Few things I know how to do.
Brand work, end to end.
At the top: opening markets, repositioning brands, reading a company's internal politics, working through a crisis. On the ground: store openings, fashion shows, product launches, advertising campaigns. And the founder's role, which starts with no brief, only a blank page.
The noble art of marketing, from the conception of a product or service to its market release. A delicate exercise that teaches you to navigate the steps in between, and the people whose sign-off you need to bring an idea to light. Part politics, part damage control.
No matter what business you are in, there comes a moment when you must expand and open new markets. A good practice is to ask yourself why before all the planning and sorting that come with it. If it still makes sense, then the premises are solid, and all that comes next has meaning.
Designing distribution, store networks, and the texture of physical retail experience. It is an exercise that flourishes with a dynamic, well-led and agile company that understands the implications of inviting its customers to its home.
Helping an established brand change how the market reads it. Perceived as the slowest of these practices, wrongly. With the right formulation, it can lift brand fatigue quickly. Yet it must be sustained with a continuous effort and a strong conviction that a brand deserves better.
Natural evolution of the main line, or a mere conversion tool, new categories extend a brand's reach. They carry a DNA that has to be carefully maintained, protected and realigned to bring the brand and the new market together. Eventually, they'll give the Compliance team headaches.
Above all, an exercise in trust. A company knows what it can and can't do; for the latter, there is a partner waiting to create a branch on their tree bearing your company's name. Your brand, their processes, their manufacturing, their distribution.
A powerful tool, short, clinical, quantifiable. It is to a marketing strategy what a French kiss is to a long-term relationship. It can make or break a reputation. Done right, they create intense brand equity and high-value lead generation. Done wrong, they bring down the brand appeal.