When a sock startup thought about expanding its reach, it followed the path to find an influencer with a following on Instagram. Iva Pawling and Tim Morse, friends and co-founders found after spending $2,000 that they could have used that money differently with greater results.
They came up with a plan to invite the owners of five complimentary businesses to come to with them on a Hawaiian vacation.
Their idea was that if these owners built enduring relationships with them, that they could access their millions of followers. They spent $17,000 taking six brand owners to Hawaii for four days. They included Jenni Britton Bauer of Jeni’s Ice Creams, Bobby Kim of [streetwear brand] The Hundreds and Ellen Bennett of handmade chef gear maker Hedley & Bennett. Through their brands, they each have a massive following. Getting eyeballs on Instagram is important, and two people on the trip had had incredible experiences with catalogs, so they learned from them too.
The Counterintuitive Marketing Approach
Their investment paid off – big-time. Their guests took dozens of photographs exposing their followers to this new brand called Richer Poorer. People who buy Jenni’s $14 pints of ice cream might be the same type of people who would pay $14 for a fun pair of socks.
Finding Your Soul, Mate
Richer Poorer is now an innerwear brand selling socks, t-shirts and a range of men’s and women’s apparel.
When you stick to strategic marketing thinking first, it forces you to ask some important and challenging questions. Iva and Tim wanted to grow through direct sales to consumers. By having a brand leader introduce their followers to another brand, it serves the same role as an influencer, but it takes it up a notch.
They started with the goal, not the tactic. The obvious path was to pay influencers to talk up their brand. But instead of doing that, they found brand leaders and kindred souls, to help them get their story out to their clients.
Three Marketing Lessons
- Are you starting with tactics before you truly understand your goal?
- Are you doing what everyone else does, because it is safe and feels predictable?
- Are you leveraging human connections in an unexpected way?
How are you going to sock it to your marketing?
Need some counter intuitive thinking to jump start your brand? Let’s think outside of the box – heck, let’s skip the box and create some new and inspiring ideas together. Call me 919 720 0995 or email me at jeffslater@themarketingsage.com
Photo courtesy of Richer Poorer, all rights reserved
