🍱 Branding Blunders, Sleuthing Strategies & Inconvenient Benefits: Get Your Marketing Fix!
Your weekly Marketing Extravaganza
Hello and welcome back to The Marketing Kable, where I'm taking you along on my journey to discover ideas, voices and campaigns that can inspire us.
something to watch
mr delicious (not) to the rescue. Watching fast food ads as a marketer is.. interesting. On one hand, you can see through the tricks (the wax, the glue, the paint, the whatnot). On the other, they make all that saturated fat look so damn delicious. It's a tough one, really.
Today though, it's all about a campaign that put people off fast food.
Made by Hank Greene of vlogbrothers, a youtube channel with sorts of fascinating nuggets on how the world works.
This one is about about a fast food chain called 'Rax' which as one commenter pointed out sounds like some kind of rat poison. So lesson number I'd think is WHATEVER WERE YOU THINKING GIVING YOUR FOOD BRAND A NAME THAT EVOKES RODENTS?
If you're done laughing, here are my takeaways on Rax's epic fail:
1. Know Thyself: Hank's first commandment is to avoid the Rax-esque identity crisis. In branding terms, that's akin to being a vegan at a meat fest. You can't keep shape-shifting and expect folks to keep track. Simply put, nail your brand identity or prepare for some serious face-palming.
2. Talk to Me, Goose: Hank highlights the absolute farce of Rax trying to chat up every Tom, Dick, and Harriet. Yes, versatility might get you an Oscar, but in the branding world, you just end up looking confused, and no one has time for a game of "who's the real Rax" while munching on their burger.
3. You Had One Job!: Hank takes a swing at Rax for their baffling choice of Mr Delicious as a mascot. Today, this character would be a meme king, but back in the '80s, he basically drove Rax into the ground faster than you can say 'bankruptcy.' Hank suggests that Mr Delicious was a bit too much reality with your fries, making folks ditch their meals for more vibe-y options.
So, remember - branding isn't a game of Pin the Tail on the Donkey. If you don't get your identity, audience and messaging right, you'll end up being the joke, not the joker.
something to read
whodunnit? After that train wreck of a Rax campaign, it should be obvious how crucial it is to get your campaign strategy right. If it's is full of holes, you're likely to end up in a hole (sorry, not sorry).
Joy Molan, Senior Strategist with BBH London, has tips. Molan compares strategists to murder mystery detectives. Unless this cruel world has suffocated the child inside you, that sentence likely got you very excited.
Murder mystery detectives and campaign strategists have a similar approach to problem solving. Both hunt for clues, use psychology to their advantage, come up with theories, and finally, make big reveals.
According to Molan, here are the "sleuthing skills" we need to master as strategists, as demonstrated by our counterparts in the world of crime:
stay Curious: Don't be afraid to ask questions and dig deeper. Observe things firsthand, gather information, and keep asking "why?" to uncover the real reasons behind things.
remember Forgetfulness: People's memories are faulty, so use emotional triggers and distinctive elements to leave a lasting impression. Make yourself memorable!
spot Opportunities and Motives: Ensure audiences can easily access your brand or message and find the right chances for action. It's all about creating deep emotional connections.
play Mind Games: Use psychological tricks to your advantage. By understanding how behavior works, you can nudge people's perceptions and influence their actions.
think Outside the Box: Embrace "Different". Don't settle for obvious solutions or suspects. Challenge assumptions, open yourself to new ideas, explore less obvious answers.
something to listen to
simple and inconvenient, just how I like it. If you've been reading TMK for a while, you'll know that I'm a big big big advocate for simplicity. Our world is becoming increasingly complex and confusing - we would all do well to keep things simple. Often time, brands try to pass off gimmicks as complexity - but customers can always tell.
Abel and Cole, a carbon neutral grocery delivery service based in the U.K. chose to keep things simple in this 2023 radio ad.
Turning the 'Features and Benefits' framework on its head, a loud male voice list features that seem like drawbacks at first (they only deliver once a week, their groceries cost more, their items don't last too long), immediately followed by a whispery female voice that tells us how these 'drawbacks' are actually benefits (lower carbon footprints, fair farmer payments, no unnecessary plastic or preservatives).
They're direct and honest with their listeners, encouraging them to "choose inconvenience", because it's a "good thing", as they've just explained. Simple.
This ad makes its mark in a sonic landscape full of gimmicks, and I'm all for it.
However, I wish they would have spent a bit more time on the YouTube video for the ad. Because, as Karina says, every bit of messaging you put out into the world is marketing. Granted, YouTube is not the platform this ad was made for. But still, it's their official channel, they could have had their designer wave a wand over it. 'Tis basic.
Epilogue
Something I look forward to most in murder mysteries is the scene where the detective gathers everyone around to reveal the name of the killer. At first, everyone is perplexed, but once the detective breaks his conclusions down, it all makes sense.
Similarly, a key element of strategy is clear communication to all stakeholders. Communicating each component of your process and how it contributes to the big picture is crucial. It builds trust, ensures buy in and makes success more likely.
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