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Marketing Reinvented - Electrifying is the new Satisfying!
If you’re trying to segment your market in the traditional way, what you may be looking for would
be groups of consumers sorted out in such a way that a certain likeness exists within each group,
and a difference exists between them. The variable determining the meaningful likeness or
difference between those groups would be the segmentation variable. A trivial segmentation
variable, just for the sake of demonstration, would be hair color. However, after having segmented
the customers into groups, it is reasonable to assume that you would expect to do something with
it.
We live in the
post customer loyalty era and… guess what? Customers simply do not want to be loyal any
more. Forsaking all other options – is no longer an
option. So yes, it is important to keep them satisfied (otherwise they will be gone in a split
second) but do not expect them to be loyal.
So, what do you
do? Get an alternative thinking cap. Electrifying Marketing is the new marketing philosophy I want
to offer you. Its roots stem from the realization that marketing today is no longer about
satisfying unsatisfied needs. More often than not, it is about re-satisfying already satisfied
needs – with better, more exciting solutions. The major idea is that you are not here to
"please" anyone, but rather to tap on your target consumers' needs in a new and surprising way
which is geared to eventually become their future desires, while gaining a competitive advantage
as a result.
The next question
you will probably ask is – how? Following you will
find an outline of the ten central principles of Electrifying Marketing, that constitute
different ways to implement this new marketing approach.
1. Do Not Mess
with Quality
First and
foremost, you need a high quality product and service. Nothing in the world will change this
necessity. No marketing or branding “hocus pocus” will cover for a poor product.
2. The Name of
the Game is … Escapism
Create a differentiated benefit that takes your consumers beyond the borders and boundaries of
their normal lives into a bigger-than-life existence, a world of fantasy, magic, and delirium. It
isn’t a coincidence that two of the most successful literary works of the past few years were the
Harry Potter books and the Da Vinci Code.
3. Deliver a
Shiver
Deliver a strong
sensual or emotional experience for your consumers, which will tap powerfully into one or more
of their senses, or will evoke a strong emotional response, such as fear, thrill, excitement,
ecstasy, surprise, or any other powerful emotion.
A wonderful
example is the "Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down" S&M and bondage party that hurled a tsunami of press
for Casio’s then-new G-Shock watch, promising it a must-have status in the influential fashion
community of Manhattan. The New York Post awarded Casio the Marketer
Chutzpah of the Year Award for its audacity, and evidently this shiver has managed to deliver 75
million media impressions for the brand, all released during the first six months of its
existence.
4. Brake, Shake
and Shatter
Display a
rule-shattering, convention-breaking, routine-shaking, marketing-competitive behavior. There are
several ways of doing this. You can be any of the following:
For example, the
AxeFantasy promotional campaign in the UAE used specially tailored jeans miniskirts to dress up
mouse pads completely, in such a way that in order to use the mouse, the user had to put his
hand up the skirt from its underside, simulating their wildest and sexiest dreams. Then they
placed this "creation" in Internet cafes. Not only
did the effort drive an unprecedented number of unique visitors to AxeFantasy's website,
generating hundreds of thousands of page views during the first month of this campaign, but
also, it seems that most of the mouse pads were stolen from the cafes.
5. Keep a
Secret
Use a secretive
or mysterious element such as a secret formula, mystery people, something that nobody knows how
it’s done… or reveal a secret.
Coca-Cola's
secret recipe is the classic.
More recently,
"The Secret" constitutes a great example. This
book/movie/phenomenon was so successful because it claims to have revealed an ancient forgotten
secret to achieving limitless wealth and success, now outed to the whole public.
6. Play Hard to Get
Put deliberate
and challenging limitations on availability or accessibility of your product:
-
A
limited number: the “now-or-never” factor (Zara)
-
A
limited time, for example a special summer edition, or event-tied (Olympics
products).
-
The
“don't-call-us-we'll-call-you” approach. Some brands never give out their contact
information. If you want to talk to them
you must first surrender your own! (The Centurion unlimited credit card by Amex) .
7. Engage them in
some activity
Trigger brand
oriented involvement. Get your consumers actively
involved in some kind of activity, so that before they realize it they'll be engaged in some
game or type of interactive cooperation, dangling willingly on one of your "consumer fishing
hooks".
Take for example
Rethink Breast Cancer, the Canadian charity which came up with a new "Booby Wall" campaign, to
raise breast cancer awareness.
Women can enter
the Booby Booth website, perform a self-exam and take a faceless photo of their breasts to post
in the site, along with comments or dedications to accompany their contribution to the Booby
Wall.
8. Play and Have
Fun
Playfully
incorporate elements of fun and entertainment. When you do so, do not take yourself too
seriously, do not be heavy, and remember that, hey, this is only marketing after
all.
I love the Burger
King candid camera campaign, which caught authentic surprised and shocked reactions from people,
when informed upon ordering that the Whooper was no longer being served. Finally, the King himself comes to the rescue with the desired
whooper and everyone shares a laugh.
9. Be
Delightfully Devious
Play around with
your consumers – mislead them in some positive way (funny and inoffensive), manipulate them,
play a joke on them, do something which appears to be one thing at first, but turns out to be
something else.
For example, a
billboard in LA and New York has gained a lot of attention and buzz recently. The billboard
reads: ‘Hi Steven, Do I have your attention now? I know all about her, you dirty, sneaky,
immoral, unfaithful, poorly-endowed slimeball. Everything’s caught on tape. Your
(soon-to-be-ex). P.S. I paid for this billboard from OUR joint bank account.’
This billboard is
actually part of a mystery ad campaign for a new cable TV show, and it's delightfully playing
with our naiveté – and fully catching our attention.
10. Give them
Something to Talk About
Use a "viral"
element: a Cool, a Twist or a Wow!, giving your consumers conversation openers, scripts and
lingos – starring your brand.
For example I
would like to refer you to the new gun shaped fried-egg molds from Urban Trend. Although in this
particular case there might be a hidden cholesterol joke, it seems that gun shaped objects are
the new "now" – and a great conversation booster.
Your third
question, I'm guessing, will be – When? My answer
is – definitely now. Satisfying marketing is no
longer a charged enough course of action to bring you the results you need in order to gain
market leadership. From now on don't satisfy your customers – electrify them – results will
follow!
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