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I’ll be honest: as a marketer, it’s sometimes really hard for me to just *enjoy* and *experience* things from a consumer’s perspective. I’m literally ALWAYS thinking things like:
- Wow, I wonder how much money in ads they spent on this!
- Dang, that’s such a brilliant way to market that!
- And of course, the ultimate: This worked on getting ME to buy something; how can I apply this tactic to MY business?!
I can’t help it… Whether I’m out with my daughters, watching TV, at a concert with Drew, or scrolling through Instagram, I always have my eyes and ears open to glean insights from the marketing tactics used by the brands we all experience every single day.
Though it can get a liiiiittle intense when I just can’t seem to shut my marketing brain off – my poor husband! – you’re about to benefit from this little quirk of mine. Today, I’ve rounded up 5 unique marketing tactics I’ve seen recently that left me wondering, “Why is NO ONE else doing this?!”
In this episode, we’ll unravel the genius behind marketing campaigns that have set new industry standards, from Taylor Swift’s ingenious fan engagement strategies to Top Chef’s blend of culinary expertise and branding magic.
Get ready to be inspired and leave this episode armed with fresh ideas you can apply to your own business, because these are NOT your mama’s marketing tactics! So, if you’re ready to explore the uncharted territory of marketing brilliance, grab a pen and paper or your favorite note-taking app and let’s dive in.
1. Taylor Swift Concert Experience
Why did Taylor sell out in minutes whereas I bought tickets for the Beyonce show a few days before she performed? It got me thinking: these women are both superstars, incredibly talented, and esteemed performers so what was so different about Taylor?
- Scarcity: It kind of had that tickle-me-Elmo effect of seeing the first concerts sell out in minutes, which created that scarcity factor and had people hovering their mouse over the button before the concert
- Taylor is Multigenerational. I saw more moms and daughters going, it’s a more wholesome concert that you could bring grandma to or your five year old to, so her art spans many generations.
- Surprise Releases: Taylor Swift is known for her surprise album drops. For example, when she released her album “Folklore,” she announced it just hours before it was available to stream. This generated immense excitement and anticipation among fans, who knew they were in for something unexpected.
- Interactive Fan Experiences: Swift has incorporated interactive elements into her tours, like wristbands that light up in sync with the music or encouraging fans to dress up in specific themes. These experiences make attending her concerts feel unique and memorable.
What we can learn here:
- How can you get people hyped up about your next release or launch?
- What can you do to build the hype and make them excited?
- How can you encourage your diehards to bring people with them whether it’s inviting them to a challenge, to take an online course, or book a service?
- How can you get them to bring friends?
- And how can you make the experience more memorable and shareable?
2. Tonies Giving FREE Value
My daughter Coco has a Tonie Box, and it’s our most used toy hands down. It’s a screen-free digital listening experience that plays stories, songs, and more. We use it for over an hour every day! You can check it out for your kiddos here.
Anyway, her charger stopped working, so in the few days it took to get a new Amazon charger sent to us at the lake house, we had to find a different solution for her quiet time. We found some Disney stories on Spotify – not realizing they were sponsored by Tonies!
Here, the brand had taken some of their paid content, made it available for FREE and then had strong call to actions to enhance the experience by purchasing their toy and where to do it.
What we can learn here:
- We’ve witnessed this strategy of giving away free value and then trying to upgrade people for years, but I loved this, because people could still experience their paid content but there were invites on how to make this even better!
- Reminder: we shouldn’t be afraid to give away good stuff, to get people results, share the secrets, people who enjoy it will want to pay for what they’ve got and don’t be afraid to toss in clear calls to actions on their next steps to make it as frictionless as possible.
3. Product Grouping Within Niches
We spent the month of August up north in our favorite little Minnesota town of 1,200 that’s a sweet tourist destination for many and we’ve gotten to know a lot of the local entrepreneurs in town. We swung into my friend Abby’s shop in Grand Marais, MN, The Big Lake, and I saw something in there that is so simple but genius that so many of us forget: product grouping.
Abby had made an entire “sober living” section of her business and in it she had greeting cards with sentiments like, “Sober looks good on you.” She also had different sparkling drinks, fun fancy cups, CBD drinks, a book about sobriety and more. It made walking in and seeing that section so fun and it also made purchasing a bundle of products so inviting.
Abby said, “It was a passion project for me, and I wasn’t sure how it would go…. But folks are PUMPED! I know of two customers who have driven all the way up from Duluth just to buy a bunch of NA beverages!! Having this empowered space for folks who don’t drink alcohol, it makes my heart so freaking happy.”
How often do we get so focused on pushing OUR stuff that we forget that we can also connect people with other products they’d like whether they are products from our business or someone else’s products? A lot of times people are looking for all encompassing solutions vs. an answer to one question.
What we can learn here:
- Whether you just do it out of the goodness of your heart or you could use things like affiliate links to track sales and make commissions, doing more product roundups or groupings to help guide your customers to more products they’d like is a super easy way to increase their lifetime values AND help increase their satisfaction – you’ll become the go-to solution!
4. Unique Ways to Enjoy Your Product
This was inspired by my all-time favorite TV show: Top Chef! I am obsessed with Top Chef and every season they will do a challenge where they give the chefs one ingredient and then they have to use it in as many creative ways as they can.
One season, they did one with a Ritz cracker, a household staple, and the chefs were SO creative using it in a bunch of different ways like as a base, as a crumb coating, a pie crust, a filling or stuffing!
I love this idea of seeing how your customers are using your product or talking about your services to see if there are ways you might not have thought about to give you more angles or give more versatility. Sometimes we approach things from one angle and we might be missing other ways to use our product which could increase our sales.
I also think this is a great example of aligned partnerships. Ritz is paying to be on Top Chef, not only are they seeing creative ways to have their products used but they are getting product placement in front of hundreds of thousands of foodies who are watching this show, which then shows them the versatility of this staple as well.
What we can learn here:
- How can we invite our clients and customers to show us how they are using and enjoying our product and/or get customer insight and language into what they do with or say about our product to help us broaden our marketing efforts?
- Another takeaway: are there any organic or paid partnerships that could get your offer in front of more of the right people in a way that makes sense?
5. Chatbot Automation
So this one isn’t entirely new but it’s something I think more people need to talk about and utilize. We have officially been using chatbot automation and funnels for exactly one year and it has been a GAME CHANGER for us – and yet it’s still such a quiet marketing strategy.
In the last year we’ve been able to get 40,000 NEW email subscribers off of Instagram organically and onto my email list and generate over $900k in revenue – we’re closing in on a million dollars additional revenue from this ONE method of marketing: Chatbots.
This is a way to not only get people off of the apps and onto your email list but also an effective way to drive people to where you want them to go, send them reminders, and grow your own VIP broadcast channel where you can send out DMS to everyone who has opted in.
We’ve used this to help promote launches, get webinar sign ups, connect people to free resources, drive affiliate sales, get podcast downloads and so much more – all on automation.
There you have it: 5 cutting-edge marketing tactics you can try TODAY to elevate your brand, captivate your audience, and set your business on a path to new heights!
Remember, the marketing world is a dynamic and ever-evolving landscape, and these unconventional approaches might just be what your brand needs to stand out from the crowd.
As always, keep innovating, keep experimenting, and keep asking that vital question: “How can I apply this to MY business?!” Thanks for tuning in, and until next time, keep on digging your biggest goals.
