{ "name": "The Kill Sheet", "description": "Twelve questions to ask of a promotion as it is actually built, before launch. A no is never a verdict on the idea: it returns a named move. From The Shelf (2026 edition) by Mark Alexander, Bamboo Marketing.", "source": "https://theshelfbook.com.au/#insight", "book": "https://theshelfbook.com.au/", "author": "Mark Alexander", "publisher": "Bamboo Marketing", "version": "2026.1", "updated": "2026-10-28", "licence": "Open to read, quote and apply with attribution to The Shelf by Mark Alexander.", "howToUse": "Answer each question yes or no for the promotion as currently built. For every no, apply the move, name an owner and a cost, and ask again. Kill builds, never ideas.", "levers": [ "Reward", "Belief", "Friction", "Liability", "Venue" ], "jobs": [ "Breaker (trial)", "Builder (repeat purchase)", "Loader (bigger basket)", "Harvester (data)", "Keeper (loyalty)", "Headliner (fame)" ], "equation": "Reward × Belief ÷ Friction", "rows": [ { "row": 1, "name": "Job", "question": "Can three people in the room name the one lead job in the same words?", "aNoSoundsLike": "It's for awareness, and trial, and data.", "move": "Pick one of the six jobs and let a second come along only if the reward pays for it. If none of them is true, it's worth asking whether to run a promotion at all.", "lever": null, "chapter": 2, "chapterUrl": "https://theshelfbook.com.au/chapters/02-one-lead-job/" }, { "row": 2, "name": "Person", "question": "Do we know who's really deciding, and whether they want a long shot or a sure thing?", "aNoSoundsLike": "The reward suits the user and the buyer is someone else.", "move": "Point the reward at the person making the decision. One mechanic can suit both kinds of shopper: a few big prizes over lots of small, likely ones.", "lever": null, "chapter": 3, "chapterUrl": "https://theshelfbook.com.au/chapters/03-the-two-pilots/" }, { "row": 3, "name": "Three seconds", "question": "Can a stranger get the offer from the pack before the trolley passes?", "aNoSoundsLike": "The headline needs the terms to make sense.", "move": "Lead with the reward, cut the words, and show how many prizes there are rather than describing them.", "lever": "Belief", "chapter": 1, "chapterUrl": "https://theshelfbook.com.au/chapters/01-the-three-second-truth/" }, { "row": 4, "name": "Reward", "question": "Is the reward worth the effort for this shopper? (The line is the Insult Threshold.)", "aNoSoundsLike": "A two-dollar saving behind a receipt upload.", "move": "Put the budget into fewer, better rewards, or borrow one from a partner with something to spare.", "lever": "Reward", "chapter": 6, "chapterUrl": "https://theshelfbook.com.au/chapters/06-the-five-levers/" }, { "row": 5, "name": "Belief", "question": "Does the shopper think they could get it?", "aNoSoundsLike": "One big prize and odds nobody can feel.", "move": "Show more prizes, add a small reward people are sure to get under the big one, and let people see the winners.", "lever": "Belief", "chapter": 6, "chapterUrl": "https://theshelfbook.com.au/chapters/06-the-five-levers/" }, { "row": 6, "name": "Friction", "question": "Is every step paid for by the reward?", "aNoSoundsLike": "Six form fields for a chance at a tote bag.", "move": "Cut any step the reward can't justify. If the reward is generous, a step that's clear up front can help pay for it.", "lever": "Friction", "chapter": 4, "chapterUrl": "https://theshelfbook.com.au/chapters/04-friction-funds-generosity/" }, { "row": 7, "name": "Liability", "question": "If far more people take it up than planned, do we know the worst case and who pays?", "aNoSoundsLike": "Hardly anyone will claim.", "move": "Insure the risk, or cap it by time or number and tell people how many are left.", "lever": "Liability", "chapter": 7, "chapterUrl": "https://theshelfbook.com.au/chapters/07-the-impossible-brief/" }, { "row": 8, "name": "Venue", "question": "Does it please the retailer, support the brand, encourage the shopper and reward the consumer?", "aNoSoundsLike": "The buyer hears it for the first time in the sell-in.", "move": "Talk to the retailer before you build, and give the store its own reason to get behind it.", "lever": "Venue", "chapter": 14, "chapterUrl": "https://theshelfbook.com.au/chapters/14-the-new-gatekeepers/" }, { "row": 9, "name": "Engine", "question": "Can the systems handle the busiest day: entries, checks, payments and calls?", "aNoSoundsLike": "Nobody has tested it at several times the volume expected.", "move": "Test it at the busiest day you can imagine, stagger the start, set daily caps, brief the service desk and agree how you'd pause it.", "lever": null, "chapter": 5, "chapterUrl": "https://theshelfbook.com.au/chapters/05-the-creative-and-the-engine/" }, { "row": 10, "name": "Scoreboard", "question": "Do we know what would mean it worked, and is the baseline in hand?", "aNoSoundsLike": "We'll look at the entries.", "move": "Agree the sales measure and what you'll compare it with before launch. If the job is fame, check whether people retell it.", "lever": null, "chapter": 15, "chapterUrl": "https://theshelfbook.com.au/chapters/15-the-scoreboard/" }, { "row": 11, "name": "Rulebook", "question": "Are permits, terms and every condition that matters where the decision is made?", "aNoSoundsLike": "The expiry date lives in clause 14.", "move": "Put the condition on the promotion itself. Lodge the permits and wait for the numbers before the first ad runs.", "lever": null, "chapter": 16, "chapterUrl": "https://theshelfbook.com.au/chapters/16-the-rulebook/" }, { "row": 12, "name": "Nothing", "question": "What would happen if we did not run it?", "aNoSoundsLike": "Nobody in the room knows.", "move": "Work out what a month off would cost, or test it.", "lever": null, "chapter": 15, "chapterUrl": "https://theshelfbook.com.au/chapters/15-the-scoreboard/" } ], "doors": { "scoreAnIdea": "https://trudy.trevor.services/", "pressureTest": "https://trevor.services/ask/", "termsChecker": "https://trudy.trevor.services/lite/terms" } }