The Rise of Sassy Marketing
The OG of bold marketing award goes to Duo, the deranged green owl mascot for Duolingo, the language learning app. 'French or trench'. 'Spanish or vanish' are common responses to their communities' comments, to coerce people into doing their daily practice. This type of threatening and 'out-there' marketing works wonders for Duolingo, with the app boasting over 74 million monthly users.
But these days, it's not just Duo, with more and more brands are jumping on the sassy hype so it's time for you to be doing the same!
Cereal brand Surreal is our fave atm, with IDGAF and cheeky marketing campaigns that smash the 80/20 rule. Even the 20% doesn't feel like selling at this point.
Their campaign with well-known celebrity names to grab attention, and then using clever asterisks announcing the Serena Williams they were talking about was actually a student from London who has the same name as the tennis superstar, is a great example of using a hook to reel in the audience, in this case a celebrity name, and then letting that speak for the selling of the product.
Your audience will love it, but it's crucial to keep it in your TOV, though, and make sure your branding is on point; you don’t want to confuse your audience!
You are what makes your business unique and like no one else on the market, so it can’t hurt to inject some more personality into the brand. The sassier and more provocative, the better!
Another point to consider is how you want to provoke emotion. Do you want to shock people? Make them laugh? You know your audience best, so you will know how to reach out in a bolder way, within your own TOV.
Think about it like this:
Posting provocative or sassy content online will garner attention, which turns into comments and shares, AKA social currency (having some is great, but it’s always better to earn more).
People will talk about you away from their screens, recommend you to friends and you’ll stay in their minds.
They will then come back to your socials or check out your website, so you see that social currency we mentioned could turn into real currency: all from being a bit more provocative online.
Remember, there’s no concrete formula for success online; with the illusive algorithm playing hot and cold, the best practices are to be yourself, get your socials and website branded uniformly and post consistently without being afraid to try new things.
Does this feel like it’s a bit outside your wheelhouse? Fret not, as we’ve created a new resource all about HOOKS and how to reel in your audience, as this is the first step to being more provocative online.
Your hook gets them to open the door, now you need your content to get them inside and sat down with a cuppa, ready to enjoy your account.