The Marketing Canvas Method

A complete system to diagnose, prioritise, and strengthen your strategy.

Six steps. Shared vocabulary. Scored dimensions. Traceable decisions. A defined sequence where every output feeds the next input — and every strategic choice traces to a scored observation.

24 Dimensions scored per assessment
9 Strategic archetypes auto-detected
6 Steps — no skipping, no shortcuts

The Marketing Canvas

24 dimensions. Six meta-categories.
One shared language.

When someone on your team says "we have a 420 problem," everyone knows they mean Experience. Click any dimension to read its definition, scoring criteria, and strategic implications.

Click any dimension to open its guide

Each dimension opens its guide on laurentbouty.com

All dimension guides →

"The problem is never a lack of ideas. It's a lack of a defined order of operations for using them."

Why the MCM starts with Step 0, not Step 1

0

Scope

Lead Segment Junction

"Who exactly are we building this strategy for?"

Output →

One company. One market. One geography. One customer segment. A strategy for everyone is a strategy for no one.

→ Scope
1

Context

Strategic Context Mapping

"Where do we compete, against whom, and what forces are at play?"

Output →

10 market parameters (M1–M10) across Market DNA, Competitive Position, and External Forces.

→ Context
2

Goals

Revenue Ambition & Goal Setting

"What do we want to achieve, and which revenue lever gets us there?"

Output →

SMART goal + Strategic Archetype. M3 × M4 + revenue option (GET / KEEP / STIMULATE) unlocks one of 9 archetypes — each a pre-built strategic operating system.

→ Archetype
3

Audit

The Vital Audit

"Is the machine capable of achieving the goal we've just set?"

Output →

Scored assessment of your 10 archetype dimensions (Vital 8 + 2 Growth Drivers). Scale −3 to +3. No zero — every dimension is either helping or hurting.

→ Gaps
4

Action

Strategic Action Engine

"What do we do about the gaps?"

Output →

15 prioritised initiatives across three streams — FIX · ALIGN · GROWTH — each scored for Feasibility × Impact. High-Feasibility, High-Impact executes first.

→ Actions
5

Roadmap

Strategic Cycle Roadmap

"In what order and at what speed?"

Output →

Three 4-month cycles: FIX (Months 1–4) → ALIGN (5–8) → SCALE (9–12). Three mandatory gates: Integrity → Relevance → Efficiency. Then return to Step 2.

→ Roadmap

Step 2 Output

9 Strategic Archetypes.
Not chosen — derived.

Your market growth curve (M3), competitive strategy (M4), and revenue goal produce a single logical archetype. Same inputs, same archetype, every time. Each archetype defines which dimensions matter most — the Vital 8.

A1

Disruptive Newcomer

GET revenueGrowth market

Displace incumbents through technical or conceptual superiority.

Survival depends on being noticed and understood immediately. Priority: aggressive storytelling and feature-led proof. Fatal brake: if people don't understand what you do, they won't try it.

A2

Efficiency Machine

GET revenueCost leadership

Win by making "expensive" structurally impossible for every competitor.

The A2 victory is operational — lowest cost-per-acquisition in the market. Magic (440) and automation are the primary defenses against commoditisation.

A3

Brand Evangelist

KEEP revenueDifferentiation

Build a tribe. The product is a badge of personal values.

Customers are members of a community — price becomes secondary. The primary accelerators are Emotions (320) and Purpose (210). Values (230) is a Fatal Brake — if your values feel like marketing copy, the tribe collapses.

A4

Stagnant Leader

KEEP revenueMature market

Stop the leak before you try to refill the bucket.

A former leader whose competitive moats are eroding. The teams that changed inputs to get a more comfortable archetype built strategies for a company that didn't exist.

A5

Pivot Pioneer

GET revenueDeclining market

Manage the old and the new simultaneously — without confusing either audience.

Fatal Brakes are Positioning (220) and Listening (510). Without a repositioned story and a genuine understanding of where new customers will come from, the pivot is a rebrand with no destination.

A6

Value Harvester

STIMULATEDeclining market

Maximum value extraction. Minimum marketing investment.

Budget (640) is a Fatal Brake — every dollar of marketing spend must demonstrate return. Selectivity over growth. The exit question is always in the background.

A7

Scale-Up Guardian

KEEP revenueGrowth market

Protect the magic that got you here before growth destroys it.

Scaling without losing the quality and culture that created initial success. Systems and talent are the real bottleneck, not marketing budget.

A8

Niche Expert

STIMULATEDifferentiation

Become indispensable to the few rather than adequate for the many.

Breadth is the enemy. Expanding the segment before the niche is fully secured is the most common A8 strategic mistake.

A9

Category Creator

GET revenueBlue ocean

Educate before you sell. The category doesn't exist yet — you have to build it.

Primary Accelerators are Emotions (320) and Stories (520) — the market must feel the urgency of the new job before it acts on it. Listening (510) is a Growth Driver: it feeds the category language that makes those stories land.

Every dimension is scored on a scale from −3 to +3.

No zero.

Every dimension is either helping or hurting. Sitting on the fence is not a position the method allows.

Each archetype defines which dimensions are Fatal Brakes, Primary Accelerators, and Growth Drivers — your Vital 8. Score those 10 dimensions. The gaps between where you are and where your archetype needs you to be become the input for Step 4.

Fatal Brakes (F)

Target: ≥ +2

If any fatal brake scores below 0, the strategy is dead on arrival. Fix these first — before anything else moves.

Primary Accelerators (P)

Target: ≥ +2

The dimensions where your archetype wins or loses its competitive position. High score here creates compounding advantage.

Secondary Dims (S/T)

Target: ≥ +1

Supporting dimensions. Not the priority — but neglecting them creates drag that slows the whole strategy down.

Growth Drivers (GD)

Run in parallel

Generate revenue while you repair. These run alongside the FIX stream so momentum doesn't stop during the audit cycle.

Ready to run the method
with your team?

Three ways in — depending on how you work best.

The Book

Marketing Strategy, Programmed

The complete method in ~300 pages. Every step, every dimension, every archetype — with 20 case studies from Tesla, Patagonia, LEGO, Airbnb, Nokia and 15 more.

€25 · Amazon · Paperback & eBook

About the book →

The Cards

MCM Card Deck

60 physical cards covering all 24 dimensions, 9 archetypes, and the 6-step process. Built for workshop facilitation.

€50 · Shipped from Brussels

Get the cards →

Workshop

Facilitated with your team

1–2 day on-site or remote sprint. Steps 0–5 facilitated. Your team leaves with a scored canvas, a named archetype, and a 12-month roadmap.

On request · Europe

Book a call →

The full framework — dimensions, archetypes, scoring logic — is open-source and free.

marketingcanvas.net ↗