You've chosen this book. Which probably means you're a marketer, you've heard of scenarios and you want to know what they can do for you. Can they help with everyday marketing issues like brands, channels and relationships? The answer is yes. Rooted in customer needs, scenarios bridge the gap between corporate strategy and marketing tactics. They are a weapon for perceiving the unseen and a framework for thinking the unthinkable. This book's wealth of case studies will show you how they've helped top companies like Pfizer, Nestle and Courvoisier to do just that, and its practical lessons will show how they can do exactly the same for you.

Gill Ringland and Laurie Young have gathered top-flight contributors to offer the first straightforward account of scenario planning for marketers. In readable chapters they show how, by integrating scenarios into the wider marketing toolkit, you can make your organization more customer-driven and consider a wider range of possibilities than your competitors. They explore how scenarios have driven creativity in a range of consumer marketing applications - even in FMCG sectors - and define their role in distribution, channel management, brand management and customer management strategy. Finally, they show how marketing scenarios can help to promote wider corporate innovation.

The rich pictures painted by scenarios have made business strategy more visionary and creative, and they're set to do the same with marketing strategy. Read this book, and make sure it's your organization holding the brush.

Andrew Curry joined Henley Centre in 1999 from Cable andWireless Communications. Andrew combines an expertise in futures work, particularly scenarios, with an in-depth knowledge of media and new media. Andrew leads Henley Centre's public sector team, and has developed many of our facilitation and workshop techniques. He has directed projects for a wide range of clients, including Vodafone, DEFRA, the Army and Sport England. Andrew previously worked as a financial journalist, as a television producer, and in the new media sector. He launched Britain's first interactive TV channel in 1993 and was part of Cable and Wireless's digital TV project team.
His e-mail address is Andrew.Curry@hchlv.com.

Paul Fifield has run his own consultancy business for over 20 years. Paul's clients are loyal and enjoy the 'life-long learning' that comes with working with him. He has worked with clients in a wide range of industries. He specialises in strategy and is preparing the third edition of his book Marketing Strategy. His mother tongue is English, he is fluent in French and has a working knowledge of Dutch.
He holds a degree in Business Studies as well as an MBA and a PhD in Marketing Strategy, from Cranfield University. He was elected a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) in 1988, an elected member of CIM Council 1999-2001 and the CIM International Board of Trustees 2002-2004. Paul is currently President of the CIM Southern Region, a member of the Marketing Society and a Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce (FRSA).
His e-mail address is paulfifield@fifield.co.uk.

David Haigh, BA, ACA, FCIM, MIPR, read English at Bristol University before qualifying as a Chartered Accountant with what was then Price Waterhouse in 1980. He then became the European Financial Controller of an international group of companies, Financial Director of amarketing consultancy, then ofWCRS and Partners. In 1988 he became Managing Director of Publicis Dialogue. David joined the board of directors in the global brand valuation practice of Interbrand, before setting up his own company, Brand Finance Limited, in 1995, which focuses on marketing accountability.
David lectures on the importance of brand promotion and valuation. He is the author of several books including Strategic Control of Marketing Finance and The Future of Brand Valuation. For over 10 years David has been a regular columnist for journals such as: Accountancy Age, Marketing Business and Brand Management.
His e-mail address is d.haigh@branfinance.com.

Crawford Hollingworth is Executive Chairman of Headlight Vision, part of the WPP Group. Following degree and post-grad work in applied social psychology he was tempted away from academia into the advertising world as a strategic planner. He worked for BMP DDB Needham, AMV BBDO and then joined Chiat Day as Vice President Strategic Planning. He finished his planning career as the executive planning director of Bates Dorland. During this time he had worked for Sony, Landrover, American Express, Qantas, RSPCA, Bass and Yellow Pages among others. He started Headlight Vision in 1995.
From an early age he has always been fascinated in why people behave in the ways they do and in how one could influence that behaviour. His overall personal expertise lies in consumer trends, strategic brand planning and qualitative research. His ability is to create more holistic solution-based research from this perspective.
His e-mail address is Crawford.hollingworth@hchlv.com.

Gill Ringland's career has spanned academic and industrial worlds, taking a leading edge role in physics, software and information technology, strategy and scenarios in turn. She has been active in five start-ups, and was responsible for building a £3-billion new business over five years for ICL.
She started to use scenarios when responsible for strategy at ICL, and as a result wrote the amazon.com bestseller Scenario Planning. She is a Liveryman of the City of London through the Information Technologists. She has a BSc, MSc, FBCS, MIEE, and is a graduate of Stanford University's Senior Executive Program. She is a past Member of SRC's Computing Science Committee and of Council of the Economic and Social Research Council.
She writes and consults widely as a Fellow of St Andrews Management Institute. Her books are ''why, what, when, how'' guides to the use of scenarios: Scenario Planning--Managing for the Future, Scenarios in Business, and Scenarios in Public Policy--all published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
You can contact Gill at: gill.ringland@samiconsulting.co.uk

Don E. Schultz is Professor (Emeritus-in-Service) of Integrated Marketing Communication, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL. He is also President of the global marketing consultancy Agora, Inc. also located in Evanston. He was founding editor, Journal of Direct Marketing; 1989 DMEF Direct Marketing Educator of the Year; 1992 AAF Advertising Educator of the Year; member, National Advertising Review Board; co-author, Strategic Advertising Campaigns and Integrated Marketing Communications; former senior vice president, management supervisor, Tracy-Locke Advertising and Public Relations, Dallas/New York/Columbus; BBA, Oklahoma. He has an MA and PhD from Michigan State.
His e-mail address is dschultz@northwestern.edu.

Merlin Stone is the author of many articles and 30 books on transforming marketing and customer service capabilities. He is a Founder Fellow of the Institute of Direct Marketing and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. He is on the editorial advisory boards of the Journal of Financial Services Marketing, the Journal of Database Marketing and Customer Management Strategy, the Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for Marketing and the Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice. He writes monthly columns for Database Marketing and Direct Marketing International and for the website What's New in Marketing.
He is a Director of WCL, specialists in change management in the public and private sectors and of Nowell Stone Ltd. He has a first-class honours degree and doctorate in Economics from Sussex University. He has held posts at University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, The Jerusalem Institute of Management, Henley Management College, Kingston University, Surrey University and Bristol Business School. At Kingston he was Dean of the Faculty of Human Sciences. He is now a Visiting Professor at Bristol Business School--University of the West of England, and Brunel, Luton, Portsmouth and Southampton Solent Universities.
He can be contacted at Merlin.Stone@w-c-l.com.

Tim Westall is a Director of April Strategy, a management consultancy with a specialism in marketing. Tim has spent 12 years in consulting, working on strategy and innovation projects with a wide range of blue-chip clients. Prior to that, he spent seven years in a number of international marketing roles within Unilever.
His e-mail address is tim.westall@aprilstrategy.com.

Laurie Young is a specialist in the marketing of services and customer care. His career includes senior positions with PriceWaterhouseCoopers, BT and Unisys. In the 1990s he founded, built and sold his own professional service firm, focusing on service marketing. Over the years he has advised firms ranging from small single partner practices to large multinational organisations on the contribution of services marketing to shareholder value.He has published three books: Competitive Customer Care with Merlin Stone, Making Profits from New Service Development, and Marketing the Professional Services Firm.
He can be contacted at Lauriedyoung@aol.com.