Different Wins: Exploring the Power of Novel and Distinctive Marketing

Summary:

Delve into the psychological impact of novelty and distinctiveness in marketing, explaining why unconventional or new things capture our attention.

I discusses concepts such as the appeal to novelty, the bizarreness effect, distinction bias, and the isolation effect, using real-world advertising examples from brands like Old Spice, Signal, and Tesla to illustrate these ideas.

I encourage marketers to think differently, use the principles of novelty and uniqueness to capture and retain consumer attention effectively.

Key Insights:

1. Appeal to Novelty

• We are naturally attracted to new things because they require us to update our mental models, which makes them memorable.

• This concept is demonstrated through examples like Old Spice's marketing strategies and Signal's privacy-focused advertising, which stand out by offering something fresh and different from the norm.

2. The Bizarreness Effect

• Similarly, bizarre or unusual things tend to stick in our memory for reasons akin to the appeal of novelty.

• An example is a jarringly transparent Instagram ad from a funeral home during the height of COVID, which captures attention due to its unusual context and message.

3. Distinction Bias

• This bias leads us to exaggerate differences between similar objects to simplify our understanding of the world.

• The Von Restorff effect (also known as the isolation effect), which is the tendency to remember items that differ significantly from those around them.

4. Real-world Examples of Distinction and Isolation Effects

• Notable examples include a provocative homepage from Linear, which challenges the conventional B2B marketing seen in competitors like Jira.

• And Buffer's transparent pricing page, which differentiates itself in the crowded market of social media tools.

5. Legendary Different Marketing Plays

• The video highlights iconic advertising moves, such as Volkswagen's counter-cultural ads during an era of large cars, emphasizing the effectiveness of standing out in a saturated market.

• Tesla is also cited as a textbook example of creating market distinction through innovative product offerings and branding.

6. Creating Difference in a Category

• The narrative concludes with a call to resist conformity and to create marketing that gives people a reason to care.

• Salesforce's unique distribution strategy for CRM systems is cited as a successful example of redefining an existing market through innovative approaches to product delivery and marketing.