Selling Cool, and Product Placement.

Jul 2, 2014 by Paul White

Advertising that just pushes price, or pushes people to buy will fail to make results happen.  Most Big Companies have perfected the art of selling Cool.  Or they have at least outsourced the creative of this to an agency that knows how to sell cool.  In this day and age where people are judged based on what they wear, what phone they carry, and what car they drive,  Cool matters.  I think this southpark clip pretty much sums up what Apple products mean to younger consumers these days.


Luckily I am computer guy. I write code and manage systems.  I rarely meet my clients in person, and when I do, I am usually there working on site, so nobody cares how stylish my clothes are.  Thus my own variation of the Steve Jobs Outfit ( Gym Shorts, and a Nike Fitted workout Shirt ).  I also demand much more from my mobile devices, so Apple's products are not going to cut it.  Sure maybe Android doesn't have the cool factor to it.  But at least I don't need to visit an Apple store to get help setting up my email.  

However even though I tend to snub off the cool factor in technology,  Cars are a different story.  Perception means everything.  The most successful car companies don't sell by price, they sell by cool.  If you sell by price you will always attract a lower end consumer, which means you are also usually taking a smaller profit margin.  We all watched GM try to sell price for the decade leading up to their collapse into Government Motors.  Apple is able to sell inferior products for higher prices simply because they are successful at managing hype and their cool factor.  People will pay to be identified with a brand that is known as cool.  

Of course small business don't have the money to hire an outside agency to develop a cool campaign for them.  They often are taking things into their own hands.  My advice to them is to focus on your website, and marketing to put out an organized cool image.  Don't just blast out every day to your maillist the name of your product, and say Buy Today.  The same goes for your facebook page.  Don't Annoy your followers with the same salesy product push. This will lead many to unfollow you.  If you are posting stuff on facebook and nobody is clicking the like button, you might want to stop. 

Product Placement is another area you can use to successfully brand your potential customers.  Apple is yet another company that pays to have their products placed in movies and shows.  However if not done right, this can seem fake.  I recall a TV show where the girl takes out her Windows Phone and gets directions.  The whole way it was laid out just seemed forced, as if this 30 seconds of the show was written by someone from Microsoft.  Product placements need to be suttle.

The best product placements are ones that are not paid.  Ones that happen naturally.  Nothing is more natural at least in the consumer's eyes than news coverage.  Recently with the new violence in Iraq, I have noticed that one company seems to have more product placements than any other.  Everytime CNN or Fox News would play a video clip of the ISIS terrorists, they were alway rallying or driving in a convoy of non other than Toyota Trucks.   It would seem that Toyota Trucks are the unofficial vehicle of Jihad.

Which are you going to believe is the best truck?

The commerical with a Ford F-150 being driven by paid good looking actor that resembles John Hamm wearing a plaid shirt, and slight beard, while towing some fishing boat to the lake through a pristin forest in Maine, where he manages to get over a few bumps in the road, and finds his way using some computer aided GPS.

or

Muhammad, who is driving his Toyota Tundra, through the desert, in 130 degree heat Windows Down, with 20 of his closest buddies all sporting AK-47s in the bed, while towing some piece of Russian Artillery.  Not just that but there are some 50 Toyota Trucks in his Convoy.  Which to me is a more powerful message, because #1 its on the news and is not a staged advertisement.  #2  Obviously when you are putting your life on the line to commit acts of Terror, you want to make sure you have the right truck to get you there.  #3 last time I checked ISIS was winning ( At least last time I watched the news, that was the impression ), and people always want to buy what the winners buy.  #4 every terrorist video clip seems like lost footage from Rambo 3.  ( Doesn't get cooler than that)

In war everyone looses except defense contractors, Ammunition suppliers, and Toyota.

Seriously, what does it take to get some Ford F-150s in the right wrong hands for a little free News coverage.  

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