What works for you may not be effective for others, and what works for others may not a good enough for you. Yes, this is how it works in every field of life, including business. It is simply impossible for every organization to follow the same business model or marketing strategies.
Different corporations and brands use different types of marketing strategies to create their own competitive advantage and brand identity. Why? Because when it comes to marketing, there is no “one size fits all” approach. You just have to come up with something different, effective, and even unorthodox to market your brand.
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Best Marketing Strategy Examples to Fuel Up Your Business
If you are looking for some guidance on developing an “out of the box” marketing campaign for your brand, here are some inspirational marketing strategy examples with loads of creativity.
GoPro – Radical User Generated Content
Whenever we see a video with the GoPro logo, we get ourselves ready for something fascinating and exciting. That is how the brand has conquered the global market. Yes, a lot of people believe that GoPro is riding its luck because their products are too good to create highly appealing and immersive content that can easily tap consumers’ emotions. But the thing is, you cannot ride on luck for years.
So how come GoPro emerged as the market leader? For starters, GoPro targeted specific key markets, which mainly include extreme and adventurous sports, Scuba diving, and road cycling. Their products can literally capture anything as their CEO, NickWoodmen, said that the camera “has made nothing unfilmable.”
Can you believe that their “core” strength lies in something else? Yes, they do make exceptionally amazing and futuristic products, but it is the user-generated content that is their competitive edge, their strength. With the GoPro app, you can edit, upload, and share your videos. The “GoPro Awards,” in which the company rewards the owners of best content with cash prizes and gear, is a next-level marketing tactic.
The company believes in one simple rule; the content and the product are equally important.
Spotify – Offers a Unique User Experience to Win the Streaming War
A Swedish brand that has literally conquered the global music streaming market, Spotify is a name we all love. This organization has established itself as one of the leading music streaming brands globally. But do you know how did they do that? What was so different with Spotify?
Well, for starters, like others, Spotify is not just a typical music streaming platform. That is, most of the other similar music streaming platforms allow you to search music with typical filters such as genre, artist/vocalist name, etc. However, with Spotify, you can search for music according to your mood.
For instance, if you are sad, happy, excited, bored, or even taking a shower, you can search the music accordingly. This not only allows you to enjoy the music, but you also explore new vocalists, bands, and music tracks regularly. Spotify is also a massive platform for new or struggling professionals in the music industry because it provides them a platform to be heard by consumers. Apart from that, Spotify uses AI (artificial intelligence) to curate playlists on the basis of customer’s habits.
Frito-Lay – Be Original, Be Fun
“Lay’s has more flavors than the colors of a chameleon” yeah, it may be a metaphor, but it is almost true. Frito-Lay, a vertical of PepsiCo, has a versatile product portfolio, including Cheetos, Lay’s, and Doritos. Not many brands have earned the name “genius of marketing,” but PepsiCo sure did. They always come up with something really unique and out-of-the-box.
Ever wonder why there is so much versatility in Lay’s flavors? For instance, we have grilled cheese, gyro and truffle fries, tomato soup, etc.?
Lays’s introduced the “Do us a flavor” contest in which they asked the consumers to submit the ingredients and flavors which they wanted Lay’s to develop. Lay’s collected the information, picked up the three best flavors, offered cash prizes to the winners, and developed customer-oriented flavors, a win-win situation for everyone. Frito-Lay never ceases to amaze its customers with its taste and marketing tactics.
Heineken – Acing the Sponsorship Game
If you want to judge a brand’s recognition, look out for its social media dominance because this is how millennials “show their love.” Heineken, a Dutch beer company, has millions of Facebook likes and is loved by millennial males.
The company struggled to make an impact until 2011, when they launched their iconic “Open to world” global marketing campaign. Since then, it has been a one-way trip for Heineken. But, what makes Heineken’s marketing strategy different from others?
Heineken has simply aced the marketing by sponsoring major events such as UEFA Champions League. This way, they can easily target millennials who have an interest in global sports. Apart from that, Heineken also sponsors the biggest gathering of millennials (a summer festival) known as Coachella. Heineken quickly realized that it was not easy to inspire this generation with traditional advertising, so they found another way to connect with their target audience.
Twitch – Focuses on a very specific Niche
It is highly possible that you may not have heard about this one, but Amazon.com acquired it for a whopping $970 million in September 2014. To make it more interesting, here is another shocker for you; Twitch became the 4th biggest source of internet traffic in February 2013, just falling behind Apple, Google, and Netflix. Isn’t it surprising?
