Strategy Is Not a Buzzword

“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory and that tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat,” Sun Tzu.

In the highly competitive world that we live in, strategies and tactics are essential for anyone to survive and remain relevant. As recent as last week, we gathered around a table with one thing bugging our minds; where do we want to be in the next ten years? I kid you not, we took an entire day to crack the answer to that question.

We started off by asking ourselves where we currently are as a company. We discovered that we are excellent at content creation, especially audiovisual content. It is a thing we do without a hassle. For instance, while other companies run around asking for quotes, we don’t have to hire any equipment since we have everything in-house. We also don’t need external camera persons and editors since we have them and we don’t call designers and copywriters since we have our own. This, we evaluated, is a very strong position to be in and it gives us an edge over many of the rest.

Based on where we are, we asked ourselves where we want to be. We had to agree as a team on where we are going and why. And this was the hard part. This destination first has to a place that as a company we all want to go, and second, it has to be a place where the world is also going. We want to be visibility experts – storytellers; people who help any type of brand to not just communicate but also connect with its audience in a memorable fashion. Using technology, we want to help our clients remain relevant in the lives of their customers. We strongly believe that videography is the future of visibility. That is why youtube is the most visited website in the world, and Instagram has IGTV, and WhatsApp has status. Facebook has facebook live and Twitter has twitter live. Even the streets of our cities are full of large screens playing videos on them.

At this point, we were certain about where we are and where we intend to go. The next thing was to decide on the direction we would take, and the means of getting there i.e, how would we get to our destination? It is here where we arrived at a tactic. A method that we have been using (but we had not defined it) and that we shall continue to use as our vehicle. It is our secret source to great content and we call it the Penta-P Process.

PLAN

After listening to you explain your need, we quickly get into ‘find a solution’ mode. Our first step is creating a plan using a method we call Tripple S, i.e:

1. SEE –  Here is where we define and understand the problem at hand. It is here that sometimes we realize that what you thought was the problem is actually not it. Then, by immersing ourselves into this problem, we get an all-round understanding that puts us in a better position to tackle it and even spot more opportunities that you can take advantage of.
2. STRATEGIZE – After seeing, we devise a master plan that is not just to help us devise a way of confronting and solving the problem but also to help us define a means of execution for the solutions we will create for you.
3. SOLVE – We then apply strategic design & lateral thinking to tackle the problems identified in the SEE stage following the plan made in the strategize stage. This means we brainstorm and analyze the data we have in order to come up with tailor-made ideas that are a perfect fit for your needs.

PRODUCE

WIth a plan in place, we proceed to create informed & insightful solutions that, will solve the problem you have as well as create a great impact on your customers or the people you serve. These solutions may include PR/Targeted Communications, Media, Advertisements, Digital (Web and Social Media), Event management, Business Strategies, Content Production (videos, documentaries, still images etc).

PACKAGE

One might cook the tastiest dish but if they present it awfully, interest in it reduces drastically. At some point, we have all bought into products or services that were well presented but the details were trash. How anything is packaged influences greatly the interest that people will pick in it. Being a people-centric company, we understand this very well. That is why we put together your communication and present it in a simple, relatable, real and relevant manner – because we want you to rouse as much interest as you can.

PUBLISH

Once we are comfortable that your content has well been packaged, we present to the consumers/customers. This could be through tv and radio ads, videos, blogs, vlogs, OpEds, memes etc.

PROMOTE 

Serving your food to just the people who regularly visit your restaurant does not do much for growth. We take things a bit further. We know the value of as many eyeballs as possible on your communication. That is why we recommend not only pushing content online but offline as well; to facilitate increased engagement and conversations. It is from these conversations that conversion happens.

In summary, a strategy is simply answering the following questions and devising creative ways (tactics) of achieving your end result.

1. Where are you?
2. Where do you want to go?
3. How will you go there?

We understand that as with any long journey, there are hurdles that we shall encounter along the way. I dare say we are ready for them. Thellesi has not just the talent but also the technique and tools needed to get a good job done. We have done it in the past – there is no reason why we cannot do it now and again in the future.

Feature Image: Strategy session for a key client at the Thellesi Co. boardroom.