Learning Referral Marketing from These Campaigns Secret Sauce

Oct 12, 2020

—

Mike

in MARKETING AND ADVERTISING

Yes, we agree with Seth. Remarkable products do get talked about. Here are two very different but excellent referral marketing campaigns to learn from. Both are very well done and have some unique things to teach us.

Products that are remarkable get talked about.

– Seth Godin

Referral marketing … the Will It Blend Marketing Campaign

Funny. Memorable. Manly. The keys to success from the ‘Will It Blend’ marketing campaign. And certainly something you’ll want to do for a networked market. Like Blendtec did very successfully.

‘Will It Blend’ is a marketing campaign consisting of a series of infomercials demonstrating the Blendtec line of blenders. In the show, Tom Dickson, the Blendtec founder, attempts to blend various unusual items in order to show off the toughness and power of his blender.

As a little background, George Wright, Blendtec’s vice president of marketing and sales created a YouTube and marketing campaign called “Will it Blend”?

He happened to witness CEO, Tom Dickson feeding a 2×2 inch wooden board into a commercial blender as part of his destructive test and found it fascinating, hence thought others might get a kick out of watching the process, and the idea for creating a video was born.

So here is what your business can learn about how to create a similar marketing campaign:

Short, snappy videos

A recent online video study shows that 82 percent of Internet users watch online video at an average of 5.6 hours a week. And if you have a video that wants to be seen, the best possible platform, according to ComScore, is YouTube.

And remember to keep it short and sweet on YouTube, as viewers prefer not to want to sit through lengthy videos.

The simple objective … turn marketing into useful, entertaining content, not content into marketing.

Lots of content

The old saying never put all your eggs in one basket, certainly applies to marketing. Blendtec heeded this advice during its video response-heavy social media campaigns.

The approach is definitely quantity over quality. Try to make the best things you can, and as great as you can, but then move on to the next one.

It’s more about pumping out many videos than it is about getting five that are absolutely perfect.

If you create quality content, chances are that people will want more. After all, more content for fans to consume means happier fans.

Blendtec attacked this idea by producing as many commercial-quality video responses as possible.

Whenever a brand can give back—to give to the consumers more than it asks of them, in terms of entertainment and value—people are going to have a better feeling about that brand.

Any brand can do that. Always try to provide more in terms of entertainment and surprise and enjoyment to build that equity with the consumer.

Blendtec’s first “Will It Blend?” videos became the 33rd-most-viewed series ever on YouTube and helped drive sales of the company’s $399 high-end consumer blender up 500%.

Referral marketing examples … build community through engagement

Tom Dickson, is the star of the videos. You see him put different crazy things in the blender and say “Will it blend? That is the question”. While the item is blending he smiles and waits for the process to end.

When it does, he empties the contents and the subtitle “Yes! It blends” appears.

Once the videos got rolling, Blendtec engaged their fans seeking ideas for things to blend. Fans become more fanatical when their favorite brands go out of their way to invite them in on the fun.

Link to significant media events

Some episodes were produced to coincide with significant media events. For example, three episodes aired during Super Bowl weekends.

The first episode had Dickson blend a smoothie out of salsa, tortilla chips, Buffalo wings, and some Budweiser.

The second and third episodes used two blenders to predict the outcome of the Super Bowl by blending miniature helmets (AFC versus NFC) and foam footballs. Who says a brand can’t have a personality?

To coincide with the release of the film Transformers, Dickson blended the Transformers toys Bumblebee and Swindle before challenging two of his grandchildren to transform the remains. Make things personal.

This is certainly something your brand can do. Look for local events to take advantage of.

Memorable theme and tag line

One of the most surprising, extreme episodes featured Dickson placing six Bic lighters in the blender. In a matter of seconds, the mixture of butane, metal, and plastic ignited into a ball of fire inside the container.

The scene was exaggerated by the addition of nuclear explosion film footage before one of the production crew sprayed a fire extinguisher on the still-operating blender.

A WOW theme and tag line for sure.

Word of mouth campaigns … follow good marketing principles

Of course, Dickson and Wright aren’t as crazy as they look. They observe all of the cardinal rules of good marketing strategy.

First, they have a very good product.

Second, they put it through its paces: if it can blend a video camera, it won’t be troubled by a pile of strawberries. It’s funny and original because it’s so different.

Dickson doesn’t take himself too seriously, so you feel good about the man behind the product too. And of course, if you look at the proper Blendtec website, all the sensible stuff is there too – product information, blending advice and tips about food preparation, how to order a blender and so on.

