After a 14 months of fiddln’ and twiddln’ we have officially launched vSente’s Armory – the online resource for the competitive marketer. The Armory is the exclusive host for The Art of Attack – How to Attack and Dislodge the Larger Competitor which introduces new thinking, approaches and techniques to the process of competitive marketing.
The Armory aggregates print and web resources dedicated to the application of maneuver theory to marketing campaigning. There are many links, manuals, communiques, and other resources to sample. Everything is continuously updated and in the spirit of Web 2.0 the Armory is in perpetual beta.
The cost to access these resources is $49.95 for the first month ($39.95 through March 31, 2006), $24.95 per month thereafter. We are offering a free 7-day all access pass to members of the media who might want to review the contents. E-mail me with your press/blog affiliation and I’ll get you you’re pass.
This is a listing of the resources available in the ARMORY.
01. The Attack Manual. Online manual describing the theory of attack and how to plan an attack.
02. The Attack Planner. Excel workbook used to plan, create, communicate and calibrate your attack.
03. The Attack Communiques. Commentaries on the state of competitive marketing.
04. Attack Infrastructure. Links to companies, technologies, processes and methodologies that can support your attack.
05. Attack Competencies. Links to agencies, consultancies, and other firms offering competencies related to the art of attack.
06. 24 Rules of Engagement. Rules to consider when executing your own plan of attack.
07. The Marketing Archive. Articles, links and papers on contemporary and historical marketing practices.
08. The Sun Tzu Archive. Digest of nine translations of Sun Tzu’s Art of War.
09. The John Boyd Archive. Articles and briefings written by the brilliant American military strategist.
10. The Center of Gravity Archive. Articles and papers describing various approaches to determining center of gravity.
11. The Propaganda Archive. Articles and papers on historical and contemporary use of propaganda and information warfare.
12. Military Manuals. Various military manuals focused on strategy and military campaigning techniques.
POTENTIAL STORY ANGLES AND POSTING IDEAS
There are several different story angles or posting topics for reviewing the Armory that may be of interest to your readers. They are:
01. Is political correctness destroying marketing effectiveness?
Fast Company refers to a glut of soft squishy cultural initiatives. Peppers and Rogers wonders if we’ve become too altruistic. The Armory offers an alternative to ineffective politically correct marketing. Backgrounding here:
02. Competition vs. Innovation – Can you have one without the other?
George Stalk of the Boston Consulting Group was roundly criticized for his book Hardball for advocating the notion of competing to win. While a peer book, Blue Ocean, which excoriated competition was widely-acclaimed. The Armory offers a look at both approaches and debunks Blue Ocean’s basic thesis. Backgrounding here:
03. Creativity vs. Effectiveness – Ad agencies under pressure to produce results not just awards.
Mark Fenske the highly decorated Madison Ave creative director preaches "nobody ever created a good ad writing to a strategy" Ad agencies are under fire for sacrificing campaign effectiveness for creative awards. Mike Smock creator of the Armory is in the middle of this debate. Backgrounding here, here and here.
SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY DISCOUNT
We are offering a special discount to all new subscribers who join before March 31, 2006. Subscribe and save 20% off of the first month’s subscription. New subscribers need to click here to access this offer.
FREE MEDIA 7-DAY ALL ACCESS PASS
We are offering a free 7-day all access pass to qualified members of the media who might want to review the contents. E-mail me with your press/blog affiliation and I’ll get you you’re pass.