# Playing to Win by A.G. Lafley & Roger L. Martin - Blinkist

What’s in it for me? Unlock the strategic secrets behind Olay's stunning turnaround and apply them to your own business success story.

Have you ever wondered how a seventy-year-old brand can reinvent itself and surge back to market leadership? Well, it isn't just through clever marketing; it's about strategic prowess intertwined with clever decision-making and positioning in a dynamic marketplace. 

To explain exactly how it’s done, in this miniBlink we’d like to focus on one key concept of the book Playing to Win – the captivating story of Olay's decline and resurgence, showcasing the indispensable nature of strategic thinking in the world of business.

The decline and reinvention of Olay

In the twilight of the 1990s, Olay found itself in trouble. Annual sales had plummeted below the $800 million mark. Once a cherished skin care brand, Olay had now garnered an unenviable moniker – "Oil of Old Lady". This derogatory label encapsulated the brand's image in the market: outdated and disconnected. The iconic pink cream, housed in unremarkable plastic bottles and priced at $3.99, simply failed to evoke the allure it once did.

Procter & Gamble – often known simply as P&G – stood at a crossroads. For a company aiming to dominate the beauty sector, having flagship brands in both skin care and hair care was non-negotiable. Their skin care segment, with Olay as its torchbearer, was now their Achilles' heel. The dilemma? Should they keep Olay as it was; initiate a new brand; acquire an existing brand; introduce their makeup brand Cover Girl to the skincare sector; or breathe fresh life into Olay by pushing it into a novel segment?

P&G chose the path of reinvention. The word "Oil" was jettisoned from its name. The brand itself was overhauled, together with its business model, packaging, and the essence of its value proposition. Their vision was clear: ascend to market leadership in North America, skyrocket sales to the $1 billion mark, establish a global footprint, and carve out a niche middle ground between mass and prestige – a newly-titled masstige segment.

The brand's focus narrowed down to women aged 35 and above who were noticing their first wrinkles. These were women willing to splurge for quality and remain loyal once their trust was secured. In 1999 Olay launched Total Effects, a product which was a fusion of enriched ingredients and insights, vowing to combat not just wrinkles but multiple aging signs. Gone was the $3.99 price tag. The new Olay, which blended the qualities of prestige products, was presented in mass retail stores at an elevated $18.99. This strategic pricing, coupled with revamped branding and packaging, effectively reshaped its value proposition.

Enlisting the expertise of innovators for top-notch ingredients, collaborating with designers, and teaming up with advertisers, Olay fortified its capabilities. The results post-2000 were nothing short of spectacular. For ten years, Olay basked in double-digit growth, blossoming into a $2.5 billion brand with enviable margins, marking its transformation from a faltering entity to a formidable force in skincare.

Olay's impressive turnaround underscored a critical aspect of business: the power of a well-defined strategy. But what exactly constitutes a strategy? Let's delve into that next.

The five questions for a solid strategy

Looking at Olay's phenomenal comeback, you’re probably wondering what underpins this kind of transformation. Well, it’s all about strategy. At its core, strategizing involves making choices that will make you achieve your goal. But to merely state that would be an oversimplification. So, let's deconstruct it.

There are five key questions to consider when it comes to strategy:

First, ask yourself, "What's my winning aspiration?" Think of it as painting a picture of the future, where all your dreams for your project or business come true.

Next, ask, "Where will I play?" It's about picking your battles. You're pinpointing the exact segments, categories, even the specific geographies you want to make your mark in.

Once you've chosen your playground, ask, "How will I win?" That's your game plan, your secret sauce for outshining the competition in those chosen areas.

Of course, having a game plan is one thing, but you also need the right tools and skills. That brings us to, "What capabilities must be in place?" You're listing out all the activities and resources you'll need to pull off your strategy.

Lastly, it's about getting everyone on the same page. Ask yourself, "What management systems are required?" This ensures that everyone in the team, from top to bottom, aligns with your grand vision.

Strategy is all about confidently answering these questions and charting a path forward. Each answer builds on the other, guiding you step by step toward your vision of success.

Visualize these choices as a cascading waterfall, each stream feeding into the next. For brands like Olay, these choices interlock seamlessly with those made at broader levels, such as category and company. Their strategic decisions dovetailed perfectly with P&G's overarching capabilities and objectives. This coherence is essential, for choices at one level can deeply influence, or be influenced by, choices at another.

Strategy isn't a linear, one-off undertaking. It's fluid, an iterative dance, with insights continually shuttling between various choices, refining and reshaping them. And while the allure of finding that one "perfect strategy" might be strong, it's a mirage. The landscape of business is diverse, and what works for one might not for another. The crux is to carve out choices that are distinct, choices that resonate with your unique narrative and strengths.

In essence, strategy is the art of making informed, deliberate decisions to navigate the future — a future where aspirations become reality. Like Olay, the right strategy can elevate a brand from the depths of obscurity to the pinnacle of success. Harness these strategic choices to unleash unprecedented innovation.

Final summary

Successful strategizing means making deliberate, informed choices. Through Olay's remarkable transformation, you've seen how understanding and answering core strategic questions can take a brand from the brink of obsolescence to market leadership. Crafting a distinct, informed path, like Olay did, not only rejuvenates a brand but sets it on a trajectory toward long-lasting success and innovation. Embrace the power of strategy and chart your own course to triumph.