The question is, what is so special about Twitch? The company follows a simple rule; rather than being a jack of all trades, it is better to be the master of one. Twitch just targeted a very specific niche; broadcasting live video games. Rather than trying their luck everywhere, they managed to get the trust and support of a massive target audience and connect with them. No doubt, Twitch is a perfect example of niche-based marketing.
Taco Bell – Know Your Audience
Understanding your target audience’s needs, preferences, likes, dislikes, etc., are the basics of marketing, and Taco Bell has taken this maxim very seriously. Competing against the likes of McDonald’s, Wendy’s, etc., was not easy by any means, but Taco Bell had other plans.
The company realized that a major portion of its customer base includes college students who don’t have easy access to television. That is why Taco Bell’s marketing department channelized its efforts and resources on social media marketing.
Interacting with their customers on social media platforms allowed them to dig deeper into their psyche and adapt to their buying patterns. In simple words, Taco Bell just followed the basics of marketing- know your audience.
Nike – Promote the Cultural Values
There are not many companies which you can recognize just with their slogans, but Nike is surely one of them. The “just do it” mantra is not just a slogan, but it is a culture that Nike has developed over all these years. Innovation and overcoming adversities are the brand values of Nike.
It won’t be wrong to say that Nike knows the art of provoking positive emotions in the customers through its awesome storytelling skills. Innovation has been a key strength of Nike since the beginning, and no wonder the Fast Company voted Nike as the No.1 most innovative company of 2013.
“if you have a body, you’re an athlete.” phrases like these have always helped Nike to induce motivation, positivity, and a champion-like attitude in its customer base. Simply put, Nike follows its culture everywhere!
Warby Parker – Always Believe in Your Brand Story
If you don’t believe in the power of brand story, here is one for you. Warby Parker, an eyewear company, came with a mission. Warby Parker sells premium quality glasses but at very affordable prices. It won’t be wrong to say that Warby Parker is the common man’s Armani or Gucci but what makes it different is their brand story.
If you go to the company’s history page, you will find the story of the founder who had vision below 20/20 but couldn’t afford to buy glasses. This triggered the founder to sell premium quality glasses at revolutionary prices to undone the monopoly of “elite” brands.
Apart from that, Warby Parker donates a pair of glasses to needy people for every sale. This is a great way to empathize with people who face vision difficulties. Lesson? Humanize your brand, share your brand story, and be empathetic.
Coca-Cola – A Social Cause
It is a fact that marketers have improvised with “clever” and “cunning” marketing strategies, but the consumers have responded equally well. It may be a shocking revelation for you that 56% of consumers see social causes initiated by brands as a marketing ploy. This has proved to be very costly for many brands, but Coca-Cola is not one of them.
The global giant, Coca-Cola has “gone against the wind” and actually brought happiness by launching “the happiness truck” campaign in Brazil. A truck containing merchandise roamed in the streets of Brazil, and anyone who pressed the red button would get free merchandise.
The campaign was well accepted by the people, and the company did the same in Istanbul and Armenia. Coca-cola has established itself as a highly wanted brand in international markets with the help of a “sharing is caring” drive. Lesson? Be sincere to your cause and involve your customers in it.
Myfix Cycles – Retargeting in Your Last Chance
You have to agree with the fact that it is pretty difficult to get the consistent focus of modern-day customers. People have a lot on their minds, and they can easily forget things, which is not a favorable situation for brands.
That is why businesses use the retargeting strategy to attract lost customers, upselling to current customers, or activating dormant customers. Talking about retargeting, a Canadian cycle brand, Myfix Cycles, has used this strategy exceedingly well.
The company ran a Facebook retargeting campaign by partnering with Webrunner Media. On their website, they inserted a tracking code called Facebook Pixel, which follows visitors across the web relentlessly.
Myfix Cycles targeted three demographics;
- Potential customers who placed products to the cart but did not check out.
- People who visited Myfix Cycles’ website in the last 14 days.
- Customers with a transaction/purchase in last 6 months.
After that, the company ran ads telling their potential customers that they had marked down their abandoned carts. The company also offered free shipping anywhere in Canada. Myfix Cycles believes in one simple thing; every customer is important, and retargeting is a great way to minimize customer acquisition costs.
