops 4Six Prejudices to Ignore 5It’s Time to Think Radically about Growth 7Someone Committed to Breaking All the Rules 7Games as a Strategic Model 14Four Classical Game Strategies 22Wanted: A ‘Highly Infectious’ Game Changing Idea 26Our Plea for Free, Open and Radical Thinking 31First Game Strategy: Redefining the Measures of Performance 35Influence the Criteria of the ‘Customer Jury’ 38How to Make Stronger Opponents Play Your Game 42Attack on an ‘Invincible’ Market Leader 48Surprising Escape from a Price War 53How Global Power Players Rule the Game 59The Essentials in Overview 63Second Game Strategy: Reshaping the Market Landscape 67How Market Structures ‘Regulate’ the Competitive Game 68Balancing Act Between Flop and Global Success 71Outfoxing a Negative Trend in the Market 77How to Conquer ‘Impossible’ Market Potential 82The Law of the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy 89Change the World with a Radical Idea 93The Essentials in Overview 98Third Game Strategy: Restaging the Competitive Confrontation 101What are ‘Game Patterns’ and How Can You Use Them? 103‘Staging’ the Competitive Confrontation – Hollywood-Style 108Lessons Learned from Political Campaigns 115Breaking Free from a Negative Role Pattern 119Moving out of the Shadows into the Limelight 125Turning the Tide of an Almost-Lost Battle 133The Essentials in Overview 136Fourth Game Strategy: Taking the Game to the Next Level 139Taking the Game to the Next Level What Does That Mean? 143Old ‘Top Dogs’ Can Become Terribly Short Sighted 147Why It Takes so Little to Control a Category’s Evolution! 151Courageously Slay the Sacred Cows! 154Take the Lead When a Value Shift Hits the Market 157When the Market Needs a Complete Overhaul 162Radical Visions and Their Pitfalls 167The Essentials in Overview 169How Your Business Can Profit From Game Strategy 1731. Explore the ‘Ideas that Rule the Market’ 1742. Nothing Can Beat a ‘Game Changing Idea’ 1763. Game Changers Can Take a Certain Degree of Control in the Market – and over Their Competitors 1784. Game Strategy as a ‘Behavior Changing’ Instrument 1805. Finally Game Strategy Is a Truly ‘Democratic’ Tool 183The Five Steps to Game Strategy 184It’s Time to Explore Your Own Game Changing Opportunities 192After the Game 195Postscript: How Game Strategy Differs From Game Theory 197Thanks! 201Index 203