At the beginning of January, I read The Game by Ken Dryden. A legend in Canada for being a great hockey goalie but over time has become more intriguing as a man that thinks deeply about his place in the world and how he interacts with it. The hockey highlights were before my time but his approach to honestly examining his teammates, their strategy and how they played the game said a lot about simplicity and putting the right pieces in place.
Dryden says his Montreal Canadians coach Scotty Bowman did not have elaborate schemes or game plans but instead focused on getting the right people on the ice, ensuring each one played well with the other and that they executed. It is not complicated or revolutionary but it helped Dryden win six championships in seven seasons. I like it because it is simple and got results.
Looking at my day-to-day work, it is possible to invent elaborate ways to explain marketing and communications but without executing and ensuring you have the right pieces in place the effort isn’t worthwhile. When we create a marketing campaign we look at each element and how it will fit together and focus on the execution. The effort goes into the deliver, the result and the product we put on the table. In this means, we never have to explain that the “concept” is good but the results were not there.
This is not a tactical approach to marketing and communications. It is a practical, simple, adaptable way to approach to meeting the clients needs, solving problems and adding value. All of our activities are strategic but we can make every campaign uncomplicated, easy to understand and focused. It is the results that the client wants and we must be as efficient and painless in how we execute.
For each new take on the marketing and communications landscape, the underlying truths are the same. Execution is what counts and effort should be focused on assembling campaigns that work well together. A partner or agency should be making your marketing activities less complex instead of more complicated.