Marketing
Wargames

For many marketers the sky is
actually falling. Recessions
suck. Now get over it and get
on with it.
Turn off the news it will help your mood.

When the going
get’s tough, get
tougher.

If business is war then perhaps
finding the road ahead starts
with a good wargame or two.

The Pilots who fly your 747
know what they are doing
because they have been
through the most terrifyingly
disastrous scenarios you could
ever imagine.
Fortunately they were all in a simulator.

Wargames are simulated
battles carried out in order to
test strategies or concepts.

We play wargames simply so
we can play through it before
we are forced to live through it.
It’s a risk free way to face the
dreadful and test different ideas.

If games prepare us for the
real-world then why do
marketers play so few of
them?
Good question. Very Good question

Shall we play
a game?

Welcome to your first
marketing wargame.

Get yourself in the headspace.
The blinds are drawn. The tape recorders
are running and the boardroom table is
covered in giant pieces of paper. The door
is closed and your phones are off.
Welcome to your War Room.

Game #1
How to survive
an attack.

The objective of this game is
simple: Understand where you
are vulnerable.
“You can’t defend against what you
can’t see and you can’t attack what
you can’t find.”

Congratulations!
you now work for
the competition!
You make way more money, have way more
autonomy with absolutely no politics to worry
about! - if only :-)

Here is your mission:
Obliterate your previous
company. Use your inside
information and out
maneuver them. Be ruthless.
BTW Don’t use your inside information if now you really work for the
competition. That could be big trouble. In fact it my be illegal.

Rally round the following points
and go get em.
The following is a small sample of the talking
points we like to start with.

What people would you steal?

How would you change the
marketing mix?

Could you use their existing
agencies against them as a
weak-link?

What would you improve that
they cannot?

What research are they lacking?

Where do they fall out of favor
with customers and how can
you turn it against them?

What things could you do that
would drive them completely
nuts?

Where are they strongest?

Where are they weakest?

How would you know you were
beating them.

Now take a breath and
think for a second
about just how
powerful and fun this
could be.

Did you figure out what
you need to fix before
your competitors get
smart?

Fun huh?
Of course playing the real thing with
a group of people is pretty dynamic
and inspiring.

In a real scenario you will be
shocked at how quickly you
figure out ways to bring your
company down.
Typically this learning comes in
around 3 hours.

Doing this does not need to
be expensive. You don’t need
sophisticated computer
models. A good coach will do
just fine.

I suppose you would not be
surprised to know that these
exercises get people to see
the world a little differently.

Want to play again?
Here are a few of the other games
we like to play.
1) Surviving an attack (the full version)
2) Loss of attention
3) Destruction of capacity

One last point....

The logic here is ancient.
“The general who wins a battle makes many
calculations in his temple ere the battle is
fought. The general who loses a battle
makes but few calculations beforehand.
Thus do many calculations lead to victory,
and few calculations to defeat: It is by
attention to this point that I can foresee who
is likely to win or lose.”
-Sun-Tzu (320 BC)

And now for something slightly
commercial. One of the services
my company offers is setting up
wargames for companies. If you
are interested please check us
out. - Brady
wargames.admodo.com
wargames@admodo.com
© 2009 Admodo Group Inc.

Admodo
Disruptfully yours, Brady. BradyGilchrist
I love a blue ocean strategy.