Five Brands That Really Dare to be Different
What makes a creative marketing campaign? How do brands stand out from the competition when there’s so much competition? And how much can you get away with bending the rules in your marketing strategies?
To answer these questions, we’re using this blog post for something a little different — taking a look at five very different, equally successful and ultra-daring approaches to marketing and branding. These brands certainly aren’t scared of breaking the status quo! Let’s take a look at what we can learn from them…
Yoni
What’s between your legs? That’s the question that the outrageous marketing team at Yoni aren’t scared to ask — how much do you actually know about what tampons and other sanitary products are made of? Warning: This one isn’t for prudes!
We love Yoni, not just because they’re prepared to break the mold with their big in-your-face questions, but because they do it for all the right reasons. They aim to break the taboo surrounding menstrual cycles, ditching the shame and talking about periods properly — one organic tampon at a time.
The most refreshing element of Yoni’s branding is that they blend bold, gutsy marketing with genuine care and concern. One minute they’re explaining how biodegradable tampons decompose instead of going to save the planet — the next, they’re blogging their favorite facts about the clitoris. Told you they weren’t for prudes!
It’s unfortunate but true that we still live in a time when women feel sexualized and ignored by brands — however, with ambitious young ladies like Mariah and Wendelien (the founders of Yoni) making their voices heard there is genuine hope for change.
What can we learn from them? Don’t be scared to address taboo subjects in your marketing — so long as you know your audience.
Wendy’s
Social Media Marketing can be a tough nut to crack — these days we see a lot of brands sticking to the rules. Not Wendy’s though! If you’re serious about branding on Twitter then you’ve probably heard of this American fast food chain, whether you’ve tried their burgers or not. Let’s find out what they do and why it works…
There aren’t many big brands who dare to tweet as fearlessly and sarcastically as Wendy’s. ‘Roasting’ (or savagely mocking) their followers and other competitors is a daring strategy, but their marketing team pretty much wrote the book on it. Whether it’s poking fun at McDonalds for using frozen beef or ridiculing followers for eating at Burger King they’ll tweet it!
But why does this work so well? Any SMM gurus can find the long answer in this informative Agora Pulse article, but here’s a quick summary:
Wendy’s approach to social media has guts — it’s distinctive. They’ve got a unique witty charm which pulses through all of their tweets. Their voice is authentic and their clever humor has gained them a cult following. There’s more to it than this though — they also respond professionally and rapidly to genuine complaints and appreciate the efforts of other brands who they’ve inspired.
What can we learn from them? Having a witty approach to social media can help you go viral — but Wendy’s don’t compromise on professionalism and still respond to all social media complaints professionally.
Need a laugh? Here’s the Wendy’s Twitter account.
Dollar Shave Club
It all started out with a video-tour of their warehouse and a simple, foul-mouthed slogan — “Our blades are f***ing great!”
It’s stupidly funny, ridiculously simple and totally relatable — in just a minute and a half, Mike (the deadpan founder of Dollar Shave Club) pokes fun at the big shaving brands and explains just why you should buy his instead. If you watch one marketing video today, watch this one!
However, there’s more to Dollar Shave Club than a funny video and an affordable solution. Both smart and playful, comical yet pragmatic, their branding has been spot-on from the beginning. Whether it’s their social media strategy or the packaging which your one-dollar razor arrives in, Dollar Shave Club dare to be witty and outrageous at every step of the way. If you’re feeling inspired enough to take their lead (or simply want to learn more about their super clever marketing campaign), check out this article from Impact to get the whole story.
What can we learn from them? A daring marketing campaign can turn a boring product into something incredibly desirable. Who knew razors could be so hilarious?
Or if you’re paying too much for your shaving razors — find out more here!
innocent smoothies
What makes good marketing copy? At the very least you’d expect capital letters and full-stops, right? Well, as it turns out… Not necessarily.
Innocent smoothies have an approach to branding which dares to be different — but not because it’s outrageous or scandalous. Instead, it’s super-playful to the point of being childish. Which is exactly why it’s so effective!
If you’ve ever examined a carton, bottle or food pot from innocent, you’ll probably have noticed the funny little quips hidden all over it. Back when the company didn’t have the financial resources for huge marketing campaigns, they decided to doodle over the blank spaces on their bottles.
These witty messages are constantly changing, keeping us interested and increasing brand loyalty in a competitive market for healthy alternatives. Quirky and casual, it’s made anyone who’s noticed them smile at some point.
However, the marketing at innocent consists of more than just being a bit silly. It’s clear from all of their marketing that innocent care. They care about people’s health, the environment, the gender pay gap and more. Most of all they care about you — and with a bit of cheekiness, it shines through!
What can we learn from them? innocent smoothies aren’t scared to have a little fun with their branding strategy. It’s worked!
You can learn more about the story behind innocent’s branding — or alternatively, find pictures of dogs chewing things on their website. Naturally.
Heineken
It can seem like bigger brands have a tougher job creating a daring marketing campaign — but that doesn’t stop Heineken. Of course, Wendy’s tweets and the Dollar Shave Club slogan are outrageous, but they are relatively low risk insofar as they don’t cost the earth to produce. Heineken’s controversial ads have a much higher production value — and they represent controversial marketing done right!
In particular, we’re talking about their ‘Worlds Apart’ video advertisement. It pairs up two real people with opposing social or political beliefs and asks them to complete a task together, before allowing them to talk about their differences over a beer. It’s authentic and daring — because big brands like Heineken don’t have to use their platform to advocate for tolerance and change.
You can have an in depth read about some of their campaigns from Referral Candy right here. Heinekens social experiment aims to help people to focus on the things which unite us — not those which divide us. Whilst making us want a beer at the same time. Anyone for a beer?
What can we learn from them? Controversial marketing can be done maturely — and still be incredibly effective!
What’s your favorite outrageous marketing campaign? Why not let us know in the responses below!
At Embrosa, we believe in the importance of diversity. We have a weak spot for local entrepreneurs who offer a unique range of products or services. Also, we love brands that have an inspiring story to tell, that offer unique products and that bring diversity and differentiation to their industry. Do you have a great story to tell and do you want your end consumer to know all about it? Go for dealer marketing by using our smart Last Mile Marketing Distribution solution!
