Philip Kotler, Fernando de Bes: "Lateral marketing. The technology of searching for revolutionary ideas "

In the modern world, marketing is incredibleabsolutely important in all spheres of life and activity. Competition in any market is very high, so every entrepreneur has to think about how to present his goods, so that he was in demand. Now you can not just come up with something, put it on the market and enjoy high sales. It is necessary to fight for the market, and it is not so easy to do this. However, interesting is the fact that most people use vertical marketing, which operates within the same market, one target audience. In this article, we will talk about lateral marketing, which is the complete opposite of vertical marketing. Naturally, it will also be told about the book of one of the most famous in the world of marketing experts Philip Kotler, who wrote in detail about how the marketing specialist should act if he wants to competently promote the product. Lateral marketing is a great way to promote a product or service, which, however, requires a high level of creative thinking.

What it is?

The first thing people want to know about is what is it?lateral marketing. If you take this term in general, then it can be defined as a system of methods of promotion, which are aimed at effective struggle against competition. Strictly speaking, the essence of this approach is thinking beyond the scope, looking at the problem from an entirely different angle, in order to understand exactly how to advertise a product or service in order to be different from competitors. The methods that are used in this type of marketing, in most cases are not just unconventional, but even unique. That's why not every marketer is able to just abandon vertical marketing and move on to the lateral one. However, if you want to be ahead of everyone and succeed, you will have to leave the comfort zone and make every effort. Be sure that lateral marketing is something that is worth wasting your time and energy.

Origin of the concept

Marketing and advertising are areas of activity in whichwhich need creative thinking. However, it can have very different levels, that's why there are different types of marketing. If we talk about lateral marketing, then it's worth starting directly with the term itself. What it is? How did this concept come about? As is well known, lateral is a word that has its roots in Latin. Latus in Latin means "side" - respectively, lateral - it's lateral. But what is the relationship with the type of marketing? The fact is that this type of marketing is based on lateral thinking, that is, non-standard and creative approach. Accordingly, the sphere itself is much more creative even in such a creative industry as marketing.

Classic approach

Of course, the definition of the concept has an important role,However, it will not be enough to understand the depth of this approach. Marketing and advertising are an integral part of the production of any product or the provision of any service. Without them, no one will know about your activities. Accordingly, the essence of marketing is the promotion of goods and services to the market, so that more people will recognize them and, accordingly, more and more people would like to purchase a product or service. Vertical marketing operates on the principle of segmentation: for a product, a specific market with a specific target audience is selected, then it is segmented according to the appropriate principle, and each segment has its own line of activity. This is a classic approach to marketing - and it is also rather limited, as it establishes a clear framework, the limits of where one can conduct business.

A New Look

Lateral marketing, in turn, offerslook at the situation from a different angle: do not limit the activities of a specific market segmented, but act in different directions, connecting creative thinking. The purpose of such marketing is to provide goods or services in a new context through an unusual sales method, original communication with the target audience, identifying the demand that can not be taken into account when using the vertical approach.

The Book of Kotler

Philip Kotler is one of the most famous andsuccessful marketers of our time. His highest achievement is the book "Fundamentals of Marketing", which in the advertising field is considered to be a real Bibilee. However, this is by no means the only book that this specialist wrote - the subject of this article is more suited to another work - "Lateral Marketing: The Technology of Searching for Revolutionary Ideas." It is in this book that this approach to advertising activity is described in detail - what it is, and most importantly - what it takes to use it. Moreover, the second topic is given even more attention - the book tells about creative thinking in marketing, about non-traditional approaches and creative views. If you want to become an excellent marketer, then this book is mandatory for acquaintance. Yes, "Basics of Marketing" is the Bible of a marketer, but times change very quickly, so it's important to keep your hand on the pulse. And Kotler's "Lateral Marketing" is one of the latest and most relevant books on this topic.

The first block

Philip Kotler divided the book into three thematicblock. Each of them will be described in the article separately. It should also be noted that this book is written in co-authorship with another less known marketer - Fernando Trias de Bes helped Kotler while writing, but in many cases he is not even mentioned as a co-author. So, the first block is a kind of introduction that tells how the modern world has changed and what impact this has on marketing. Within the framework of these observations, the traditional vertical model appears to be ineffective in modern conditions. The author criticizes those marketers who propose to continue to use only vertical marketing, wage marketing wars and deal exclusively with positioning.

The second block

The second block represents the lateral worldmarketing - the book is literally filled with "case studies", that is, practical examples of various life situations. In this case, these situations are related to the sphere of marketing and can not be solved by the traditional approach. However, the author demonstrates how simply they can be solved by using an unconventional approach, which he himself calls lateral marketing. Kotler sees lateral marketing not as an independent movement, but as an addition to traditional vertical marketing - a new direction should allow eliminating all the shortcomings that the vertical approach has in its modern form.

The third block

The third block is the most interesting forprofessional marketers, since in it Kotler demonstrates exactly how it is necessary to introduce lateral marketing into modern advertising activities. It is here that describes the creative, creative approach, as well as its combination with traditional vertical methods of advertising.

So how does it work?

How does lateral marketing work? If you do not delve into all the creative complexities of this approach, you can just provide a few examples of its use, which are extremely simple and understandable for everyone. For example, you can take energy drinks Red Bull - they were the first in the market, but then the emphasis was not made on the fact that they are energy. They were sold as ordinary drinks, and in a full-fledged market competition was incredibly high - standard methods to promote the product was impossible. Therefore, the manufacturers decided not to try to conquer the market on which such giants as Coca-Cola and Pepsi reigned - they simply created their new market of energy drinks that restore energy, attracting several types of target audience - from those who need not to sleep all night , to athletes who need to quickly restore energy. Another example is aspirin from Bayer. As a means to relieve the pain, this product was no different from dozens of others, so the competition was high. Then the company's marketers armed with scientific research, which showed that aspirin can reduce the likelihood of a heart attack, and began to promote their product in a completely different direction.