1. Star Trek
How It Can Help You Understand Marketing Strategy
Dexter King
October 11, 2013

2. AGENDA
The Star Trek Opening Theme - pg. 3
Marketing Strategy begins with... - pg. 4
What a Purpose should be - pg. 5
Your Competitive Arena - pg. 6
Defining your Competition - pg. 7
Recap - pg. 8
2
Image Source: Google Search

3. “Space, the Final Frontier. These are
the voyages of the StarShip
Enterprise. It’s 5 year mission... To
explore strange new worlds, to seek
out new life and new civilizations, to
boldly go where no man has gone
before.”
3 Source: Star Trek Opening Theme from the 1960s TV Show
Star Trek’s opening theme tells you everything you need to
know about the show and its story arc, i.e. the “What”

4. +
=
Marketing Strategy begins with the “What”.... What is your
Purpose?
Companies that have the world’s greatest brands or services also have inspirational
Purposes that drive everything the organization does no matter the function or level
Images Source: Google Search
Starting Point for Marketing Strategy
What is your Purpose?
Where do you Compete?
You Plan to Compete
How to Put Plan into
Action
+
+
Star Trek can help you
understand the “What?” of
marketing strategy. How a
well defined Purpose can
drive everything an
organization seeks to
accomplish.

5. Your Purpose should be inspirational enough to drive your
marketing strategy and all the actions of your organization,
no matter the level or function
A well written Purpose...
1. Ensures that an organization will not become myopic or too narrowly focused (we sell carbonated soft
drinks vs we sell “liquid refreshment”)
2. Ensures that an organization will continually look at the big picture and constantly innovate its products, its
business and its operating model (if we sell “liquid refreshment” then why aren’t we selling... ?)
Starting Point for Marketing Strategy
Starship Enterprise
To explore strange new worlds
To seek out new life and new civilizations
To boldly go where no one has gone before
To refresh the world
To make people happy
To organize the world’s information and
make it universally accessible
Image Source: Google Search

6. +
Star Trek’s opening theme is so well written that it also
answers “Where do you Compete?”
After you define your Purpose, you then define things like... Where you are going to
compete? Which consumers to target? Markets or geographies? Channels?
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Next Point in Marketing Strategy: Where do you Compete?
What is your Purpose?
Where do you Compete?
You Plan to Compete
How to Put Plan into
Action
+
+
“Space, the final frontier”
Any other realm, e.g. on
Earth, at Sea is out of
scope for the Enterprise.

7. Now that you’ve determined the What and the Where you
can begin to define the Who... your Competition
BONUS Point in Marketing Strategy: Who is your Competition?
Other
Starships in
Federation
Other Species
from around the
galaxy with
space programs
Starship
Enterprise
Non-military space
programs (commerce,
academia, etc)

8. Star Trek’s opening theme serves as a great start to a well
written marketing strategy
• It answers three main questions associated with marketing strategy, e.g. The
What, the Where and the Who
• It also provides the time frame for measuring success (5 Year Mission)
• Once these things are defined everything else (your plan to execute, how you
execute, who you hire to execute) becomes clear and easier to articulate
Conclusion
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9. “If you can’t take a little bloody nose,
maybe you oughtta go back home and
crawl under your bed. It’s not safe out
here. It’s wondrous, with treasures to
satiate desires both subtle and gross;
but it’s not for the timid”
--- Q
9 Source: Star Trek the Next generation

10. Picard is the best Star Trek captain...
The Enterprise would beat any ship
from Star Wars, but...
... a Sith Lord, like Vader, could just
Force Choke the Enterprise’s crew
10 Source: Eternal debates that rage between Trekkies and Star Wars Nerds
And just to lay these questions to rest...

11. 11
Thank You
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12. 12
About the Author – Dexter King
Education:
• BA, Economics, University of Virginia
• MBA, The Fuqua School at Duke University
Experience:
• Brand Marketing and Management: Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, LVMH
and Diageo
• Marketing and Growth Strategy: McKinsey and Company
The Fun Stuff I Love:
• Photography, Cinema, Food (Bacon Cheeseburger Enthusiast)
Contact
• E: dexterking@gmail.com