Marketing: The Good, the Great, and the Smelly
I think marketing is a lot like clanking a can of coins on the sidewalk of your store.
People walking by glance momentarily; see you, read the message on the little sunboard sitting next to you and decide, in a split second, whether they’re interested in you.
While the clinks get their attention; it is the message that makes the first impression.
This is content writing 101.
Make a catchy headline — start clanking — and follow it up with your message.
But in the age of digital everything, your audience is not strolling but scrolling past you. Your restless customer cares nothing for lengthy brand messaging and likes everything short, simple, and saucy.
They want you to sell them value but quickly. Tell them about your product in a breath. Be a ‘Thumbstopper’.
I remember once I was furiously scrolling past posts on my Instagram when I read “Anything fresher is probably still swimming”. It broke my momentum and I paused.
It was an ad by a local seafood restaurant called ‘Boo’s sea farm’. They had recently started online delivery and guaranteed the best, freshest seafood.
I was intrigued and wanted to try them out but I wasn’t going to order immediately given that it was a Wednesday afternoon and I was in my office and was supposed to be working, but I saved the post and went back to it the next day and ordered-in their Fried Tiger Lobster.
It was the bomb.
In my post-meal clarity, I figured that Boo’s messaging had been jabbing on my brain since I read it and goaded me to try it out.
I gained two valuable lessons from this transaction:
- Boo’s tapped into my subconscious requirement — parliamentarily known as Customer Insight — of having fresh seafood.
- And delivered a message that was simple and sticky
Needless to say everything from the first contact on Instagram to my last bite of the Lobster was fulfilling and warranted a review.
So I dropped in on their Instagram post to express my gratitude. This is how the conversation went:
“Hey Boo, great food. You’re my Lobster.”
“Hey, Usman. Great to hear that. Hope to sea you around soon!”
“Looks like you are fishing for compliments, Boo.”
“We are always surfing the net for 'em, Usman!”
I loved the one-to-one Pun’ching and followed them instantly.
The human connection, the fact that someone took out time to reply and indulged in personal banter was heartening and personally delightful. Even though it's probably an underpaid intern working overtime, I loved that moment with the brand.
Naturally, I shared my experience with my family and friends and recommended Boo’s to my colleagues too.
That was when I understood the power of simple copywriting, human-like brand communications, and referral code discounts.
Clear communication coupled with witty content catapults a brand into the league of the greats. I’d like to put brands like Zomato, Nike, Durex in this league but I cannot bring myself to add a name next to Poo Pourri. The GOAT in content marketing.
Poo Pourri manufactures toilet perfumes. Their perfume is supposed to be squirted into the toilet bowl before you go pooping, to arrest the ‘unholy smell’ from filling the toilet, making life easier for you (and the person coming in next).
Creating content for this brief would have been a nightmare but the team got their ‘shit’ together and came up with the most ticklish content of all time.
Their website and social pages look like they’ve been written by an SNL comedy writer.
From their tagline — Spritz. Poo. Sniff — to their product names — Deja poo. Berry Bum Bum. Poo-tonium — everything makes you want to stand and admire the work they’ve put in the details.
I would like to clarify that I wasn’t gunning for smell suppressors — even though I should, everyone should — I got around buying one just to experience the feeling of excreting in the Garden of Eden.
And this one customer review left me in splits and actually made me buy one bottle of ‘Trap-the-crap’, a perfumed blend of citrus and cedarwood. The review went:
Dear Poo Poori, I apologize for ever thinking that you were a dumb idea. You are my better half, the fragrance to my feces. I love you. Sincerely, Me.
I did not really need poo-poori but bought it anyway because it made me feel like I need to be in the club of these cool cats. Like how Nike makes you want to be in the club of athletic people; Poo Poori makes you want to be in the company of stink-free poopers.
Weird flex, but okay.
I guess what I am trying to say is that great content and personalized communication can literally be the difference between sales sailing up or snailing down.
A simple message got me to put my taste buds on the line and try out a new restaurant while a company made me buy a stink suppressor spray, which I wouldn’t usually use, by simply making me laugh.
This goes to prove four things:
1. How and what you write online decides if your brand will be talked about or not
2. Your content must evoke an emotion — fuzzies in the belly is preferred, gloom is okay, but laughter is ideal
3. Always talk like you *talk*. Don’t sound like an IVR call. Be conversational.
4. Be crisp, clear, and to the point. Understand the assignment.
Get these things in order and watch your online projects take off!
