"As the success of an array of forward looking marketing organizations suggests, the defining element of competitive differentiation is now strategic and systematic learning," contend Julie Baker, Ken Demma and Niall Budds from the marketing consulting firm Quaero.

The piece argues that strategic learning "is beginning to attain much greater prominence as the advantages associated with brand and product become less enduring. If Marketing is to strengthen its credibility and even elevate its strategic value within the enterprise, then it must play a central role in the enablement and acceleration of organizational learning."

The authors go on to support the concept of a "Learning Agenda" as part of a forward-looking marketing strategy and investment portfolio. "When we invest intelligently, we develop an agenda of marketing objectives and priorities that reflect the wider business objectives of our companies. The open (and ugly) secret associated with today’s marketing plans and planning processes is that they have become increasingly focused on operations and tactics, media and messaging. Too often, marketing organizations fail to actively and systematically invest in learning. Because they see their role as one of mere implementation, they have stopped making the discoveries, eliciting the insights and defining the knowledge that can truly influence the strategic direction of the enterprise."

I encourage you to read the whole piece. It offers a far-reaching perspective and provides a framework for marketing-driven innovation. With profiles of Harrah's, Capital One and others, the piece goes on to advocate that marketing leaders invest in "breakthrough learning" and "incremental learning" as part of a "learning portfolio."

"The work of Harvard Business School professors Gerald Zaltman and Rohit Deshpandé suggests that corporate managers who typically commission market research generally don’t seek or welcome 'surprises' and often suppress them when they arise," the authors observe. "This suggests that marketing leaders should invest in and actively seek out market discoveries as part of the learning portfolio. Breakthrough innovations and advancements depend on such learning. And yet, we also know that high performance lies in the “patient accumulation of successes” that come with continuous improvement. Those types of gains also must be funded. A well diversified learning portfolio should include a smart mix of 'aggressive' and 'conservative' investments."

As the piece concludes, "The Learning Agenda is not a lightweight, touchy feely endeavor. It represents the marketing organization’s hidden and unrealized source of strategic value. As Marketing ascends the learning curve, it promises to become a strategic leader and catalyst in the next era of competitive success."