Popularity Rules --
People are sociological. In marketing what is popular will almost always supercede what is not. Popularity is mainly about winning people over, having them consider what you're saying or have to offer before anything else can be said or done. In marketing it's very important to cut through the noise, clutter. These days popularity will set you apart from your competitors and cause consumers to inadvertently talk about you whereby you remain 'relevant'.
Some marketers will avoid some press opportunities out of fear: 'Well-liked' brands are adored by their target/niche market and respected and loved by people outside of their core segment. While your brand beliefs are important, consistent popularity in the end will set you apart from everyone and everything else happening in your space, extend your product lifecycle and save your brand equity. Accolades and awards (just like becoming the "PROM Queen") will keep you in the minds of consumers allowing you to concentrate on fostering an appreciation and growing likeability .
Sex Sells --
We sometimes behave like animals, to pique our interest is to sell us something. Hate to say it -- but: just like when you were going through puberty, sex is still a tool in marketing that is effective in getting one's attention, which is the first step. I am by no means advocating 'whoring' your brand, rather encouraging you to understand why some brands survive and others don't. People do have sex or consider it a fact of life! That's how we arrived in this wonderful world, great marketers don't re-invent the wheel, they find out where it's going and align their products to complement it.
So, if you are going to sell something to people, start with something that piques their interest and reinforces their lifestyle, whether it be SEX, eating, breathing: Get their attention, then decide what to do with it.
Weird Paralyzes --
If it makes us feel funny, we don't buy. Happy feelings equal happy, feel good purchases. People trust their guts. Half of the battle has been won if you can help them fall in love with your product or brand. We are very emotional creatures. If something gets under our skin in the wrong way, we may tell people -- not to buy.
Your goal as a marketer is to reach people deep into their hearts with a message of love and companionship with your brand. If you make them feel iffy, weird or nauseated, not only have you NOT DONE YOUR JOB as a marketer, but you have lost a prospective customer forever. Often times, you only get one shot to make someone feel funny or puke, consider this your first impression as a brand.
Follow the Crowd --
1000 Frenchmen can't be wrong, and neither can hundreds of mad consumers who have been crossed. Though we all know consensus is a horrible way to come to a decision, in marketing -- it's all we have. People feel more comfortable with buying what everyone else has bought, regardless of what else is on the market.
Once you create the perception of "everyone's doing it", you've pretty much won them over. Though psychology and buyer behavior play a role in what people buy, sociology and group behavior rule the market. So, create something with which you can stir an onslaught of happy raves and reviews, and all you have to do from there is advertise, thus keeping your market share...easy huh?
If All Else Fails Force a Laugh with a Joke --
In times like this, laughter is the best medicine...so, take your happy pills and enjoy the funny marketing messages. Sad people like to laugh, happy people like to laugh, therefore if your brand can entertain -- it can win! Jokes do very well in marketing because doing someone a favor by putting a smile on their face will make them forget that they've actually been marketed to. It really catches people off guard.
Marketing is about ACTION, if your marketing doesn't evoke an action, your work is not done. Make them laugh, and the action is in the reaction.
Competition is KING --
The only thing people like to do more than win is root for the underdog that refuses to lose. Underdogs are -- the hope that the universe avenges those who believe they can. If you believe in your brand enough to fight for it tooth-and-nail, eventually that passion and enthusiasm will carry over to your market.
What are you fighting for? What's your motivation? How do you win over your customers? Well, competition is the best way to convince people of brand value and sustenance. Not only is your brand not going anywhere but it's competing for the number one spot, and everyone likes a winner or someone in the process of winning!
Also posted on Women2.com