Marketing strategy that works
in the real world.
Framework deep-dives, archetype guides, and research analysis built on the 24 dimensions of the Marketing Canvas Method.
Don't know your archetype yet?
12 minutes. 24 dimensions scored on a forced-choice scale. You get your Strategic Archetype, your Vital 8 against target, and your Fatal Brakes flagged — before you read anything else.
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6 printable A4 scoring grids for running the MCM assessment with your team — no screen required.
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The Real Reason CMOs Don't Last
A recent HBR piece argues CMOs don't last because they can't speak the CFO's language. The prescription is sharp — and conditionally true. The same KPIs that save a McDonald's-style business break a Hermès-style one. Here's why archetype is the conversation that has to happen first.
Value Harvester (A6): How to Extract Maximum Value From a Declining Asset
You have an asset that is declining. The question is not whether to fight the decline. The question is what to do with the cash it still generates — and how long the window stays open. Most companies get this wrong in the same direction.
Niche Expert (A8): Marketing Strategy for the Specialist Who Goes Deeper, Not Wider
Your market is narrow. Deliberately so. The Niche Expert is the most defensible position in any market — provided the depth is real and the moat is continuously deepened. Two dimensions determine whether it holds.
Efficiency Machine (A2): Marketing Strategy for Cost Leaders
Your customers don't love you. They don't need to. The Efficiency Machine is the most defensible position in a commodity market — provided you have done the structural work that makes your cost advantage impossible to replicate, not just difficult to match.
Scale-Up Guardian (A7): How to Protect What You Built While Everything Is Accelerating
You are growing fast. From the outside it looks like success. From the inside, things are starting to crack. The Scale-Up Guardian archetype is the operating system for exactly this moment — before the brand damage catches up with the reality.
Pivot Pioneer (A5): Marketing Strategy When Your Category Is Dying
Your market is shrinking. The customers who leave don't come back. You know you need to change direction — but the window is closing. The Pivot Pioneer archetype is the operating system for exactly this moment, and two dimensions determine whether you make it through.
Category Creator (A9) — How to Build a Market That Doesn't Exist Yet
You're not losing to competitors. The market hasn't decided yet that your problem is worth solving. The Category Creator archetype gives you the operating system for exactly that situation — including the two dimensions that will collapse your strategy if you ignore them.
M3 × M4: How Two Data Points Determine Your Entire Marketing Strategy
Two data points — M3 (Growth Curve) and M4 (Economic Value) — determine which of 9 strategic archetypes fits your situation. Here is how to score them and what to do with the result.