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Creative Positioning Mad Libs
Fill-in-the-blank exercises for focusing your ideas, from strategic conception to sale.
Created by Article Group, a delightful creative marketing agency
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Mad Libs for the creative positioning process
Every business runs on repeatable processes. Marketing is no different. The process we repeat is creativity. Templates help us do that. We use the following three templates (or, if you prefer, Mad Libs) to communicate ideas to our creative team, position our client’s products, and tell our future partners about our work. The examples lean towards tech products, but the Mad Libs work for any type of product or service. We hope you find them as useful as we do.
P.S. we included examples of our own work where appropriate.
Product Positioning Mad Libs
The strategy brief
Use this when: explaining to a creative team what their creative work should achieve. Useful in any context (not just agencies!) where you need to communicate a job to be done. Briefs are typically driven by insights into audience behavior.
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Get: | _________________________ |
| Target consumer and their barrier |
To: | __________________________ |
| Desired mindset or behavior |
By: | __________________________ |
| Message/action the brand can communicate |
Insight: Innovators don’t just need funding, they need partners�
The Simons Foundation, one of the world’s leading advocates for scientific thinking, needed to attract scientific innovators to their grantmaking program—including people who’d never applied for a grant before. Article Group helped them launch a new division to do just that.
Get: | A diverse array of Innovative thinkers |
| Target consumer and their barrier |
To: | Apply for scientific grants |
| Desired mindset or behavior |
By: | Creating an accessible brand that uses scientific tools in unexpected ways |
| Message/action the brand can communicate |
Product Positioning Mad Libs
Insight: Execs need a technology partner who understands the future of work�
Box creates powerful collaboration tools, but their salespeople needed tools to demonstrate the brand’s thought leadership and pedigree. Article Group created an online publication about the future of work that quickly became an influential voice.
Get: | IT decision makers who are anxious about collaboration |
| Target consumer and their barrier |
To: | See box as a technology partner that understands their problems |
| Desired mindset or behavior |
By: | Creating a popular publication that delivered insight about the future of work |
| Message/action the brand can communicate |
Product Positioning Mad Libs
The positioning statement
�Originally formulated in Geoffrey Moore’s Crossing the Chasm, the positioning statement helps you communicate the value of your product or service to a large market.
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For | __________________ | who | _________________, |
| Target customer | | Need or opportunity |
our | __________________ | is | _________________ |
| product/service | | Product category |
that | ______________________________________. | ||
| benefit | | |
Product Positioning Mad Libs
For | Graphic designers | who | are being challenged to create more convincing, photorealistic designs |
| Target customer | | Need or opportunity |
our | 3D rendering and design software | is | a powerful, easy-to-use tool |
| product/service | | Product category |
that | allows you to push your creative boundaries | ||
| benefit | | |
Product Positioning Mad Libs
Adobe launched Dimension in 2017 to help traditional 2D designers create high-fidelity 3D mockups. The software allows designers to create mockups and photo-like visualizations without needing to rely on true 3D design, thus helping them to further realize their creative designs.
The sales deck
First described in Andy Raskin’s popular post The Greatest Sales Deck I’ve Ever Seen, this storytelling template positions your product or service as a necessary tool to help your prospect thrive and win in a changing world. For a great example, see the oft-cited Zuora sales deck.
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The world is changing. | Describe a change in the world. |
There will be winners and losers. | Describe who the winners and losers are. |
But there is a promised land. | Describe what the promised land looks like. |
I have the tools to get you there. | Describe your product or service. |
And here’s why you should trust me. | Describe your pedigree. |
Product Positioning Mad Libs
More? You want more?�
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