I am a public relations student. Today, as I sat in my campaigns class trying not to die of coughing, I listened to my professor talk about his favorite analogy of late: football, in reference to campaign strategy.

I was challenged by my PR prof. to do this over twitter. Here’s the convo that spawned this.

theatwookie: @tseltzer is talking about how football meets PR for campaign strat. Can we talk about shopping instead? *chuckle*

tseltzer: @theatwookie you are more than welcome to suggest another analogy…

theatwookie:
  @tseltzer to continue with shopping … there are many diff. strats used by diff. ppl. Some are very focused, some focused but open …

theatwookie:
  @tseltzer and they represent not only your own personality/habits, but also the best way to rep the client. Some need focused, some don’t

tseltzer: @theatwookie be sure to phrase your answer in the form of goals/objectives/strategies/tactics. Bonus points if objectives are measurable.

theatwookie:
   
      @tseltzer watch my blog rss today. I think I may post about the analogy between PR campaign strat and shopping strat. Luckily both = fun

The basic step is goal, strategy, objective and tactic (in that order, generally).

Rough paraphrase, ‘Campaign planning is like observing different football teams play. They all have a major strategy to achieve a goal: to score points. Further, they all have a playbook with different plays to accomplish the shorter-term goal which is to move the ball on the field, measurable bites which would compare to planning objectives for a campaign. Within each play, certain things are done which make plays unique - these would be tactics. The lowest level, but without them, the upper echelons can’t be built."

Me, being who I am, immediately skipped past football, and took my brain shopping. It needs (well, wants) new things. Things Nina Garcia would be proud of. Things that are fierce.

So can campaign planning be compared to shopping? I think so, but on a more broad scale.

Most people shop with an overall goal. Buy jeans. Find pumps to match dress. Buy killer cologne to make everybody you see swoon. Explore and see "what’s hot right now."

Furthermore, everybody has their own shopping style. Some people go
straight for the gold. They want jeans, that’s all they look at. They
try on 3 pairs, and bam: purchase. Others go through and examine every pair of blue jeans. Others find a pair of jeans and then decide they need new shoes, and a hot shirt to go with it. Some are more exploratory (it’s on a continuum, but they’re all different styles, some more effective for a person than others).

Now that you have a goal of "I want jeans." Your mind creates a measurable objective for success (utility or happiness, if you ask John Stewart Mill) — I want blue jeans in a 36×29 in a medium wash with a few "fashion-created worn spots". Another example to go for the shoes. "Okay, my dress is red. Therefore I need shoes, definitely pumps, not taller than 4", and preferably red." You examine all the shoes that meet the criteria for happiness (creating a quantitative measure from a qualitative thought, not perfect, but doable).

Your shopping strategy involves what you plan to do to achieve your objective (e.g. where and how are you going to shop?)

Now we examine shopping tactics. Do you use eBay, Overstock or Bluefly? Maybe you drive to the nearest Buffalo Exchange and look for something hot and designer on sale. Perhaps you’re super ritzy and drive straight to Neiman Marcus and splurge on an $1800 pair of shoes or a $5000 sun dress. Everybody has places where they know they can get things to achieve their objectives through their shopping strategies, in order to achieve their goals. I love GAP. Their jeans fit me. They make me look pretty good, all things considered. My friend Clara can’t shop at GAP. Their jeans are too short, which don’t fulfill one of her objectives for jeans.

Okay, now I’ll post an example. It’ll be akin to me and my shopping strategy, which is generally exploratory.

I decide I want to go shopping. Generally for shirts — they’re affordable, and can create somewhat dramatic effects.

Goal: Buy 2 collared, long sleeve shirts appropriate for clubbing, dinner or meetings.
Objective: Shirt has to be a Spring/Summer color, 17" neck, 15/16" sleeves, and preferably by Van Heusen.
Strategy: Exploratory to a point. I know I want the shirt, but if I see a tie tack, or a tie for that matter, I’ll probably pick those up too, especially if there’s a sale.
Tactics: I’ll start at my usual: Macy’s. Their shirts are always on sale, have a great selection, and they’ve also got a great selection of ties. Their staff is knowledgeable and friendly most of the time, and I can also save 10% by signing up for a charge card. If that fails, I’ll move onto Penny’s. Maybe slip into the GAP to see if anything catches my eye, but their stuff is probably too casual for what I’m looking for. Eventually I’ll find it — the mother load: the shirt. With its accessories.

You know what? By exercising my shopping tactics in conjunction with my purchase objectives, I’ve completed a shopping strategy which achieve my goal of buying a new shirt.

Shopping is to football, as campaign planning is to campaign planning (I know it’s awful, I’m sick and tired) for the win!