Every week Laura, Caroline and I can entertain today with some of today’s most innovative marketing champions. We ran the rabbit hole with people from Spotify, Liquid Death, Hafer, New Balance, Zapier, Hootsuite, the Brooklyn Nets and even the creators of Chicago’s most popular schnapps with Tirefire-Airpa networks.
If you could flash all your combined wisdom in your head, it would be like getting your … well … master in marketing. (Oh, hey. I just got the name.)
Well, you can’t. Only when brain chips are one thing.
Until then, you can do the next best: look at 12 of the most insightful, most provocative or most useful lessons that our experts had to share.
Lesson 1: People are not a brainless consumer.
Here is a fun fact: If you death, do not use the word consumer. Always.
Instead, you have a team called “Human Insights”.
Greg Fass, VP for marketing for Liquid Death, is proud to work against the attitude that people are only “brainless consumers” whose only purpose on earth is to consume products. (Yes – that’s a direct quote.)
Instead, he says: “At Liquid Death, I am proud that we consider our audience as humans. And when you see them as humans, they understand that they get a piece of copy that is not easy, or jokes that other brands are afraid. They are intelligent and make sense of humor. “
It is a philosophy that has served them well. Just look at that commercially Where Martha Stewart is a serial killer who chops his hands to make candles -not exactly something that would go well in a standard marketing pitch.
Liquid Death has also reinvented the category of better drinks than newly invented.
If you accept your anti-marketing approach, you can discover fresh and new ways to better combine with other people.
Read Martha Stewart, $ 400,000 combat aircraft and comedy authors: How liquid death wins in anti-marketing, says Liquid Death’s VP
Lesson 2: “If you don’t risk your career with a brave marketing step, don’t think big enough.”
Ron Goldenberg, VP for international marketing & innovation at BSE Global, achieved a lot of setback when he was activated by Brooklyn Nets-in Paris, completely with an orchestral homage to the notorious Big and Brooklyn-Nnets-inspired pizzeria.
A colleague even said to him: “You really believe that Parisian will perform for a pizzeria in Brooklyn Nets?” (I have hesitation – don’t you live from escargot and croissants?)
He knew that there could be a major impact when the event flopped. But he believed in the concept that was so sufficient to risk everything.
“If I am released for anything, it is worth it for an orchestra’s homage to Biggie in Paris,” said Goldenberg last week. “If your ideas are big enough and brave enough and you believe you to be ready to enter into a risk of reputation, you are on something.“”
To be on the safe side can be a risk of itself. But marketing lives from the manufacture of what demands risks.
For Goldenberg, the payment was massive:
- The fans grabbed all 15,000 tickets for the Nets Cavaliers game, 3.3,000 visitors who indulge in Brooklyn Pizza, and Biggies tribute was sold out in five days.
- 450k clear visitors to Brooklynets.com/paris
- 64k emails recorded (90% net news in your database)
- 195% Yoy increases to French consumers in ticket sales and over seven figures in total sales 💵
Goldenberg got stakeholders on board by being blunt: “They all have to understand how important this is, not only for the networks, but for our fans and the global sports industry,” he told colleagues. “It has never been done on this size.”
It’s tempting. But it was an insight with the instinct that landed Goldenberg to his big swings.
Read how an NBA marketer brought the Brooklyn networks to Paris (and what marketers can learn from him)
Lesson 3: Break the fourth wall.
The first Malört ad that I have ever seen The bearFrom all places. Anna Sokratov says it was one of the first advertisements that she ever achieved almost a century earlier based on mouth propaganda and chicago who stood out of the city.
Since marketing is a new phenomenon, Sokratov, brand manager at Jeppsons, feels a lot of freedom, funny, to be unusual and be experimentally. (In fact, one of the people who sees it as inspiration is the former marketing master Greg Fass from Liquid Death.)
At that time it is an old saw that authenticity promotes consumer loyalty. But less is said about what authenticity Look How. “People really look for brands that break this fourth wall,” says Sokratov. “You want to see the people behind the brand.”
Past and current employees appear in a number of ads with maladorents (Google IT) that are underlined by the slogan: “Do not enjoy. Responsible. “Painting may be many things, but it is neither dishonest nor indirect.
Read “This is disgusting, try it out”: Marketing Chicago’s hideous liqueur
Lesson 4: Use the peanut butter method.
“Everyone hates advertising, but they are okay when they are sold,” says Hassan S. Ali, Creative Director of Brand at Hootsuite.
It’s like peanut butter to sneak your dog a pill. “When people are ready to be sold, increase the pill in something delicious. People will see it. “(Let us ignore for a moment that we are all unhappy dogs in this analogy.)
“I often think that the best ads are those that we cannot measure because they are shared with friends in a group chat.” I sincerely hope that nobody works on a pixel that my group chats can pursue, but it is true that if someone shares an advertisement because it is both funny and emotionally resonant.
Maybe you will see a funny ad for diapers. Her sister has just had a baby and they share the ad on the chat of the family group. “Suddenly, This advertising forms a bond.“And it goes over” here, buy this thing, “says Ali.
