Maximize your chances of getting lucky
Marketing's real job isn't to maximize efficiency. Marketing's real job is to maximize your chances of getting lucky.
About 8% of the Netherland's population is over 75. That's about 1.3 million people.
Out of these 1.3 million, 56% say they feel lonely. This is a slow moving tragedy.
In 2019, Jumbo, a Dutch supermarket chain with over 700 stores decided to do something about it.
So they try a little experiment.
A crazy experiment.
A counterintuitive experiment.
You see, Jumbo discovered that not everyone is in a rush when they're doing their grocery shopping.
And it turns out that some folks actually enjoy having a friendly chitchat with the cashier.
So Jumbo introduced a Kletskassa to fight loneliness.
A Kletskassa is a slow "chat checkout".
It was designed with one clear job. So customers can take a little more time to chitchat with the cashier (without feeling guilty).
The first Kletskassa opened in Vlijmen, in the province of North Brabant.
People loooooooooooved it.
So two years later Jumbo decided to open Kletskassas in 200 stores across the country.
In the Business World counterintuitive ideas like this one are often treated with contempt and disdain. But they're often the best kind. Because they're so distinct, they can't be ignored.
So as Rory Sutherland says, “Test counterintuitive things, because nobody else will”.
You'll have an unbeatable competitive advantage your competitors won't.
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》”Dangerous” Ideas
1/ “The whole point of marketing isn't to maximize efficiency, it’s to maximize possibility” - Rory Sutherland
2/ Reversing industry assumptions opens your thinking to provocative new possibilities.
3/ Friction is bad for business, but sometimes ‘positive brand friction’ can be good for business.
4/ "You cannot make someone listen, care or invest emotionally in your brand. All you can do is be honest, be interesting and get lucky." - Lee Clow
Luck, chance, and randomness have a bigger impact on a brand’s success than we think.
But because of survivorship bias... our brains tend to focus on marketing tactics and copying brands that look like winners in the short-term, BUT ignore all those who failed.
Then we create a bunch of logical stories and patterns to justify their success, ignoring that success was probably mainly random.
Sure, moderate success is usually a result of a lot of hard work. But "overnight" success stories are very rare. AND they’re usually a result of luck, chance and randomness.
Which is why focusing on marketing fundamentals is so important. Because focusing on fundamentals maximizes your chances of getting lucky.
PS. Always wanted to work with me but the timing wasn’t right OR maybe you simply never had the courage to email me? I have ONE slot available for a small copywriting project starting after July 17th. Let's work together. But don’t email me - unless you take copywriting seriously.
Your pal,
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