Project Kickoff

The project kickoff is usually the first-step in consulting engagements and is useful for both assessing the market and informing subsequent project steps. Here are typical Step One project components:

Goal

To gain insight into management’s vision for the business and brand, identify competitive dynamics, and lay the foundation for subsequent project steps.

Major Activities

Kickoff the project including client-delivered overview of the business and brand
Review existing research, business plans and strategy documents, as available
Conduct management interviews to address hypotheses, opportunities and challenges
Profile competitors to determine their brand positionings and strategic intent
Identity highest potential customer segments (e.g., demographically, behaviorally, attitudinally) for subsequent research
Obtain proprietary customer insights through primary research

Key Deliverables

Project kick-off materials, including marketing, innovation and brand strategy perspectives
Internal hypotheses, questions, opportunities and challenges to guide subsequent project steps

Key outputs of this step are used as an input into initial strategic visioning step.