A good marketing campaign is like playing chess against the whole world. If you’re in it to win it, you have to think at least 3 moves ahead. So why is it that some companies keep on wanting to play on the whole board? We all strive to get brands noticed on the market, but I believe genius ideas are born in simplicity.
I’ll give you an example. If you’re familiar with the UK market you will know who Innocent is. A couple of guys had the idea to create natural, vitamin pumped smoothies and juices to be enjoyed by everyone. And instead of giving loads of money on extensive market research and analysis, they went to their potential consumers and conducted the simplest form of a taste test at a music festival way back in 1999. Essentially they asked the question: ‘Do you like our smoothies or not?’ If yes, people had to put the empty cup in the ‘YES’ bin and vice versa, of no was the answer they had to put it into the ‘NO’ bin. And that was the breaking point for these two fellows to decide to quit their jobs and get to cracking. Now why was this move genius?
- The brand is 100% relatable. It has a great story behind it that people can appreciate. It’s staying away from the cold corporate image and striving towards your ‘next door buddy’ kind of vision. Simple, relatable, efficient.
- They went straight to their clients. No fuss, no big charts with market shares, projected data, etc. No big budget to get that wow factor. They spoke a language their potential consumer would understand and want to listen to. Hey, we’re one of you guys, what do you think of this smoothie? And voila! The magic was born.
The moral of Innocent’s story is that to get your brand where it needs to be, it’s not always about how complex your marketing strategy is or how many communication channels you’re gonna hit to toot your own horn. A brand always starts with the consumer. The era of push marketing has been dead for a while now. It’s all about valuable interactions with your customers and letting them pull the chain. And that’s why you have to choose your battles carefully. As the wise CEO of a very successful marketing communications agency in Israel once told me: ,You can’t be everywhere! You don’t have the time and you don’t have the resources!’
So my advice to you would be to figure out who your consumer is first. Figure out where they live both online and offline, what their habits are, what their needs are and most importantly, what kind of problem your product/ service can solve for them. Only then is it appropriate to discuss a communications strategy and channels. Don’t only play chess, but learn to play it the smart way. That’s how you stay at least 3 moves ahead. Simplicity is the new trend and my friends, it’s here to stay!
Till next time,
xo
Teddy T
Inside Teddy's head 