287: Bringing Learning to Life with Author Kimberly Whitler

Marketing Today with Alan Hart

Kimberly Whitler is the Frank M Sans Senior Associate Professor of Business Administration at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia.

In this episode, Alan and Kim talk about the release of her new book Positioning for Advantage, which has been ranked number one in product management on Amazon. They also discuss what positioning is and what value marketers have to a business. Kim's opinion is to keep it simple. She says, “I think a lot of marketing is about making the choices that put you in the best position to win. A big part of that is you have to execute effectively, and complication often is the enemy of being able to implement.”

Later in the episode, they also discuss influencers and how they can positively impact a business. Kim also shares her opinion on purpose and whether purpose may or may not be something your brand should be focused on.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How to bring learning to real-life situations
• Creating a sustainable advantage for your organization
• How influencers can be a key element to a marketing plan

Key Highlights:

• [01:34] Kim's worst job ever
• [03:05] From marketing practitioner to academia
• [06:14] Why Kim wrote a book
• [11:13] What do marketers contribute to firm performance?
• [13:12] Creating a sustainable advantage
• [15:11] Forcing marketing choices
• [20:28] How Kim thinks about influencers
• [25:11] Weaponizing word of mouth
• [30:50] An experience that defines Kim, makes who she is today
• [33:40] Kim's advice to her younger self
• [35:14] The brands and organizations Kim follows
• [38:34] The biggest threat and opportunity for marketers today

Resources Mentioned:

• Kimberly Whitler
• Positioning for Advantage: Techniques and Strategies to Grow Brand Value (book)
• Kim's last episode on Marketing Today
• Steve Momper, Darden Publishing
• Halftime (book)
• Stephen Hawking, Wang Junkai and Tencent example
• HBR Article: What Western Marketers Can Learn from China
• OatsOvernight Subscriber Program

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