This thesis argues that the FCB (Foote, Cone and Belding) grid can not only be
used by advertising students to write strategy, but also to write superior strategies.
To demonstrate this, the research in this study identifies two versions of the FCB
grid that can serve as guidelines for students when writing advertising strategy.
The argument is substantiated by the results of a statistical analysis of strategies
written according to the FCB grid and the Bendinger formula.
A discussion of the areas which were researched and led to the introduction of the
FCB grid, as well as an explanation of the FCB grid, provide the context in which
the grid should be viewed as a guideline for writing advertising strategy.
Thereafter, a summative overview of what advertising strategy and the Bendinger
formula encompass, identifies the complexed nature of advertising strategy, as well
as the minimum areas which need to be addressed when attempting to write
strategy. A detailed discussion of the method which was employed and the
instrument developed to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies, precedes the
experimental results. A critical discussion of the results obtained from the statistical
analysis and the literature on advertising strategy provide a theoretical foundation
on which a model, to be used in conjunction with the FCB grid to write strategy, is
designed. The model is then explained to illustrate how students can, in
conjunction with the FCB grid, apply it to write advertising strategy.
This thesis recommends that, in order to improve on the suggested method of
evaluating strategies, the measurement scale developed in this study could be
considered as a starting point. A further recommendation is that the experiment
comparing strategies written according to the FCB sextant grid to those written
according to the FCB quadrant grid, could provide the need for further research.
The thesis concludes that as far as could be determined, this was the first time that
a study of this nature was undertaken and that the need for future research to
validate this study and its results, exists.Communication ScienceD. Litt et Phil. (Communication