Quirky.
It’s a fun word. The dictionary on my computer tells me it means “characterized by peculiar or unexpected traits.”
When it comes to our experience with businesses, organizations, and the products/services they provide, I’m a big fan of “quirk.” It’s a good way to stand out from the crowd of “me too” marketing. I like to be surprised, to encounter something unexpected, and quirk can be an effective way to do that.
BlendTec does a great job of quirky marketing. Their Will It Blend videos feature company president Tom Dickson putting all manner of virtually unblendable objects–iPhones, skis, hockey pucks–into a BlendTec blender. The video below shows Tom blending a rake.
With their campy music and lighthearted production, the videos have garnered millions of views. The point of all this (which is hopefully obvious) is not to show you how to use a blender to blend things you shouldn’t blend. The point is to demonstrate the power of the blenders so that you’ll buy one to make your smoothies and milkshakes at home.
Below is a recent ad by GE for its new lightbulb technology. How do you get people excited about new lightbulbs? Cast Jeff Goldblum as a mock celebrity and use a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor.
My marketing class pointed out Flo, the Progressive Insurance “expert,” fits the model for good, quirky marketing as well.
Is this going to work for everyone, for every product, every customer?
Nope.
But that’s OK.
How could you put some quirk in your marketing?