Jason Riley
Now, for the Mayflower strategy. Most agencies says they get to strategy differently than the rest, but mostly the processes are are all the same. I believe a good strategy should have three parts:
1. TARGET INSIGHT; Universally recognizable human truth, revealed through research or experience, not necessarily directly related to the brand or product at hand.
2. BRAND INSIGHT; Something unique and ownable, often overlooked.
3. PROPOSITION; The single most important thing to say to the target; must be both relevant and motivating, in that order
Again, there are lots of riffs on this formula but pretty much… that’s it. So back to Mayflower. It seems to me that with each of these strategies you’ve not really considered the target th brand; you’ve moved straight to the proposition. Let’s look at each:
MAYFLOWER VACATIONS
Does the target really want to go on vacation in the middle of a move? Or would they rather get to their home and get settled? And why would they buy a vacation from a moving company? Does Mayflower really want to get into selling vacations? Or would they rather sell more moves?
MAYFLOWER ONLINE STORE
True that moving yourself often results in your stuff getting trashed, but the implication here seems to be that “instead of letting Mayflower trash all your shit, let them sell it for you!” Not the best proposition. Maybe you could position Mayflower as the mover who won’t trash your belongings?
MAYFLOWER BOX NETWORK
Having looked into it a little, it seems that Mayflower is a “full-service” moving company in that they come in with boxes, box up your stuff, load the truck, drive it to the new destination, and unpack for you. To use an auto analogy, this is a Mercedes S-class. Uhaul would be like… well, a Uhaul in comparison. Full-service costs money, $5-$10-20k depending on how much stuff you have. My point is, if you’re buying a full-service move you probably don’t care about how much the cardboard costs. My guess? If you’re moving with Mayflower you’re either rich or your company is paying for the move.
It seems like all three of these ideas are an attempt on some level to get Mayflower into a new business; my guess is that they probably just want to make more money doing what they already do.
So, my advice is to keep thinking.
Think about the customer. Who is she? What does she want from life? Why is she moving? Moving is stressful as you point out. Why??
Now think about the brand? What is it about the Mayflower product that could potentially solve her problem
Anonymous
I think you’ve skipped strategy and gone straight into execution. Each of these three ideas aren’t a full campaign (as a good strategy would lead you to) but a piece of that full campaign. For example, for ‘MAYFLOWER VACATIONS,’ your strategy wouldn’t be ‘Mayflower Vacations,’ but to — “reposition moving as a pleasurable experience.” And looking at it from that broader standpoint, all three ideas fit under that strategic umbrella. ‘Boxes,’ and the ‘Online Store’ both serve to make moving easier/more affordable, ie ‘more pleasurable,’ as with ‘Vacations.’
‘Moving sucks and we want to make it better’ touches on a truth (though it is nothing terribly poignant, it is still true), so you’ve got a nice starting point. Now, figure out what the biggest idea/execution you can make off of that. The three up there, while interesting, aren’t big enough yet to warrant people being interested. ‘Boxes’? People can find boxes. ‘Online store’? Maybe, but is it newsworthy? ‘Vacation’? More possibly, but it needs fleshing out for me, at least, to understand what’s supposed to happen and why I, as a mover, couldn’t just book a vacation separately.
If I were to make a recommendation, I would say try to think on your strategy more. Find a truth about Mayflower’s moving that U-Haul or Two Guys And A Truck couldn’t own. However, should you stick with ‘making moving a pleasurable experience,’ run the gamut for what that means (and it has meat enough for a number of ideas to come from it).
I hope this helps. I think this blog is a great idea, so that should reflect on you as thinkers.
Good luck.
