UNCONVENTIONAL M A R K E T I N G T A C T I C S

F O R S M A L L

B U S I N E S S E S

“If you want to stand out, don't be different; be outstanding.” – Meredith West All fancy data and analytics aside, the fact remains that we do business with people and brands we like. And, psychologically speaking, our minds awake from their monotonous slumber when we experience something extraordinary. All of this leads to the definitive end of business as usual. (Man, that excites the living shit out of us!) Find a way to consistently deliver surprise and delight paired with value and authenticity, and you’ll discover exactly what today’s version of successful “marketing” is – a journey for the courageous and willing, brand and consumer hand-in-hand.

We hope this paper helps provide the spark for your creative fire.

Real-Time Action

Real-Time Action. Cool stuff is happening all around us, every single day. Some is local, some is global. But it’s there. Royal Weddings, broken sports records, Presidential elections, natural disasters, rollerblading squirrels. Somewhere, somehow, your target market is talking about events that just happened...and you’re only a spectator. That buzz is for the taking, man. What are you waiting for? Be fast, be flexible, be nimble, be courageous, and you will reap the benefits of real-time marketing. Success in this arena requires constant listening, unique creativity, flawless execution, and minimal red tape (no time for your seven VPs to approve the plan, or that buzz will be gone quicker than it appeared). Oh, and demonstrate some respect and empathy here – nobody wants to see a brand capitalize on someone’s misfortunes or suffering.

Snowball exchange promotion

“Rapture” themed night Taco Bell saves the day

Be Exclusive

Be Exclusive. Access is boring. We’ve all been so caught up in unleashing the Content Beast so ferociously that we forgot about the first rule of sales – create scarcity. Giving someone the answers is no fun. Intrigue, slow reveals, clues, mysteries, teasers – these make for curiosity and excitement. And once the veil is (slowly) removed, you’ve created a grand stage from which you can truly offer value and excitement.

Grey Poupon’s private Facebook page

11k Club’s secrecy Nike’s invite-only basketball court

Surprise & Delight

Surprise & Delight. You may not be fully aware of the most powerful tool in the human mind, but you utilize schemas dozens of times a day. What are schemas, you ask? In short, they are models that your brain creates to make daily life easier on itself; you don’t have to think about driving on the right side of the road every time you hop in your car, you just do it. When a schema is disrupted - when expectations are blown away – people will 1) become alert, 2) pay special attention, and 3) talk about the disruption to set their frenzied minds at ease. This is the foundation for word of mouth marketing. Once you have your target’s attention, the world is your oyster. It’s about creating new experiences...together. It’s about giving them a reason to go home, all smiles and excitement, with something amazing to talk about at the dinner table.

Heineken’s trophy tour Spider Man window washers Bud’s Flash Fans

Listen

Listen. You know what they say – the best conversationalists are the people who’ve mastered the art of listening. In this current environment of personal content creation and broadcasting, there’s ample opportunity to monitor and join the conversations that your colleagues and customers are having on a daily basis. But listening isn’t about creeping or launching mass sales pitches. It’s about making someone feel wanted and cared for, adding value to their lives. Authentic, interesting, unexpected, personalized interactions are the currency of today’s market. Spend it wisely.

Warby Parker’s personalized customer videos

EA responds to a game glitch

KLM’s foursquare surprise

Marry Online With Offline

Marry Online With Offline. The digital landscape is undoubtedly the new frontier for not only brands and marketers, but friends and family members. But guess what? You can’t give a hug on Facebook (not yet, at least). You aren’t able to shake someone’s hand over email. Over 90% of brand-related word of mouth conversations happen face-to-face. That’s enormously important for us to consider. The very best engagements use the most fertile elements of both online and offline to connect with consumers. When you are deliberate in your tactics during each key phase – before, during and after – these two worlds complement each other better than PB&J.

Vail’s Epic Mix Nike’s “pay with miles”

auction Pizza chain follows you

back in real life

Humanize

Humanize. Just like your mother told you as a child – there is only one you. That notion should be the impetus for your every movement, particularly when interacting with others. Don’t be afraid to step outside the realm of “business as usual” and be different. Be you, damnit! People respond to brands that show they are not afraid to buck the system and take some chances, because deep down that’s who we all want to be. Bonus points for becoming the reason someone smiles.

JetBlue’s “Election Protection”

Oranges shipped with “splash bibs”

Ritz Carlton’s stuffed giraffe tale

Discovery

Discovery. At the end of the day, great marketing results in (or perhaps causes?) investment. The more interaction someone has with your brand, the better invested they are in the relationship. And there may be no more significant path to investment than to grab your customer by the hand and take her on a special journey. Challenge her with something she’s not used to and make the trip fun and exciting, rewarding her each step of the way. Just make sure the juice is worth the squeeze – nobody jumps through hoops for a high five and a “good job, bro!”

Dodge’s media-powered scavenger hunt

Ford’s fake super model

Nestle’s “GPS bars”

The Recipe. Have fun. Do you. Take time to stop and think. Give a shit. “Move fast and break things.” Put yourself in their shoes. Learn. Take chances.

“In heaven, all the interesting people are missing.” - Nietzsche

Real-Time Action

Be Exclusive

Surprise & Delight

Listen

Marry Online with Offline

Humanize

Discovery

{the recipe}

Deep Thoughts by Dave Marcello

@MyDisruption

The only agency with its own DJ

be interesting or be forgotten

“extremely innovative”

“an evil genius”

“passionate” “goes above & beyond”

“pure awesomeness”

mydisruption.com

dave@mydisruption.com

401.316.3827