It's the message that matters, not the medium
In the 1990s, when Joe Nicchi moved from Upstate New York to Los Angeles he quickly noticed one thing.
It was easier to sell a script in LA than finding a proper soft serve ice cream.
In 2014, Joe and his wife, Tyler, decide to start CVT Soft Serve, an ice cream truck business.
Their soft serve ice-cream was so good that in their first year of business LA Weekly named them "best food truck in the city".
But then social media "influencers" started asking for free ice creams in exchange for exposure.
This has been going on for years.
And Joe always replies, “Are you out of your mind? This is $4.”
But last Thursday Joe received an invite to cater a 300-person party. For free.
He was furious.
So on Sunday he made a sign. And hangs it on his ice cream truck.
Then posts it on Instagram.
The sign said, "Influencers pay double".
On Monday, the photo went viral on Reddit.
And then NBC, CNN, and other news outlets picked up the story.
And business doubled.
We, marketers, could learn a thing or two from an ice cream man like Joe Nicchi.
Your pal,
Miguel Ferreira
Founder & Chief Copywriter, Teardwn + Nishi
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