“If everyone is thinking alike, then someone isn’t thinking.”

George S. Patton, General U. S. Army

"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."

Mark Twain

"The ancestor of every action is thought."

Emerson

"All that we are is the result of what we have thought."

Buddha

"When you are not told what to do you begin to think what to do."

Roger Cohen, Op-Ed Columnist New York Times

"No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking."

Voltaire

"Never be afraid to sit awhile and think."

Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun

"You and I are not what we eat; we are what we think."

Walter Anderson, The Confidence Course

"Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?"

Winnie the Pooh

"Time to think matters ─ at least if we’re interested in getting the answers right."

Stephen L. Carter

"Thinking is always out of order, interrupts all ordinary activities and is interrupted by them."

Hannah Arendt, Life of the Mind

"Too often we…enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought."

John F. Kennedy

"The trouble with most people is that they think with their hopes or fears or wishes rather than with their minds."

Will Durant

"Thinking is like living and dying. Each of us must do it for himself."

Josiah Royce

"Some people get lost in thought because it's such unfamiliar territory."

G. Behn

"The world we have created is a product of our thinking; it cannot be changed without changing our thinking."

Albert Einstein

"Pursuing our thoughts in silent contemplation takes an investment in time that few can spare."

Stephen L. Carter

"A moment’s thinking is an hour in words."

Thomas Hood

"Sometimes I think and other times I am."

Paul, Variete: Cantiques spirituels 192

"To think is to differ."

Darrow

"To think is to live."

Cicero

"A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices."

William Jones

"What we think, we become."

Buddha

"Our job is not to make up anybody’s mind, but to open minds and to make the agony of the decision-making so intense you can escape only by thinking."

Anonymous

"The person who thinks before he speaks is silent most of the time."

Anonymous

"Think ─ and you will be very lonely."

Anonymous

"Thought is action in rehearsal."

Anonymous

"We live in a world that leaves very little time to contemplate."

Anonymous

"Don’t worry too much about what people think because they seldom do."

Anonymous

"Invest a few moments in thinking. It will pay good interest."

Anonymous

"One cannot think crooked and walk straight."

Anonymous

"Think Differently + Do Things Differently = Better Results"

Anonymous

January 30, 2018

Diabolical Positioning

Tags: Promotion, Branding,

One of my sister’s favorite expressions (paraphrasing writer James Baldwin) is, “The most dangerous man is the man who has nothing to lose.” This powerful quote could well apply to the Philadelphia Eagles, the heartbreak kids in helmets who now find themselves facing the New England Patriots this Sunday in Super Bowl 52. Talk about nothing to lose...

“Positioning” — “the place a brand occupies in the mind of its target audience” — is everything when it comes to marketing a product or service...or a football team.

How do you stack up to the competition? How are you perceived by your customers? What do potential customers think of you (if they think about you at all)?

Philadelphia Eagles’ fans (of which I'm one) may be simultaneously the most loyal and pessimistic fans in NFL history. They love the brand but up until now, it has never really lived up to the promise.

When it really mattered, somehow the team always managed to fumble at first and goal.

Last August there was a “last wish” request included in a Philadelphia Inquirer obituary that captured the sentiment of a typical Eagles fan in Negadelphia.

As Jeffrey Clayton Riegel, a New Jersey electrician with a wicked sense of humor, was on his death bed, he told his oncologist to call him “Lucky.” And then he made his memorable last wish: to have eight players from the Philadelphia Eagles football team serve as his pallbearers.

Why?

“So the Eagles could let him down one last time."

You get the picture.

But now here “we” are.

NFC East Champions

Super Bowl bound.

We are led by humble backup quarterback Nick Foles (vs. the winningest quarterback in Super Bowl history).

We have big name starters sidelined with injuries.

Yet suddenly our positioning has been “upgraded” from Losers to Underdogs. (And we have the sold-out dog masks from Amazon.com to prove it).

The Tipping Point author, Malcolm Gladwell wrote, “The fact of being an underdog changes people in ways that we often fail to appreciate. It opens doors and creates opportunities and enlightens and permits things that might otherwise have seemed unthinkable. “

Like winning the Super Bowl, maybe?

At this writing, the Patriots are 4.5 favorites to win. But the line is shifting.

Along with hearts and minds.

Suddenly, everyone loves an underdog, a comeback story.

Face it, we’ve all been there at one time or another. We get it.

In 1962 Avis came out with its famous ad campaign against Hertz, “When you’re only No. 2, you try harder.” Legendary ad man David Ogilvy praised it as “a feat of diabolical positioning.”

Sometimes down is up.

Fly, Eagles, fly!

Positioning   Philadelphia Eagles  Underdogs  Nick Foles  Malcolm Gladwell

Since establishing Alvaré in 1981, Anita has guided the agency through 38 years of steady growth and success. A marketing communications entrepreneur who has done it all, she remains deeply involved in strategic planning and creative direction, bringing extensive knowledge and insight to each client project.

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Comments (1)

02.03.2018
marie jackson

well said, anita - as always!

patriots underestimate the power of the eagles fans at their peril.  there is so much green mojo in this town, it’s taking us onto the field with our birds tomorrow night.  “pat down” will take on a whole new meaning!