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Looking like a (world) leader

In a recent exercise I took the marketing management of a major food producer through, we looked at advertisements across the food industry. We asked them to cut out ads from the industry’s trade publications and put them into three piles: the first was for companies that had no particular visual and verbal brand. The second, for companies with a visual and verbal brand that wasn’t really great. The third, for companies with high-impact visual and verbal brands. It turned out that their key competitors were in the third pile. But the company itself was in the second pile. Its managers realized that there was only one choice if they were to be seen as a market leader – they had to get into the high-impact pile. The interesting thing was that the companies picked out for this pile shared a few things – and I’d like to share those with you:

1) They didn’t use words such as ’innovation’, ’partner’ or ’leading’.
2) They didn’t crowd the page with messages – instead, they were highly visual in their approach
3) They used at least a full page, often two, to get their simple, but powerful message across

The key learning is that you can write mission statements that say you lead the world. You can mention countless times how your company is the leader in your industry. But, unless you really, actually, look like a leader when you communicate, you won’t be perceived as such.

Leaders don’t try to communicate too many messages. Visually, they use more space - less really is more. And, for example, they show they are internationally aware - avoiding cultural, sexist or racist terminology. World leaders don’t have the smallest ads and the most humble words. Maybe Danish leaders do, but not world leaders.

Chief Burgomaster H. P. Sørensen in 1951:
"Without boasting and in all modesty it can be said that the people of Copenhagen have striven to make their city a free citadel of democracy, combining with its wealth of tradition foresight, a will to work, technical and administrative ability, and common sense in the service of modern progress."

AC International Child Support
"We are among the largest adoption organizations in the world and feel, in all modesty, that we play a notable role and carry a responsibility when it comes to humanitarian work"

Those words (above) have got to go. Don’t even think of excusing yourself when writing about how good you are!

One way to tackle all of the challenges I’ve mentioned in this article is to work with international marketing partners. The ideal marketing partner:

- Has a foot in both camps (Denmark and beyond)

- Can spin your messages

- Can put a selling edge on technical products

- Has a great attitude to quality



Jonathan is driven, smart and there is no doubt he will add value. - Jakob Nielsen Regional Sales Director Western Europe at Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions Looking like a (world) leader In a recent exercise I took the marketing management of a major food producer through, we looked at advertisements across the food industry. We asked them to cut out ads from the industry’s trade publications and put them into three piles: the first was for companies that had no particular visual and verbal brand. The second, for companies with a visual and verbal brand that wasn’t really great. The third, for companies with high-impact visual and verbal brands. It turned out that their key competitors were in the third pile. But the company itself was in the second pile. Its managers realized that there was only one choice if they were to be seen as a market leader – they had to get into the high-impact pile. The interesting thing was that the companies picked out for this pile shared a few things – and I’d like to share those with you: 1) They didn’t use words such as ’innovation’, ’partner’ or ’leading’. 2) They didn’t crowd the page with messages – instead, they were highly visual in their approach 3) They used at least a full page, often two, to get their simple, but powerful message across The key learning is that you can write mission statements that say you lead the world. You can mention countless times how your company is the leader in your industry. But, unless you really, actually, look like a leader when you communicate, you won’t be perceived as such. Leaders don’t try to communicate too many messages. Visually, they use more space - less really is more. And, for example, they show they are internationally aware - avoiding cultural, sexist or racist terminology. World leaders don’t have the smallest ads and the most humble words. Maybe Danish leaders do, but not world leaders. Chief Burgomaster H. P. Sørensen in 1951: "Without boasting and in all modesty it can be said that the people of Copenhagen have striven to make their city a free citadel of democracy, combining with its wealth of tradition foresight, a will to work, technical and administrative ability, and common sense in the service of modern progress." AC International Child Support "We are among the largest adoption organizations in the world and feel, in all modesty, that we play a notable role and carry a responsibility when it comes to humanitarian work" Those words (above) have got to go. Don’t even think of excusing yourself when writing about how good you are! One way to tackle all of the challenges I’ve mentioned in this article is to work with international marketing partners. The ideal marketing partner: - Has a foot in both camps (Denmark and beyond) - Can spin your messages - Can put a selling edge on technical products - Has a great attitude to quality	Viewpoints Nailing the Value Proposition 10 Smart Things to Think About Value Propositions Is H.C. Andersen bad for business? Misplaced Modesty Looking Like a World Leader English as a strategic asset Modern Marketing's Toughest Culture Gap