• by September 20, 2004

Day one of the Interactive Advertising World Conference and Expo and the event looks like it's off to a roaring start. I'm impressed with how many people are here; the Hudson Theater was overflowing with people and the upstairs balcony was full. People seem to be networking like crazy when they aren't listening to the panel discussions. The Interactive Advertising Bureau says it has at least 2,100 people registered for the exhibit hall and the conference at IAW. Hey, that's a lot of people!

This morning, marketing consultant and author Jack Trout opened the conference with a synopsis on his latest book "Trout on Strategy." For those who don't know him, Trout has worked with most of the Fortune 500 companies over the last 25 years.

He began his talk with a question about why so many corporate icons are in so much trouble these days. The answer: strategy. He says that companies and their brands rise and fall on the strength of their strategies, or lack thereof. The essence of strategy, Trout says, is about perception, being different, competition, specialization, simplicity, leadership, and reality. "The mind is a battleground," and it's not about having a better product, "it's about a better perception" in the minds of consumers and shareholders, for that matter. In the era of so many choices and so much control, the need for brands and marketers to hone and focus on their points of difference is more important than ever.

"Use your attribute, or lose it," Trout says. Of course there are many ways to cultivate a differentiator. Being first, having a distinctive heritage or history, and a simple idea like Visa's "It's everywhere you want to be," can give a marketer an edge.

So what role does interactive media and marketing play in establishing a sound strategy? Trout says interactive media can be an incredibly effective tool to communicate the point of difference for your brand.