🧠 Embrace the Weird: How Small Businesses Can Supercharge Their Marketing 🧟♂️
Listen up, you marketing maniacs! While you've been busy trying to crack the code of the next viral TikTok dance, some of the most successful brands out...
Listen up, you marketing maniacs! While you've been busy trying to crack the code of the next viral TikTok dance, some of the most successful brands out there have been schooling you in the art of keeping it stupidly simple and embracing their weird.
So, let's dive headfirst into this pool of marketing genius and emerge as the beautiful, weird creatures we were meant to be!
When Weird Works: Headstones Meet Song Lyrics
Let's start with a recent example of weird. This past week, one of the members of my BAM Mastermind was comfortable getting weird in an industry not known for "out of the box" advertising. See what I did there?
In a series of unconventionally weird ads, Stoltz Memorials is using song lyrics to sell headstones. That is unheard of in this industry.
This campaign looks to soften a very difficult conversation with mild humor.
While this campaign will generate positive buzz and potential PR opportunities, it will also generate negative feedback from the haters. Need I remind you that Howard Stern built a career off of his haters. They too can be a pivotal part of your marketing.
Stop Hiding Your Strategy Like a Coward
1. Rip Off the Band-Aid: Let Your Strategy Streak Naked Through Town 🏃♂️
Remember when we all thought being subtle was cool? Well, brands like Old Spice and Dollar Shave Club just pantsed that idea in front of the whole school.
Old Spice went full-frontal with their "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" campaign. They didn't just hint at being manly - they straight-up said, "Hey ladies, your dude stinks. Our stuff will make him smell like a chiseled god riding backwards on a horse." It was so in-your-face, it was impossible to ignore.
Dollar Shave Club? They dropkicked subtlety out the window with their launch video. "Our blades are f***ing great" wasn't a whisper - it was a primal scream in a world of polite razor ads. They put their entire strategy on blast: cheap razors, no BS, delivered to your door.
How to weird-ify your biz: Stop hiding your strategy like it's your grandma's secret cookie recipe. If you're the quirkiest accounting firm in town, shout it from the rooftops! "We make numbers fun, or at least less soul-crushing!" Bam! Strategy exposed, minds blown.
2. Plant Your Flag: Claim That Hill Before Someone Else Does 🚩
The most memorable brands don't sit around twiddling their thumbs, waiting to see if their unique angle will catch on. They grab that uniqueness, plant it firmly in the public's brain, and when competitors try to copy? Too late, suckers!
How to stake your claim: Got something unique about your business? A secret sauce that makes your customers' wallets do the cha-cha? Don't wait for your competitors to notice. Shout it out loud and proud! "Our software is so intuitive, a blind person can use it... blindfolded!" Own it, baby!
Kill the Fluff: Say It Fast or Say Nothing
3. Cut the Crap: Get to the Point Faster Than a Cheetah on Red Bull ⚡
In a world where attention spans are shorter than a goldfish's memory, successful brands go for the jugular with concise, punchy messaging. No long-winded explanations, no beating around the bush. Just... pow!
How to keep it snappy: Ditch the corporate mumbo-jumbo and get to the meat of your message. Your Instagram caption should hit harder than a double espresso shot. Your billboard should make people's heads spin faster than a cat chasing a laser pointer. "Our burgers are so good, we convert vegans." Mic drop.
Your Marching Orders
The Grand Finale 🎭
Look, small business owners, here's the deal: The most successful brands out there just gave us all permission to get weird, get loud, and get noticed. It's time to stop playing it safe and start playing it smart. Be obvious, be first, and for the love of all that is holy, be brief!
Remember, in the jungle of marketing, it's not about being the biggest animal. It's about being the one that makes the most noise—or the weirdest noise.
So go ahead, let your freak flag fly! Show your strategy, claim your territory, and keep it snappier than a crocodile's jaws.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it (and you better!), is to inject a dose of weird into your marketing strategy. Be so obvious it hurts, be so first it makes your competitors cry, and be so brief it leaves your audience wanting more.
Now go forth and conquer, you beautiful marketing monsters! 🧟♂️💥🚀
Frequently Asked Questions
Stop being subtle about what makes your business different—put your entire strategy out in the open like Old Spice and Dollar Shave Club did. Old Spice didn't hint at manliness, they screamed it, and Dollar Shave Club literally announced 'our blades are f***ing great' in their launch video. If you're the quirkiest accounting firm in town, don't hide it—shout it from the rooftops.
Stoltz Memorials, a member of Ken's BAM Mastermind, is running unconventionally weird ads that use song lyrics to sell headstones—something unheard of in the memorial industry. The campaign uses mild humor to soften a very difficult conversation, and while it'll generate positive buzz and PR opportunities, it'll also attract haters (which Ken points out can be a pivotal part of your marketing, just like they were for Howard Stern).
If you've got something unique about your business—a secret sauce that makes customers' wallets 'do the cha-cha'—don't wait around to see if it catches on. Shout it loud and proud immediately so when competitors try to copy you, it's too late because you've already claimed that position in the public's brain.
Ken argues that in a world where attention spans are shorter than a goldfish's memory, successful brands ditch corporate mumbo-jumbo and go straight for the jugular with punchy, concise messaging. Your Instagram captions should hit like a double espresso, and your billboards should spin heads faster than a cat chasing a laser pointer—no long-winded explanations or beating around the bush.
