The interested vs invested audiences of Gymshark, CNN, Liquid Death et al
Or, the value of brands telling customers "we get you"
Hello!
I won’t publish a newsletter next Friday, July 5th because it’s a long weekend for lots of people (in the US) and I won’t spoil it by pushing strategy stuff into your inbox.
It’s also the first Friday of the month which would normally be Free First Friday - the day each month when I open up my calendar for free trial coaching sessions. Because I don’t want (or expect) anyone to call me from the beach or a canoe, I’m pushing it to Friday July 12th. Reserve half an hour if you’d like.
Here’s what I paid attention to this week:
There have been many takes on the new Gymshark “We do gym” campaign, but none on the value of invested vs interested audiences. Until this newsletter.
HBR says the Starbucks brand has lost the plot and I agree with them.
A poem about evil masquerading as virtue by queer Cuban American poet Christina Olivares (no it’s not about the Coke campaign that won at Cannes).
Enjoy. Or not - it’s your choice.
-Mike
(But first)
If your agency is making plenty of profit already, you don’t need me
Good strategy makes the work better, yes. But a strategist who becomes more effective (and senior) through expert coaching takes a longer view of the client’s and the agency’s business, and can help unlock growth and profitability. If your agency is making plenty of profit already you don’t need me. But if you’d like a little more let’s talk.
The interested vs invested audiences of Gymshark, CNN, Liquid Death et al
Gymshark’s new campaign “We do gym” shows very clearly who the brand thinks their audience is. It uses gym lingo and tropes that will be very familiar to people who spend a lot of time in the gym (and on social media viewing content about being in the gym). Gym people will get it, and the hope is that they’ll see Gymshark as a brand that gets them too.
Of course, some people won’t get it. You could argue that’s a liability, as it hamstrings the brands broader appeal and growth opportunities. But I see it differently.
First, I don’t know if Gymshark at this moment needs to grow beyond its core audience. Are there enough of them out there who are not yet customers, who the brand can attract by sticking tightly to a niche? On the one hand, this sort of discriminating nichiness could limit a brand’s addressable market. On the other, it also creates deep affinity and loyal customer advocates in ways that brands aiming more broadly lack. Gymshark is signaling to its customers that wearing their brand tells the world of their passion. Wearing Nike or Under Armor doesn’t carry the same components of identity. Does anyone ever say that Under Armor “really gets me”?
Second, does it really hamstring the brand’s appeal outside of this niche? You could ask the same question of Liquid Death, who are similarly narrow and disciplined in their positioning, but who are also being carried by the case into Mazda SUVs in Whole Foods parking lots.
Third, speaking to a very narrow audience like this promotes exclusivity, which attracts people by repelling them. Sure some people will see these ads, shrug and walk away. But others might not get the references and become curious, like they think they’re missing out on something.
I saw another campaign from a very different brand this week that works the same way - new work from CNN by Almap BBDO with the tagline “Nothing goes unnoticed.”
If you immediately understand all of these, then you know exactly what it’s like for someone to see Gymshark ads that reference leg day, stringers, squat racks or callouses.
Most successful brands have two kinds of customers. You might call them casual vs loyal. But I look at them through their relationship to the brand instead of behavior, and call them “interested” vs “invested.” To break through, every brand needs invested customers - people who feel a strong enough affinity to the brand to drive behavior change. As brands mature, many find that they have to move beyond invested to more casually “interested” customers. (Or if you’re Patagonia, you are so disciplined and persuasive with your brand that you convert interested to invested.)
Gymshark is obviously at a point where invested customers are critical to them, as this campaign embodies their entire brand ethos.
CNN is obviously much more mature. Maybe they realized they had too few invested customers and needed more people to think the brand really gets them? This campaign is only one of many things the brand is doing.
When you look at ads (or any manifestation of a brand’s experience) you should get an idea of what customers are important. Conversely, if you’re shaping a brand’s experience, you need to be very clear on what customers you need to attract in order for the business to be successful.
Right brain
Preserving an Ecosystem hired one summer, me color & three color girls. to cut bushes & saplings to preserve bushes & saplings. who decides which? one of us asked. machetes, clippers, saws. they explained that an invasive species is called that to make the culling easier. gold slanted muddy, idyllic & the heat licked the skin clean off our backs and faces. how strong we got, how well we slept. the old farmhouse was overrun with field mice so every morning & every night we baited nine traps and flung eighteen bodies into the field behind the house we decided wasn’t theirs. how strong we became, how robust our appetites, how much we laughed. how clear we were, learning goodness, how to be good, executing all the deaths that goodness requires. -Christina Olivares
Strategy in brief
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Signal boost
You’ve probably seen some of the athletic brand ads around the Euros and Copa America soccer competitions. Now you can be in one, if you’re in or can get to London.
Ladies Who Strategize is a very cool community for, well, women in strategy jobs. If that’s you, apply to join by July 1.
Harvard Business Review says the Starbucks brand has lost the plot and I agree with them. (Gift article from HBR)
Have something for a future Signal Boost? Email me or just reply to this newsletter.
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About The Strategy Coach Company
I’m Mike May and I founded the Strategy Coach Company to help brand and agency strategists get better at their job while doing their job. I provide 1:1 coaching, collaboration, real-time feedback and thought partnership on actual work in progress, because I know that’s the best way to get better at doing strategy, and at being a strategist. You can learn more at StrategyCoach.co, connect with me on LinkedIn, or just reply to this newsletter.