The marketing landscape is littered with more content producers fighting for customers than Westeros has pretenders to the Iron Throne.

1. Game of
Differentiation
How marketers must fight to be different and emerge victorious

2. Game of
Differentiation
It’s a matter of life and death
The clans are assembling, the banners are unfurled, there’s
menace in the air and a chill on the wind. The ultimate
clash is close at hand. Who will emerge victorious?
As the ongoing battle for customer acquisition and
retention rages on, we compare the runners and riders.
In marketing, as in war, it’s all about differentiation.

3. What is differentiation?
In this cutthroat era, marketeers must mark themselves as
different. You need to prove your competitive edge and
you need to create compelling content that stands out.
And that’s not all. You need to be sophisticated enough to
differentiate by channel and audience, while avoiding the
hurdles and pitfalls on the way.
In short, you need to be a Differentiation Champion.
Read on to learn how...

4. Battle Plan
Onward!
In this slideshare we’ll inspect the
armies and assess the tactics of:
• Differentiation by channel
• Differentiation by audience
• Hurdles and obstacles
• Data: the ultimate weapon

5. Differentiation
By channel
He may not yet have mastered
a smile, but Jon Snow is a dab
hand at battle strategy.
The expert warrior uses different
tactics and strategies to win
victories on different terrains.
Jon Snow
Just like Jon, marketeers need to tailor their
approach in different situations to maximise success.

6. Why differentiate
content by channel?
• Every channel has its strengths
and your content should be
tailored to play to these
• Fun, entertaining content is more
suited to social media channels
• Higher level research and
insights lend themselves better
to email marketing

7. What say your adversaries?
We asked 172 B2B marketers why they
differentiate content by channel or audience:
71% 49%70% 41%
said To provide an
improved customer
experience
said To provide
greater differentiation
from the competition
said To attract
more customers
said To increase
customer loyalty

8. Just like Cersei, marketeers must deal with different
audiences in different ways to win them over.
Differentiation
By Audience
The Lannisters, led by Cersei, are the ultimate
power brokers because they understand people.
From crafty alliance to surprise attack to open
warfare, Cersei is a master manipulator, shifting
her approach to conquer every adversary.
Cersei Lannister

9. Why differentiate
content by audience?
• To deliver a better customer
experience by offering only
relevant content
• To attract and retain more
customers by giving them
what they want

10. What say your adversaries?
We talked to 172 B2B marketers about
differentiation by audience...
83%
77% 49%50% 41% 28%
tailor their
content by
audience
Industry LocationContent
consumption
Seniority Device
83%

11. Calculating the
Differentiation
All this fighting for
customers (and kingdoms)
doesn’t come cheap. You
need to know you’re getting
good results for your gold.
The Iron Bank
Just like the meticulous Iron Bank that funds
the clans of Westeros, marketeers must measure
and evaluate to optimise outcomes.

12. What say your adversaries?
We talked to 172 B2B marketers about how
they measure their differentiation efforts...
77% 42%62% 36% 30%
New lead
generation/
pipeline
New
customer
acquisition
New sales Customer
retention
Contribution
to profitability

13. The road to the Iron Throne is littered with
the remains of those who didn’t make it.
Marketeers are coming up against their own hurdles
and obstacles on the path to differentiation success.
Hurdles & Obstacles

14. We asked 172 B2B marketers about the
challenges they face when trying to differentiate
Hurdles & Obstacles
Read on and learn from their unfortunate fates...

15. 69%69%
Just like the Greyjoys, 69% of B2B
marketeers said they just didn’t
have enough time to plan their
content differentiation strategy.
Lack Of
Time To Plan
Plucky Yara and tragic Theon were
caught unawares on the high seas,
losing an entire fleet to their dastardly
uncle in a surprise attack.
With no forward plan and no strategy,
for now they’re out of the game.
The Greyjoys

16. Lack Of
Creativity
Cast your mind way back to the beginning.
Mama and Papa Stark always played it safe.
They were solid, dependable and dutiful.
And look what happened to them.
Outmanouevred by cunning and creative enemies,
they soon shuffled off this mortal coil, leaving
their more dynamic children to pick up the baton.
Ned Stark
Just like Ned and Catelyn, 41% of B2B
marketeers feel lack of business buy-in
to be brave and creative is holding
back their differentiation ambitions.
41%41%

17. Inability to create
thought leadership
Stannis was desperate to lead, but
through a series of rash actions
lost support, alienated his allies
and was deserted by half his army.
By the time of his final execution
at the hands of Brienne, he was
already a dead man walking.
Stannis Baratheon
52%52%
Just like Stannis, 52% of B2B marketeers
say their inability to create thought
leadership means they are failing to
win at differentiation.

18. Lack Of Consistency
While the armies of Westeros scrabble for supremacy, a
far greater threat marches from North of the Wall.
The zombie army of White Walkers threatens to put an
end to everyone’s ambitions.
The White Walkers
In the fight for differentiation, the failure of
consistency is a looming shadow that risks
undermining everyone’s content efforts...

19. What are the consequences in store from
a lack of consistency in differentiation?
Here’s what 172 B2B marketeers had to say:
71%
52%
58%
45%
56%
20%
it Presents a confusing
message to customers
and prospects
it Causes
damage to brand
it Weakens the message
presented to customers
and prospects
it Damages
customer trust
it Fails to differentiate
our brand in the
marketplace
it Damages
customer loyalty

20. Data is the
Ultimate Champion
Dragons now darken the skies above
Westeros, wielded by a woman determined
to become ruler of the Seven Kingdoms.
The ultimate game changer, these
fearsome beasts have the power to end
the cycle of infighting once and for all,
bringing victory for their champion.
DaenerysTargaryen
Just like Daenerys, marketeers
now have a formidable weapon
in their arsenal: data

21. In other words, unleash
the data dragons to win
the differentiation war!
44%
83%
31%
of B2B marketers
say lack of insight or
data is holding them
back from the goal of
differentiation
find it difficult to
access data, and
say it’s very
difficult
of marketers are
collecting data but
are not using it to
influence differentiation
Marketeers:
unleash your data dragon!
34%
6%
Data gives you the
power to target and
differentiate your
content to optimise
engagement, results and
return on investment.

22. Game of
Differentiation
How to win the
The golden rules to be passed down to posterity...
Differentiate by
channel.
Select a few channels
and differentiate your
content to deliver
a great customer
experience on all of
them.
Differentiate by
audience.
Segment your audience
and tailor content
according to important
factors like buying stage
and persona.
Measure and
evaluate.
Assess and optimise
your differentiation
offers by tracking
key factors like
leads generated and
customers acquired.
Avoid the hurdles
and pitfalls.
Give yourself time to
plan, establish thought
leadership and get
creative.
Unleash the data
dragons!
Data and customer
insight is your secret
weapon in the game of
differentiation. Use it to
emerge victorious.

23. Ready to conquer Westeros
and the rest of the world?
First, be different.
Our webinar Dare to be Different turns
marketing differentiation theory
in hands-on, how-to advice to make
you stand out from the crowd.
JOIN US AND TAKE YOUR
VERY OWN IRON THRONE