Corporate strategy, brand strategy, marketing strategy, creative strategy, design strategy, experience strategy, e-marketing strategy, communications strategy, sales strategy, PR strategy, internal communications strategy, customer-focused strategy, pricing strategy? Strategy is everywhere. But when it comes to define strategy, authors, experts and practitioners all have differing opinions, though this very simple word bears far reaching consequences on the way businesses are conducted on a daily basis! The concept of strategy (from the Greek, ?strategia?, generalship) has been borrowed from the military and adapted for use in business. We also cannot venture to talk about strategy and not think about ?Sun Tsu on the art of war?, the world?s oldest military treatise.

Henry Mintzberg (1996) develops the idea that strategy is used implicitly in the following different ways:

Plan: unified, comprehensive, integrated plan to ensure objectives are achieved

Ploy: specific manoeuvre intended to outwit an opponent or competitor (threatening to penetrate a market fiercely)

Position: how the organization or brand wants to be seen in the marketplace (leader, follower, niche?)

Perspective: entire workforce sees the strategy and feels part of it

Pattern: intended or unintended consistency in behaviour

Subash Jain (1993) for his part, suggests that strategy specifies direction. Its intent is to influence the behaviour of competitors and the evolution of the market to the advantage of the strategist. It seeks to change the competitive environment. Thus a strategy statement includes a description of the new competitive equilibrium to be created, the cause and effect relationships that will bring it about, and the logic to support the course of action.

Though the basic strategy formulation process hasn?t changed since the 1960s: Set vision, mission, goals, and objectives ; Conduct situation analysis (SWOT) ; Consider strategic alternatives ; Evaluate and select option(s) that will best meet goals; Conduct implementation; Control and monitor strategy; Consider contingency plans ? the merit of an optimal strategy lies in its degree of integration with the rest of the organization and its environment.

Let?s take a local case, where smaller ?David? players are waging a war against ?Goliaths?! Barclays bank has chosen a strategy based on high media visibility, and at the same time showing that it is a financial institution very close to its clients with tailor-made solutions and a diversified portfolio. While in terms of marketing strategy, the focus appears to be mainly on the products, the communications strategy adopted projects the Barclays Corporate Brand as very accessible: you literally have the impression that it?s so easy to talk to the bank, thus demystifying the traditional ?coldness? and impersonality associated with banks.

A look at the corporate web site of this bank lets us discover that there is even a section called: Barclays Strategy, where the mission is spelt out as follows: ?We aspire to be one of the most admired financial services organisations in the world, recognised as an innovative, customer-focused company that delivers superb products and services, ensures excellent careers for our people and contributes positively to the communities in which we live and work?. Just read this mission statement again, relate it to what is mentioned in the former paragraph and have a closer look at the next Barclays ad you see. You will notice how in a very limpid and simple creative style, the marketing strategy is based on a product strategy with a clear connection to the Barclays Corporate Name that is in turn aligned with the Corporate Global Strategy.

This is a proof that some homework has been done as regards Brand Architecture, in terms of how the products, sub-brands and solutions relate to the Corporate Name and Corporate Strategy on both local and international scales.

To conclude, strategy is concerned with how you will achieve your aims. If strategy has any meaning at all, it is only in relation to some aim or end in view.

Ashraf Oozeerally Managing Director, eye_dentity