Without this (hopefully imaginary) group chat tracking pixels, conventional marketing metrics will not necessarily be of great use.
“But what did you solve for the customer?” Asks Ali. “These are the real results.” The more we can concentrate on it: “The better we will be than marketer.”
Read marketing for the Lulz
Lesson 5: Don’t let growth marketing dominate your strategy
A favorite shunting from Brendan Lewis (EVP for global communication and public affairs for oats) is his conviction that growth marketing “has to be neutered if not completely destroyed”.
“It is nothing more than the marketing of spreadsheets,” he tells me. When marketer clicks buy and perfect your emails for click rates, Lewis says that you are leaving an essential ingredient: emotions.
“If you water down your message to optimize you for clicks, lose your soul“He tells me without a trace of grandiose. “The emotions and faith must be there. It can not only be someone who looks over email click all day. “
(I understood – I will stop obsessed with the subject lines of this e -mail …)
For oats, this means making the jump without testing it for death. As in 2023 when the company bought Advertising boards on the Times Square proudly support his climate label. (The oat team invited the dairy industry to join them. They refused.)
The secret sauce? Oatly is a company run by mission that randomly sells oat milk. There is no product -oriented company looking for a mission. Therefore, his leaders can act on impulses and ancestation as long as they know that their news lives up to their greater goal of promoting sustainability.
Read it’s like marketing, but for people: lessons from Oatlys EPP
Lesson 6: Less strategy, more heart.
I admit that this lesson sounds suspiciously like A Friday night light Quote.
But it is also a Takeaway, Jenna Kutcher, moderator of the Tor -digger podcast, passionately for sharing.
“As a creator, we have to get back into the creation of our content. We have to return what worked a decade ago and our life and what we love online, ”she told me.
“Too many business owners have created systems and teams and dragged on too far from the content, and their audience is the feeling. “
A typical example: How likely is it that you answer “omg cute” with an Instagram role from Lululemon’s brand grip? I don’t probably suspect.
But what if a friend posts in New Lulu Joggers?
In the age of AI, people are desperate to connect with real people.
This means impressively that Jenna is the only person to create the IG content for your 1M+ fields. She also answers all Your own DMS and comments.
Nobody in your team has access to your registration because “that is the heartbeat of my connection with my audience.”
Jenna’s advice here is simple, but not easy: “Take out part of the strategy and put your heart back in. Be from the cuff and share things to share and only look for ways to monetize. “
Read the digital marketer Jenna Kutcher believes that you overload it
Lesson 7: Your customer is the hero. Not you.
April Sunshine Hawkins, co-moderator of marketing, has made a simple podcast, sees too many marketers her brand as a hero and she says that it is one of the biggest mistakes that can make it marketer.
“Everyone wakes up the heroes of their own history. Your customers, the people you want to attract … the story has to be about you. “
In other words, you are not a Batman – you are Alfred.
Let’s take an example recently: Hawkins worked with a jewelry brand that creates products in Malawi and paid their employees 3-5x the minimum wage. Of course they wanted to scream that from the roofs. Who wouldn’t?
But Hawkins entered and pointed out that the brand should not be the hero. The customer is.
“We rewritten the campaign to ask:” How can these pieces help people to celebrate a milestone – like an action, an anniversary, a birthday? “
Suddenly the jewelry was not just jewelry; It became a badge of the large (and small) moments of life of a customer.
Have you ever landed on a website and read the first sentences and thoughts? Wow, is this person in my head? This is the final: so that your customers feel like you get them.
“If we can position our products in such a way that we can adapt to what our customers feel, it makes it” thing, thing, thing “moment – that’s me! This is for me! ‘, “Says Hawkins. “This is what we are looking for.”
Read, you are not the hero – your customer is
Lesson 8: Passing with the people who deal with them.
Don’t forget to get in touch with your audience while you are busy finding out how you can connect with your audience.
“The first thing you can do to maximize every budget you spend is to simply deal with the people who deal with them,” says Chandler Quintin, co -founder and CEO of Video Brothers.
And he not only talks about reactive commitment, such as answering social news or answering e -mails. The stuff is a matter of course. He talks about proactive public relations work among people who interact with their business presence. Quintin himself sends a message to everyone who sees his LinkedIn profile or sees a video that he publishes.
“We booked almost 80% of our calls by simply filling out with people who deal with us compared to our website and a form.”
And I am a lively testimony to this tactic. Thursday morning I drink tea and cruising LinkedIn looking for marketing -master. (I’ll do it for you! Well … not the tea. That is for me.) Minutes later, Quintin tried Me Ask for help because he was upside down. (See the hero picture above.) We are planning an interview on Friday morning.
Quintin acknowledges that this requires effort.
“It takes a lot of time. There may be some ways to automate it. But at the end of the day I think that people can look through a little automation. Especially if you try to establish an authentic connection. The bar for this is: just be authentic. Be a person. “
But the return is worth the effort.
