Strategy That Works

APPENDIX C

Puretone Ways to Play

Since 2008, we have conducted an ongoing research effort to identify the value propositions of companies around the world. This often involves deconstructing the “ways to play” of particular companies: breaking down the value they provide to customers into common strategic archetypes. We have identified fifteen of these “puretone” archetypes, as we call them. They are prevalent in companies around the world. Most companies combine two or more of them into a more distinctive strategy. You can use the puretones to identify another company’s value proposition, or to design your own.

To illustrate and clarify each puretone “way to play,” we have long used the examples listed here. They are meant to demonstrate each ...