We are 9dotz... a small, San Francisco based group of marketers who started a unique brand strategy firm based on the following beliefs: 1 - the future of marketing is not about how we reach people but why they should reach for us 2 - the ability to interrupt people with messages are less and less available or acceptable 3 - we must earn people's attention by intersecting with their interests 4 - attraction will always trump promotion 5 - marketing can change the world if we tell the right stories... so long as the stories are true These pages explain who we are, what we believe and the work we do. We hope you join us. We invite you to debate us. www.9dotz.com

2. companycontent customers
traditionally… companies were gatekeepers between
content and customers

3. targeting
companycontent customer
…positioning was built by targeted ads meant to buy a
place in people’s minds

4. click to
watch
click to play
…brands interrupted content with aspirational messages

5. today, the focus has shifted from HOW you reach people,
to WHY they should reach for you

6. company
culture
customer
…companies must earn a place in people’s hearts by
intersecting their interests with those of their customers’

7. click to play
…some brands have rightly pivoted from aspiration to
inspiration & from push to pull

8. from targeting to triangulating…

9. !
!
!
SHARED VALUE
in order to identify
opportunities…
…we must find where
business and human
interests intersect
human interests
- physiology
- safety
- love/belonging
- esteem
- self-actualization
macro forces
- globalization
- technology revolution
- shifting balance of power
- economic sustainability
- environmental sustainability
- revolution in healthcare
!
!
business interests
- growth
- profitability
- productivity

10. HOTSPOTS
we call these places
HotSpotsTM
human interests
- physiology
- safety
- love/belonging
- esteem
- self-actualization
macro forces
- globalization
- technology revolution
- shifting balance of power
- economic sustainability
- environmental sustainability
- revolution in healthcare
!
!
business interests
- growth
- profitability
- productivity

11. …and the goal is to find your HotSpotsTM
…
NICEVICE
ME&WE
ECONOISSEURSHIP
MILLENNIALSRISING
FREAKS&GEEKS

12. platform
strategies
tactics
What could a brand stand for?
How could that platform interact
with customers?
How does that intersect with the
cultural landscape?
story idea
…then tell a multi-dimensional story
1D
2D
3D
narrativeWhy would anyone care?HD

13. the right brand story can...
rationalize a purchase inspire advocacybreak a tie
CHARGING COMPLETE

14. the best stories begin with a question

15. from: how can we convince
everyone to be more active
using our gear?
worked with
Nike management to
better understand
generational differences
that led to a positioning shift
away FROM personal
performance TO
performance with
purpose
to: why would people join us
to make the world a better
place through sport?

16. to: why should people join a
revolution to make real, healthy
food accessible to all?
worked
with Revolution
Foods to elevate their
mission FROM a food
service operator selling
healthy school lunches TO a
movement that provides
healthy food to families
everywhere
from: how can we convince
schools to pay more to serve
healthier food to their students?

17. to: why should Millennials see Intel
as the key to connecting them with
the world and one another?
worked with Intel to shift
their frame of reference
FROM chips inside
technology TO capabilities
inside people
from: how can we get people
to purchase technology with
Intel processors?

18. to: why would 2 million people per
day be proud to choose 7-11 coffee
over Dunkin' Donuts or Starbucks?
worked with 7-11
leadership to position
their coffee business
away FROM generic coffee
anyway you take it TO
creating a community
around a shared love
of coffee
from: how do we sell more
coffee at 7-11 versus Dunkin’
Donuts and Starbucks?

19. about us

20. HAN DELIN
• 25 years of experience building big brands has taught me one thing
- today the people doing it right often have little experience...and
even less money.
PATRICK O’GRADY
• Having worked in the UK, Hong Kong, Mauritius and Australia, I see
more similarities than differences among people.
BRETT DENUO
• Despite my Boomer tendencies (my Sunday Funday includes
newspapers, slippers and a cup of tea), I am a Millennial at heart
and I have the student loan debt to prove it.

21. thank you