Whether you’re evolving a start-up business, launching a new product, or working to give your existing business a face-lift, developing an effective marketing strategy is essential to success. There are a number of companies who have launched brilliant marketing campaigns in the last few years. A closer look at their marketing strategies can yield some powerful and valuable lessons.
Lyft is the first ideal candidate—as a smaller company, they were able to use savvy marketing to gain market traction against a much bigger competitor, Uber. Snickers, the other ideal candidate, as an eighty year old company, used a brilliant marketing strategy to not only remain relevant in a dominated, saturated market, but to re-establish themselves as a globally-dominant brand.
Lessons from Lyft
Be Different- When Lyft first started out, they were seen merely as a wannabe Uber competitor. However, as Uber made a series of serious marketing missteps, Lyft was able to profit from their mistakes. That being said, being competitive is more than just profiting from other companies mistakes. You must develop a cohesive marketing strategy that lifts you above the others. Lyft’s pink mustache campaign on every car was a great branding move that not only spiked consumer awareness but also added to the overall experience.
Lyft’s founders say the pink mustache is meant to get a conversation started between customers and drivers. They want to establish a larger community—one where a ride-share makes your day a little brighter. It’s the idea that a trip across town can include a great conversation or end with a new friend. Lyft knew that just being another “taxi-style option” wasn’t going to suffice— so, they set themselves apart from the crowd.
Know Your Demographic/Develop an Ethos- Lyft originally began as a way to take cars off the road via ride-sharing. It wasn’t meant to parallel Uber as an efficient network of local transport with more cars, limos and trucks sharing the road. They wanted to take advantage of empty seats in people’s cars, which begs the question— what kind of people are open to getting in a stranger’s car or allowing strangers to ride in their car? The answer: Young, adventurous people eager to share a novel experience with someone unknown. Lyft knew their target audience and tailored their website, social media marketing and ad campaigns to young people. They could depend on Lyft to provide a fun, safe and cheap way to get around town.
This ties into the idea of developing an ethos. Every company develops an ethos which is manifested in your company culture, in how you make decisions, and how your employees treat each other and your customers. Your ethos must create an atmosphere that promises to provide an unforgettable experience for every customer. Lyft’s customers and employees recognize a company ethos dedicated to making consumers’ days a little happier every time they share a ride.
Lessons from Snickers
Humor is Contagious– Long-established companies like Snickers strive not only to stay relevant, but to create a bigger, more compelling marketing platform. Fame isn’t simply about promoting brand awareness, which coincidentally has limited value for most brands. Instead, it’s about consumers championing your brand through word-of-mouth advocacy— getting a lot of people talking about you all at once. Snickers’ “hangry campaign” sparked internal engagement with consumers through clean, gut-busting humor. Everyone can relate to irrational mood swings when they’re hungry. By tapping into those emotions and framing them in humor, they were able to create a fantastic marketing scheme that reached millions of people around the globe. For more information on developing a brilliant marketing strategy of your own, contact our staff at Web Content Development!
