Marketing Enthusiasm

Just as I'm breaking the back of my 2007 Ideas Homework, along comes a gem from John Grant.  His new idea is MARKETING ENTHUSIASM - the principles and practice of engaging people with your brand.  Will be interesting to put some of these ideas into practice.  I'm especially interested in defining a Brand Issue or Enthusiasm or Agenda and seeing what initiatives it could inspire.

1. find a bigger enthusiasm than your brand

Some markets make things people are enthusiastic about. Movies, gadgets, cars. Most dont. As many have commented (its becoming a stock response) you dont want a relationship with Tylenol. But you might be interested in a student programme on hangover prevention and cure? Flora made their campaign about cholestrol (eg getting it checked). Run London went for North vs South this year. Dove is about real beauty, not moisturiser.

2. Give people a way to get involved

You dont communicate enthusiasm you provoke it in people. It is automatically an interactive approach. People will want to chip in, register their support, spread the word. This could be a seed audience of bloggers (Stormhoek), head girls (Jamie Cullum) or it could be a mass involvement text thing (Oxfam I’m In, Big Brother vote)

3. Innovate to build life-relevance

Enthusiasm Marketing means translating products into everyday lives and concerns. The breakthrough innovations are in retrospect what we were missing. Disney mobile that lets you track your kids by GPS. InNYC credit card that lets New Yorkers get priority booking at the 7000 hottest venues. Wifi in Starbucks. I really liked Nike’s Test Drive pop up store; of course trying on trainers should include running round the block; these are sport shoes not brogues. A bigger point is that without innovation, news, it is hard to get enthusiastic.

4. Co-operate

Co-create, let the market have ideas too. People get enthusiastic about stuff they own and can shape. Not lame user generated content. But things like Nike iD, Lego Factory, Amazon (the world’s biggest book club).

5. Catch On

Enthusiasm in contagious. ‘Is a brand which people are enthusiastic about these days’ might well be a key measure. And you can amplify this; queues for Stella at H&M or the New Harry Potter (brand premieres). Or indeed base your whole approach on contagious ideas like Gmail Invites.

6. Partner Up

Aspiration marketing was about building brands in glorious isolation. Enthusiasm naturally gravitates towards partnerships. Pampers and unicef. iPod and U2 or Lost. (RED) and everyone.

7. Build a Molecule

Have one strategy; ie one enthusiasm. (Anyone who insists on calling this a proposition, that’s fine - it’s nearly Christmas after all - but I would tend to call it your issue or agenda). For instance Top Shop brings the high fashion experience to the high street. Then you need to add multiple ideas to keep it fresh, attract different segments, develop it organically, avoid being cling film wrapped with ‘consistency. Top Shop and London Fashion Week, Kate Moss, Personal Dressing, the AIDS charity auction, vintage range…

Comments

[Jeff Paul Internet Business]

There are some amateur internet marketers that think about renting domain names for promoting their sites. Well honestly it’s a bad plan but it also can be a good business idea.