Let's start with this image.
Same title. Same painting. Same subreddit. One gets 300 votes. The other gets 70,000.
People love REAL stuff. But it's rare.
Lifeless marketing is everywhere and we copy it without thinking.
So I thought I'd share some examples of REAL stuff.
Publishers say bestsellers need endorsements from fancy media.
Nassim Taleb disagreed. For his latest book he replaced praise from Economist et al. with words from real readers.
Readers connect with readers in a way The Economist can't.
In the 1980s all outdoor fashion catalogs looked the same.
Paid models. Fake hikes.
Patagonia’s founder, Yvon Chouinard, was sick of it. So he placed a note in their catalog asking customers to send in real photos.
Suddenly Patagonia stood out. They still only use real customers today.
A real surfer showing a little skin is a lot sexier than a half-dressed, anonymous model — Yvon Chouinard
Most product launches feel like a copy and paste job.
Look what happens when Rihanna drops the clichés and talks like a real person.
Real means human.
For Mother's Day this year Chanel asked employees' kids to draw products.
Contrast these two ads from Beachbody's CEO.
The first is your classic clean-cut ad. The second feels like a fitness vlog. Dropping sweat. Off-the-cuff. Much more authentic.
The People's Vote Campaign spent more than £800k in the lead up to the 2019 UK election. Fancy cameras, expensive lighting, etc...
Their best performing ad? Staff talking to an iPhone on their way to work.
I'll leave you with my real marketing manifesto:
Real people. Real words. Real customers. Anything else goes.
I spent yesterday applying it to my email popup.
If you enjoyed this, you might like my marketing newsletter. I write a weekly email full of real world examples like this!
Great post as always!
Cheers Giancarllo!
Awesome Harry, thanks for putting this together.
Cheers Chris. Pleasure
Hmmm... a brutal drawn man with a young, beautiful girl will always gather more points than without her :))))
Also, I'm sure it made the difference here, but always beware of a sample size of 2! You can post something on HN and get 3 upvotes. Post the exact same thing again a week later and get 100 upvotes, purely down to luck.
Yep. That's the point. People like people. I honestly don't think attractiveness comes into it. Sometimes too attractive can come off as fake.
I've seen all different shapes and sizes“blow up” on the internet. You can own whatever you've got. Personality and a smile is the key.
Thanks Harry! Nice one!
Cheers Leo!
the sequel to this could be called "take your marketing from real>realer>realest!" something something random thought
totally agree
focus on LIFE and PEOPLE in marketing communications
people stick to people :)
This is epic, love that you built on some of the previous content as it tells a great story. Excellent execution
Cats trump humans !! Put a cat in and your products will get a gazillion likes . :D
Jokes apart, cats also work, but would depend on the context!
tru fax
Good examples
You got me!
Sharing this as a carve-out with on my growth marketing course :)
Great advice, I will apply this when thinking about my redesign. I wonder, if everyone makes their stuff more real, then that becomes the new normal. How then to stand out?
haha... it's going to take 100 years for that to happen i think.
love it! If only more big brands would adopt :)
little gap for us small timers!
Damn, this is so so good advice!
Cheers Dimitry!
Refreshing post - thanks for this!
Awesome read, Harry! This makes so much sense, nice work!
This is one of the most useful website for makers! Great work @harrydry
Real cuts through the noise. Thank you for the reminder.
Cheers Vita
hey man, we're on board with all of this at phlywheel and will be putting this gold into place in our own strategy. thanks for sharing!
Sweet. Thanks and good luck. Been enjoying your presence on the forum lately :)
sicckk see you around
This comment was deleted a year ago.
Oh, that's just "toss the baby" maneuver - everyone knows that!
different times i guess