4 Ways to Stand Out When Nothing Else is Working

What’s a good brand to do when nobody’s listening and the odds are stacked against them?

Perhaps you have something of great value to offer, but you’ve stagnated in a digital world where consumers have turned a blind eye. Your earnest efforts at breaking through have been futile thus far, and that rockstar status you were hoping to achieve is starting to look like a forgone pipe dream.

BUT STOP RIGHT THERE! There is a way to give your marketing that keen edge you’re looking for. Trade in your despair and hopelessness for hard-earned success, because it’s time to take your strategy in a very new direction.

Take a long, hard look at the following concepts and ask yourself the obvious question: “How can I make this work for me?”

Get classy

A brand’s holier-than-thou tone and/or general demeanor is sometimes just the thing that draws appeal from specific target markets. Look what Apple did with their Siri advertisements and you’ll have a better idea of what I mean.

Portraying your product or service with a silver lining can help to set it apart. Whether the commodity itself is depicted in a fancy manner, or it’s being plunged into a prestigious scenario, you’re going to implant an idyllic image into customer’s heads. Isn’t Siri more attractive in the hands of a slick Samuel L. Jackson prepping an organic meal than it would be for average Joe checking the traffic report?

But the real canon of classy ads that comes to mind is Disaronno’s TV spot from years ago.

As a foreign liquor brand, they don’t encounter much difficulty selling themselves as classy in the first place. But those spinning tops and crystal cubes (and perhaps that seductive lady) have stuck in my head over the years, making this ad admittedly effective (albeit cheesy as hell). Just part of my point about classy marketing that gets the job done.

And classy can be humorous too. Here’s mustard brand Grey Poupon’s take on elitist advertising (a modern reimagining of their own 1980s TV spot).

Be sassy

Sarcasm, over-the-top situations and punchy taglines either hit your audience in the face or tickle their funny bones – both proven ways to stand out from the crowd.

When nobody is paying attention, it’s time to feed them a little sass. Here are a few solid examples…

Around this time last year, Pepsi MAX produced a ballsy hidden camera commercial in which professional driver Jeff Gordon took a car salesman on the ride of his life. The final product was hugely successful, but not without its critics. One blogger in particular had some harsh words about the ad, claiming it was faked. So Jeff and the team rebutted with take two of the popular stunt.

Brilliant and sassy in its own right. After all, what’s better than sweet, sweet revenge?

I’ll tell you what. Being number one on the playground is what. Here’s sassy done for a slightly different crowd:

This was a pretty good play for JCPenney, a brand once without a future. When you’re targeting young, sassy “tweens”, throwing in a young sassy tween is bound to catch their attention.

And one more ad with sass for good measure:

Image from Hollywood Reporter

Katy Perry makes a good model for a feisty ad campaign like the one above for Pop Chips. Just ask yourself how long your eyes would linger on an ad for chips if it were anybody else, and lacking the same provocative lingo.

Be incredibly straightforward

Never beat around the bush. What’s smarter than getting straight to the point and becoming crystal clear with your audience?

There is a staggering majority of vague marketing in our modern midst. Sometimes the message is so convoluted that it goes right over our heads. Don’t become one of those ambiguous, storied ads (you know, the “this must be a luxury car commercial” ones) that produce confusion across the board.

Instead, be concise (like this section of my post). Tell your audience exactly what they need to hear, and nothing more.

And, who knows, you might just get a laugh out of them while you’re at it.

Blow minds

You’re good. You know you’re good, or else you wouldn’t be in business. So ask yourself how your product or service can blow people’s minds. Then proceed to do just that.

Take a hint from Volvo and their striking advertisement for dynamic truck steering. Jean-Claude Van Damme and his sweet split action was employed to create this video spot that now has over 71 million views.

If they can blow minds with such a seemingly blasé technology as dynamic steering, then you have no excuses left. Get creative and figure out what it’s going to be that jerks you into the spotlight.

This is a loftier and far more expensive example, but I feel obligated to share one of the most mind-blowing ads ever made. In 2012, Red Bull sponsored Austrian skydiver and daredevil Felix Baumgartner’s free fall jump from the Earth’s stratosphere. 24 miles and over four minutes of risky descent later, they had created a video that’s since pulled in over 36 million views.

Good thing that parachute came out. A big part of creating astounding feats of advertising involves risky maneuvers, so keep this in mind when you go for your own gold.

Now, in the spirit of being concise, this post draws to a close. You may not know what exactly to do to stand out, but you do know how to do it. I implore you to embrace one of my own favorite sayings, and seize the day to make a difference in your own marketing.

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