If you look for the inventor of the idea of a plan B, the declared goal is to minimize risks or to eliminate the problem. At the same time, plan B means twice as much work, twice as much time and therefore twice as much money.
But let’s first try to incorporate a plan B into our considerations here and now in advertising. What would it be like? Does plan B also have to be approved of in advance as a plan B? Do certain conditions have to be met when plan A comes into play and at what point is plan B taken out of the drawer?
No, we do not have a plan B, neither is it a good idea, either financially or in terms of time spent. We don’t think developing such a plan would be a great idea. If the launch of a new product has failed, as 98% of all new launches do, it’s usually not the fault of the advertising, but of the intrinsic value of the product or its quality. Following up a second time with a plan B probably wouldn’t work either. Avoid submitting a plan B that your management, your sales force, your marketing team because then you might succumb to the temptation of making a plan C out of A + B – and that would then most certainly not work.
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