Read more about : (matching categories Word of Mouth Magic ) Posted by Bolaji Oyejide,May 6th, 2009
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Traditional marketing was built around crowds.
Building a middle-of-the-road product that would appeal to the largest possible number of people. Putting the product in as many channels as possible.
And yelling as loudly as possible about the product.
To whomever would listen.
Procter & Gamble pioneered a new type of marketing -
Targeting its audiences through soap operas and other innovative means of outreach.
But mass marketing was still the medium. It was still a behemoth of a company, having a one-way monologue with its audience.
The difference between a crowd and a tribe is in the connection.
Now here’s the key: You may think your niche is too small. That’s conventional wisdom.
And conventional wisdom is most often, wrong. It just takes most of us forever to catch up to that reality.
Read more about : (matching categories Word of Mouth Magic ) Posted byBolaji Oyejide,November 15th, 2008
The Budweiser Wassup Guys. Classic. Launched in 2000, the ensuing series of commercials entered the very vocabulary of American culture. And beyond.
The Original Budweiser Wassup commercial:
And yet, the commercial is sophomoric in its humor.
So why did this become a part of American vocabulary?
Because they captured the voice of a tribe.
They captured the essence of what it meant to be a young, football-loving, beer-drinking, red-blooded American man. For those in the know, that was a full conversation. Comradery. Brotherhood. Appreciation of the simple pleasures of life.
What may have started as a gimmick, became the viral tribal call of a generation.
8 years later, this tribal call has been resurrected. But with a very different goal in mind.
The new Wassup commercial - 8 years later:
So who is your customer’s tribe? And what is their tribal call? Or, what tribal call are you creating for them?
It doesn’t have to be something off-the-wall like: “WASSAAAAP!!!” But it does have to ring true to your customer’s tribe. It has to show that you are one of them. That you share their aspirations, their hobbies, their inside jokes, their concerns, their frustrations.
This is not something trivial. This is not something frivolous. The commercial may be silly. But the fact that it lasted so long, and is being brought back almost a decade later, shows the staying power of a genuine tribal call.
Many of us are now members of a tribe of millions. Clamoring for change. Let’s hope our new President-Elect hears the Budweiser guys’ call.
Thanks to Sam Stein for clue-ing me in to the new Wassup ad. Free Prize Inside:
The Budweiser Wassup Guys - Wasabi version:
The Budweiser Wassup Guys - Courtside Seats version:
In case you don’t know, Seth Godin is the leading marketing author these days. He’s writes one major Marketing book every year. And is the founder of Squidoo.
I have learned volumes from being involved in his pre book launch social networking group, Triiibes.com… I’ll be sharing a lot of what I learned with you all in the coming weeks.
See page 31: Awon Boys Club. See page 199: United States of Assimilation.
Bolaji Oyejide,February 6th, 2009
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