It's the thought that counts

Infuse creativity into every area of the business

Creativity is essential to the success of any business or organization. So much so that a Forrester study commissioned by Adobe surveying 300 global enterprise leaders revealed 82% equate creativity with positive business results.

Moreover, companies that encourage and facilitate creativity are 3.5 times more likely to achieve revenue growth of 10% or more than peer firms that do not.

Read More

Creative Use of Customer Equity (pricing)

.net Software Manufacturer

Our client was very early to market with a .net software solution for a niche market. The target audience ranged from multi-billion dollar global firms to small 5 to 10 person agencies. We calculated a Customer Equity model that precisely demonstrated where their focus should be. And it paid off big. The firm even aligned all accounting systems with the CE model. The focus also helped our client attract VC funds and MindMeld was there to make the successful presentation.

Innovation in Product Management

Technology Solutions Provider

When you sell complex technology solutions that enable companies to seamlessly transition from on-premise to cloud computing — describing what you do in simple, uncomplicated terms is imperative. So MindMeld helped this firm build service delivery around a proprietary framework. We created a new category in the process that gave this firm Focus and made its Value crystal clear to clients and prospects alike.

Innovation in Distribution

Fortune 25 Global Distributor

Re-engineered and reconfigured outdated facility. Led facility transformation from legacy system to SAP and custom WMS. Frontline champion of rationalized supply chain, including Evaluated Receipt Settlement initiative. Established best practices for all metric related reporting. Increased productivity by 68%. Improved quality from 2.5 to 5.0 Sigma.

Creative Sales Enablement

Global Scanner Manufacturer

Created and implemented award winning integrated marketing communications campaign. Road shows featured partner sales training by renown author. Show guide included detailed sales enablement tools, channel partner program details, how-to videos and a DVD performed by The Second City comedy troop. Print ads in trade publications and direct mail supported the effort. The campaign received an AME Bronze Medallion for Advertising and Marketing Effectiveness.
"Our non-profit organization was in serious financial trouble. The finance team failed to keep specific grant funds separated and were not submitting proper paperwork for receiving revenues as stipulated. Doug developed a comprehensive integrated Cost Allocation Plan that solved the problem. He literally restored the financial integrity of the organization. And we thought he only knew organizational development and marketing."
Board Chairman
Chicago-based non-profit

Dare to see
things differently.

Which way is the man on the right looking — directly at you or to the side? Either way, you are right. It’s just a matter of perspective. But one thing is for sure, he is looking ahead.

Creativity facilitates timely decision-making supported by a willingness to spell out and explore all possible solutions. And it keeps you focused on what is ahead. So do we.

  • Cultivate a culture of change
  • Inspire progressive ideas
  • Foster results-oriented thinking

“Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.”

— Frank Zappa

Think inside the box, elevate performance

Bypass convention to develop imaginative and innovative solutions. Creativity and Innovation are enhanced and more effective when structure and pragmatism govern the process.

  • Build more collaborative teams
  • Bring your vision into Focus
  • Thrive on change

“To me there’s no creativity without boundaries. If you’re gonna write a sonnet, it’s 14 lines, so it’s solving the problem within the container.”

 

— Lorne Michaels

Know what matters. Do the math. Innovation and creativity will flow naturally as a result.

Structure creative ideas so they serve practical purposes.

  • Energize your organization’s drive factor
  • Be process-oriented
  • Profit from critical thinking throughout the value chain

“We are here to make another world.”

— W. Edwards Deming

Testimonial

Doug is the smartest advertising and marketing professional I've ever worked with. He uses insights gleaned from data in incredibly creative ways. And he consistently explores all possible options in arriving at the best possible solutions for the business. Our sales increased over 27% based on the strategy Doug created while the category grew a mere 1% over the same period. The only way you could improve your service is to clone Doug.
Senior Vice-President of Sales & Marketing, CPG firm

BE CREATIVE

Connecting with your customers and prospects at the right time, in the right place with the right message.

The MindMeld way stresses meeting your customers or clients where they are — foregoing preconceived notions or suppositions that may satisfy personal wants and needs for flaunting our creative genius but fail miserably at connecting with people in interesting and compelling ways.

We also understand different types of media require distinct methods and approaches for effective communication to occur. We do not believe in, entertain or ever recommend cookie cutter strategies. The media and the message are always tailored specifically to your situation and business goals and objectives.

Moreover, MindMeld creative strategies emphasize and produce communications based on the appropriate media at the appropriate time based on the status of the target audience relationship. We eschew overwhelming your valued prospects and customers with endless, irrelevant messaging — favoring intrigue and excitement instead. We also lean heavily on elevating client interactions from emotion-driven experiences (great for establishing interest but not so hot for cementing loyalty) to judgment type decision-making. The place where Value and Values make building long-term relationships possible.

the value of values

Shared values build relationships. A shared value is a belief that both the brand and consumer have about a brand’s higher purpose or broad philosophy.

— Versus —

the futility of annoying

A mere 13% of buyers of products and services cited frequent interactions as the primary reason for a brand relationship. Quality of communications trump “nervous activity.”

Source: 7,000 consumers participating in a Corporate Executive Board (CEB) study. 64%, or nearly 5,000, said shared values are the primary reason motivating their brand relationships — making shared values far and away the largest driver. 13% cited frequent interactions as the primary motivation for a purchase decision.

Plan the Sale when you Plan the Communications

INTEGRATED B2C

TARGET & ACCOUNT-BASED MARKETING

INTEGRATED B2B

BRAND & DISTRIBUTION OPTIMIZATION

messaging that sells

Base the marketing of a product on quality positioning — interact with continuous bubbles of advertising support designed to attract trial and cement loyalty to the product.

— Edwin Arzt, Chairman, Proctor & Gamble

What Jelly Beans teach us about Brand Asset Value

Jelly Beans teach us a lot about commoditization, perceived value, and the necessity of strategy in the marketplace.

Take price for instance. The leading brand of jelly bean earns nearly six times as much per ounce as a top store brand, $0.40 versus 0.07 per ounce. What’s more, that same leading brand enjoys a $0.25 per ounce advantage over a gourmet brand of comparable quality purchased in a specialty retail shop.

And despite the higher price, the market leader sells significantly greater volumes as well. Higher volume at a higher price selling essentially the same product with the same ingredients is a winning proposition no matter how you slice it.

In a blind test panel the leading brand outscored both the gourmet brand and store brand unanimously when it came to taste. But surprisingly, the gourmet brand won in terms of packaging and product appearance and the store brand provided the best overall mouth feel according to the tasters.

So what’s the big deal? How many times has your sales and/or marketing team played the commoditization card as an excuse for losing deals or declining market share? How often do they

complain that prices are too high as justification for another lost opportunity? Are you even targeting the right audience and sales channels to begin with?

At issue is value and how it is communicated. The market leader has established a strategic position predicated on brand identity, taste, product merchandising, packaging, distribution, and yes, higher pricing. After all, if they are fetching a higher price the retailer is enjoying a proportionately higher payback as well.

According to Michael Porter, “ultimately all differences between companies in cost or price derive from hundreds of activities required to create, produce, sell, and deliver their products or services, such as calling on customers, assembling final products, and training employees…differentiation arises from both the choice of activities and how they are performed.” 

As in the case of jelly beans, competing against and outperforming competitors requires strategic positioning. Relying on operational efficiency and tactics will not suffice.