From Strategy to Snacking: What I Learned About Modern Marketing

Strategy Isn't Just Planning - It's Everyday Thinking

One of the most powerful lessons came from a Harvard Business Review article that emphasized strategic thinking as a daily practice, not just an annual planning event. Strategic thinking is essential in how we:

• Make decisions
• Align with teams
• Communicate purposefully
• Measure and adapt

What stood out most was the emphasis on storytelling and visual thinking—tools that help turn abstract ideas into clear, compelling messages that stick.

Additionally, the article highlighted the value of working within shared frameworks like OKRs (Objectives & Key Results) and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to ensure alignment across teams.

The Power of Asking the Right Questions

The article introduced five essential types of strategic questions that I now see as a toolkit for uncovering opportunity:

• Investigative (What’s happening?)
• Speculative (What might happen?)
• Productive (What can we do?)
• Interpretive (What does it mean?)
• Subjective (What do we feel/think?)

These provide a well-rounded lens for smarter analysis and better decision-making.

My 5-Step Strategic Thinking Process

Based on these insights, I’ve developed a personal framework for approaching marketing strategy:

1. Start with Strategic Awareness Understand the objective and the context—internally and externally.
2. Gather Insight by Asking Smarter Questions Use the five-question model to identify trends and pain points.
3. Integrate Strategy into Action Prioritize tasks that create real impact and communicate them clearly.
4. Evaluate Outcomes Use KPIs to track what’s working and what isn’t.
5. Reflect and Improve Learn, adapt, and refine your approach with each cycle.

Snacking Reimagined: A Consumer-Driven Shift

The SPINS article on the “Evolution of Snacking” added a valuable, real-world application to these strategic concepts.

Snack consumption is becoming more intentional and health-driven than ever.

Key stats and trends:

• 56% of Americans now replace meals with snacks.
• Consumers want snacks that are nutritious, functional, and flavorful.
• There’s explosive growth in minimally processed snacks, such as:

Innovation is also being shaped by texture and global flavor profiles, from creamy-crunchy combos to bold spice infusions.

From Insight to Action: Group Findings

During our in-class activity exploring the future of snacking, our group synthesized the following:

3 Key Insights:

• Health-conscious snacking is now a top priority.
• Consumers are looking for filling, meal-like snacks.
• Flavor and texture preferences are shifting toward global influences.

2 Strategic Implications:

• Brands should focus on healthier, functional, and satisfying snack solutions.
• Creative flavor innovation is essential to stand out in a competitive market.

2 Practical Applications:

• Develop snack lines with clean labels and whole ingredients.
• Integrate international spices, textures, and formats for uniqueness and excitement.

Final Thoughts: Strategy is a Living Process

This experience reaffirmed for me that strategy isn’t static.

It’s a continuous cycle of learning, testing, evaluating, and improving. Whether we’re launching a product or aligning a marketing team, the best results come from:

• Staying close to consumer behavior
• Asking better questions
• Aligning teams with clear goals and metrics
• Taking action with purpose and flexibility