Divide and Conquer

"Creativity in marketing communications is one of the most potent ways for companies to increase their productivity. This book contains case after case, which demonstrates the leveraging power of innovative thinking in advertising today." -Joseph E. DeDeo Chairman of Latin America,Young & Rubicam, Inc.

The days of expensive network television rollouts of new advertising campaigns are over. Targeted, niche-driven selective marketing is less expensive, more profitable, and far more sensible in today's thriving culture of special-interest media.

Here's your chance to learn all about this revolutionary new marketing strategy.

Written by the advertising genius behind some of the most unforgettable campaigns of the past 30 years, Divide and Conquer teaches you what you need to know to conduct your own successful selective-marketing campaigns. Fifteen fascinating and instructive case studies demonstrate how to identify your markets precisely, get to know them inside and out, fashion a message that they'll hear and respond to, and find the perfect media mix to deliver your message.

No matter what size company you work for, in Divide and Conquer you'll learn valuable lessons about how to find your customers, reach out to them, and forge profitable, long-term relationships with them.

With the advent of cable TV, the Web, and other new platforms, media have become as diverse as the increasingly fragmented markets they serve -dangerous terrain for one-size-fits-all advertising. In the 1980s, a handful of visionaries began developing an alternative designed to take advantage of today's thriving culture of special-interest media. It's called selective marketing, and unlike mass-market advertising, it doesn't tell people what they want, it asks them. Selective marketing uses sophisticated intelligence-gathering techniques to pinpoint niche markets and learn all about them. It plies everything from print, TV, and radio, to Web technology, fax response, and even performance art to capture specific markets and forge lasting relationships with them. And it helps clients find the best ways to satisfy or surpass customer expectations.

In Divide and Conquer, Harry Webber reveals the secrets behind this revolutionary new marketing strategy. The advertising genius behind such memorable campaigns as "I am stuck on Band-Aid," Webber clearly and concisely lays out basic selective-marketing principles and practices. With the help of 15 selective-marketing case studies, he demonstrates that any advertiser can use his proven techniques to identify markets, create the right message for a particular market, and develop the most effective media mix to deliver that message.

Fascinating and instructive success stories, the case studies provide a unique insider's look at selective marketing in action. You'll learn how selective marketing was used to restore the investment community's faith in Ford; win the alternative adult market for Dr Pepper; entice baby boomers to Kentucky Fried Chicken; and even forge an alliance between the Crips and Bloods street gangs for the Los Angeles city attorney's office. Each case study presents concise descriptions of the target market, marketing challenge, selective-marketing solution, and outcome, and concludes with a quick summary of important selective-marketing lessons learned. Throughout the book, sidebars spell out key selective-marketing principles embodied by the case at hand.

The first practical guide to the revolutionary marketing strategy that threatens to make mass marketing a thing of the past, Divide and Conquer is essential reading for marketing managers, entrepreneurs, and professionals working in small businesses, midsize companies, and large corporations.

HARRY WEBBER is the founder and head of the world-renowned SMART Communications, Inc. (Selective Marketing Advertising Research Technologies), one of the first selective-marketing agencies. Webber's client roster has included Ford, Sears, Pepsi, Disney, UPN, KFC, Turner Home Entertainment, Sears, Denny's, AT&T, and Dr Pepper, to name just a few. Before founding SMART, in 1986, Webber worked for several major-league advertising firms, including Young & Rubicam, Inc.; Wells Rich Greene; McCann-Erickson; and Leo Burnett, where he masterminded such memorable campaigns as "I am stuck on Band-Aid."