"Excuse me, West Elm...your strategy is showing"

It happens to even the best brands. A research study is conducted, a promising strategy is developed by someone like myself, and then... some not-so-great Creatives translate this into cumbersome, literal manifestations of the very learnings that were meant to create more relevance among the intended target. Maybe I'm a bit more sensitive to this phenomenon being a strategist and all, but West Elm has taken this common marketing blunder to new heights with its new catalog (June '09).

Let me guess... did they just complete a segmentation study that resulted in three promising new targets - the Adventure Seeker, the Prepster and the Design Enthusiast? How'd I guess.

The amazing thing is these "profiles" are too forced even within a strategy context. Masooda? Who is named 'Masooda'? Is anyone truly supposed to relate with this fictitious person? Would a marketing person, or more importantly, a Creative relate with this person? Would they understand how this person represents a significant portion of the West Elm customer base? No. And how about our friend Jimmy, the cool surfer guy who strangely does everything except water sports. (In a single day.) And has wet hair. All the time. And pukka shells. Really? I'm not even going to go into our "prepster" wearing twelve polo shirts, all with the collars pointing to the sky. I just want to beat him up and I'm not a violent person.

There is a bit of irony here given this is West Elm. They are a brand that struggles with delivering the "substance" that their "style" promises. From a positioning perspective they seem to be stuck squarely in between Ikea and DWR. But for those of you who have shopped there you know the quality is far too close to Ikea and the prices dangerously encroaching on DWR's premium territory. Which all equates to a questionable value equation.

Strategy and research is very helpful, but use it for good not evil. The purpose of good strategy is as a means to an end. It should inspire great ideas that are related but removed from the strategy itself. No one will believe that Jimmy loves crashing on the couch with his girlfriend after paragliding with a snowboard and his bike just following a mad skydiving session. And more importantly, no one cares. If it's a lifestyle they are trying to portray find a less literal "story-based" way of telling it through the product presentations themselves. This is a catalog, after all. For buying stuff, not for displaying your latest research results.