“If you only have $ 1,000, You will be able to transform this 1,000 US dollar into the power of five or 10,000 if you simply go the extra parts and get involved.“”
Read how an entertainment strategy helps you to cut the white noise
Lesson 9: Transform negative moments into one chance of being able to appear.
Dawn Keller, CMO for California Pizza Kitchen, tells a story:
A customer recently ordered Mac and cheese from CPK – and just got cheese.
After posting the video on TikTok, CPK replied with A video in the chef Paul jokingly through the steps of the correct production of a Mac and cheese (emphasis on: Add this in addition Mac) and then announces 50% Mac and cheese for all CPK customers. (Since the customer only has 50% of their food – understood?)
CPK’s TIKTOK response received 13.5 million views. Keller was shocked … and enthusiastic.
“It was stunning towards everyone (how good it was), but we believe what really did the difference How We appeared in a super authentic, humble, self -ironic way. It wasn’t more correct or stuffy. “
CPK could have decided to ignore the customer’s complaint as a whole, or they would have the video with a generic “I’m sorry!” Customer stream. Instead, they decided to take the opportunity to realize the narrative in something funny and mutually.
And as Keller emphasizes: “We still have to strengthen what is important to us – that is that we have high quality food and take care of our guests. Authenticity and entertainment attract people’s attention … not only that they use socials as advertising channel. “
We heard it this year from Greg Fass, Jenna Kutcher and many other masters in marketing, and The Point applies: authentic and present it. human Nowadays, your brand is a much better strategy than a polished display.
Read how the Californian pizza kitchen is changing, Tikok is viral and gives consumers FOMO
Lesson 10: Be ready to say executives what you stop, start and continue.
Emily Kramer, founder of MKT1, was four times the “first” marketer in companies of 10 to 300 employees. So my first question was simple: if you are the first marketer of a company, should you start to hell?
Kramer told me if they are leading a team of a or 200 person, marketing department, the answer is the same: prioritized, prioritize, priorities.
“First you have to find out where you can win. Where can you stand out? Where do you have the biggest advantage over competitors? Which channels make the most sensible for your company? “
This means: Listen that you stop Doomscrolling by Tikok for “Inspiration” or convince yourself that a chic giveaway will save the day for newsletters. Start with what is most important.
“You must have a frame for your prioritization. If you do not do this, you will only be blocked with inquiries. “
One of Kramers Moves, when he joins a new company, is to create a plan “Start, Stop, Continuation”. In this way, managers can quickly see: “Oh, we have already tried” or “We stop it and here is the reason why.”
Otherwise your founder could Just be a little bit obsessed with the idea that you published eBooks on Amazon as “next best marketing step”.
(Don’t speak from experience or anything.)
Read how an obsession with quality Emily Kramer to 48k newsletter and counted
Lesson 11: DIY – with curiosity.
“I always seem to have a part -time job nowadays,” says Maryam Banikarim, managing director of Fortune Media. (You get the feeling that Banikarim has always had to have a side movement.)
It is only that Banikarim’s side relationships would make the most important Hustles jealous. Last weekend she celebrated the third year of The longest tableA community building event that arose from a need for human connection when all masked and tips for looking for lysol towels shared.
She saw a neighbor put a folding table outside so that she could eat dinner with a few friends. She introduced herself and thought she thought “What if I did it?”
You also get the feeling that Banikarim has no rhetorical questions. She started with a few posts next door and an eight-member outdoor pot luck on her street in Chelsea. On October 6, 2024, over a thousand people appeared for dinner.
Together they cobbled together a Squarespace website and “we use HubSpot to send people”. (We did not impress them, paid for or threatened to say..) Banikarim does not complain via DIY marketing technology. On the contrary, it refuses to be exceeded by the development of technology.
“Marketing has always been for people who are curious,” says Banikarim. And “to constantly learn, it is really helpful to touch the tools yourself and not just lead from Up High.”
Read a question that will revive your approach to marketing
Lesson 12: Marketing should make your buyer confident – not insecure.
Fashion is a notorious industry. Many important fashion and beauty brands live from the fact that their consumers feel less than. You want you to know that you are not cool stillBut you will be if you wear these jeans or this jacket.
But Matt Zaremba, marketing director of Bodega, calls this type of marketing “empty calories and empty suits”.
“Sure, you will find a cohort of people with whom you will grow because you will show you what you are not. But at some point they will find a brand that gives them the feeling that they are enough and they will switch to this brand, ”he says.
His Mo? To be modest and reliable as possible: “Fashion brands should offer Optimizations To your journey of style and culture. I don’t want to talk to people and say: “Oh, you don’t know this musician?” I would rather say: “You have to check that.” There should be no ego in it. “
Regardless of whether you are a B2C or B2B marketer, the feeling is – the personnelification of your brand as a “cool child” for some brands, but what works better for most is simply helpful, curious and encouraging.
Read Matt Zaremba from Bodega how you can avoid empty calorie marketing
Championship in the creation
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