The core. The announcement. The idea.

When marketing multiple products, programs, and solutions I always like to follow a proven pattern.  The marketing of three key elements in effective proportion and adequate progression. These three elements are as follows:

The core:  These are your established products, programs, services and/or solutions.

The announcement(s):  These are your new products that complement/supplement your current core. 

The idea:  This is a glimpse into the future, a concept, prototype, or rhetorical question. (wouldn't it be nice if you had x?)

An effective proportion of these elements within a marketing plan (or at a tradeshow, for example) would be 50% core, 30% announcement, and 20% idea. Over a quarter or a year's time, the idea will become the announcement and the announcement will become the core - your core products, programs, services and solutions then grow the foundation of your company's offering(s) and/or marketing plan. Truly growing the core.

When you are building an integrating marketing plan please pay attention to these key elements, the effective proportion, and tell the whole story in a smooth progression - the core offering - the latest offerings (announcements) - the future (the idea). Be consistent. Be patient.

This allows you to play both offense (the idea) and defense (the core) with your competition - while still launching new products, programs, solutions and services (the announcement) to your current prospect and customer base.

I hope that you do find these 22 blog posts helpful, I will have a new one tomorrow, and it just might compare a popular 80's cartoon to modern day business. 

Core, announcement, idea.