Owning Game-Changing Subcategories is about creating organizational
growth in the digital age by creating and owning game-changing
subcategories fueled by digital.
Owning Game-Changing Subcategories outlines the path to finding,
managing, and leveraging new subcategories. In the digital age, the path
has been made wider, shorter, and more frequently traveled. Throughout
Owning Game-Changing Subcategories, David Aaker discusses certain
aspects of the digital age that alter this path, such as E-commerce
providing fast, inexpensive market access bypassing the cost of gaining
distribution into storefront retailers or creating personal sales teams
and social media and websites enabling communication on steroids in
comparison with traditional use of advertising or events.
Growth is not only a success measure but also creates energy and
opportunity for customers and employees. And such growth almost never
occurs with "my brand is better than your brand" marketing. Owning
Game-Changing Subcategories explores the only ways to grow a business
(with rare exceptions) which is to:
develop new "must haves" that define a game-changing subcategory that
provides a new or markedly superior buying or use experience or brand
relationship to a core customer base;
become the exemplar brand that represents the subcategory and drives its
visibility, positioning, and success; and
create barriers to competitors that could include "must-have"
associations and a basis of relationships that go beyond functional
benefits.
