I just read the truly inspiring 1995 APG and 1996 IPA papers submitted by Charles Vallance (then at WCRS who went on to be a founding partner at VCCP in 2001) on the launch of the Orange mobile phone network.
My favourite bit is where Charles explains how being a late entrant provides a great opportunity to review the category for opportunities for differentiation. He goes on to explain why a late entrant can stand out by defining their own rules using this great example:
"We would have to invent a new category, and exercise the ultimate right of the last born. To be first in what you decide to be, rather than last in what others have decided for you. Everyone knows the name of the first man to fly the Atlantic, no-one remembers the second guy (Bert Hinkler). However, they do remember the name of Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly the Atlantic. What Amelia had succeeded in doing was inventing a new category."
You can get hold of the APG paper by buying the book directly from the APG or downloading the paper from WARC.
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