The company, in other words, has created a personality for itself and its products, invites people to join in the fun (you can suggest things to blend via email), and adopts behavior that is a combination of the deranged and the single-minded.

It leaves you wanting more as all great campaign ideas do. What will they blend next?

Referral marketing strategies … use multiple marketing channels

The videos are such compulsive viewing that the company has spun off a website just to accommodate them.

The Will it Blend idea is using the web as its main medium. Its message is spread by people who want their friends to see how bonkers Dickson is and because it makes them laugh.

The fact that his blender is so powerful it will blend pretty well anything that can be crammed into it is secondary to the entertainment value of the films. Secondary but not unnoticed. The message could not be clearer: the Blendtec is one tough machine.

Consider all of the channels for advertising, too. Having several ads across many different networks is the best way to attract as many fans as possible to your cause.

By marketing all channels at once, the hope is that the multiple discussions on each network converge to create one giant conversation.

Key takeaways of this campaign

The fact that the ads are almost wholly lacking in what agencies call “production values” does not matter a fig to the YouTube user.

All of which is a shining exemplar of effective (and cheap) advertising that is being taken up more and more by brands big and small across the globe.

The Blendtec campaign has set the bar for how other companies and agencies can approach viral advertising, by focusing on the fans first.

By striking a perfect balance of content and advertising, and some fact of the matter is, other companies can, too.

As of March 21, 2013, the Blendtec series of videos had collected a total of 294,098,738 views on YouTube. That is an amazing statistic, isn’t it?

California Pizza Kitchen’s Marketing Strategy and Campaign

Have you tried different ways to create a word of mouth marketing strategy? We mean different ways. Ways to bring feelings into the marketing equation.

Feelings like curiosity. Feelings and emotions are a great way to influence and market.

Here’s a rather interesting promotion from California Pizza Kitchen, one where creating curiosity was used to engage consumers.

At the end of my dinner, I was given the bill and a CPK ‘Don’t Open’ Thank You, Card.

It’s a coupon with an interesting twist: you bring this card with you the next time you come to CPK. You’ve already won something, from a free appetizer up to $50 dollars (or more).

But you won’t know what you’ve won until your next visit.

The instructions are pretty clear: whatever you do, do not open the card or your prize is null and void! A manager has to open the card for you when you return.

You are guaranteed to get something worthwhile, and this is a critical part of arousing curiosity.

Coupons are too explicit: ‘Here is your 20% off Scratch-offs and lottery tickets are most likely to reveal that you’ve won nothing. With the CPK coupon, the fine print teases you with a list of the possible prizes.

Now I’m curious: which prize have I won?

Free is something you get, no matter what. A bonus is something you get as an add-on when you purchase something or trade your attention.

The purpose of being free is to spread the word, alert the universe, and generate interest.

The purpose of a bonus is to reward immediate action and to sway the undecided.

Both can generate word of mouth marketing results. The free coupon here could result in a bigger result. But to fewer customers. And lots of curiosity creating a pull to return to the restaurant.

This is a mystery that needs solving with another visit.

Key takeaways of this campaign

When you can’t figure out the best way to treat all your customers, the best way to price things, the best thing to offer, realize that the problem is almost always this: you’re trying to treat everyone the same.

Don’t.

Break them into groups with similar attributes, and suddenly the path becomes a lot more clear.

The bottom line

Make your thinking vivid by including what comes naturally to you. For example, you may not be able to imagine sequences of images very well, but you may excel in imagining other modalities such as smell, touch, and sound.

You may be excellent in infusing your visualization with emotional charge and great feelings. DO not feel compelled to stay within any single modality but make your visualizations and imagination vivid and rich by including numerous modalities.

Your senses are wonderful tools for you to engage while unleashing the power of the imaginative mind. Make it colorful and exciting. Make your imagination your ally and your best friend.

To be effective in this new era, we as marketers need to see our jobs differently. No more just focusing on metrics like clicks, video views, or social media shares. We must successfully integrate our function with other business functions to create entire brand experiences that serve the customer all the way through their experiences throughout the business.

We can do better. Much better. But first, we need to stop seeing ourselves as crafters of clever brand messages and become creators of positive brand experiences.

Need some help in capturing more customers from your marketing strategies? Creative ideas to help the differentiation with potential customers?

All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas.

When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step.

Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.

Are you devoting enough energy to improving your marketing, branding, and advertising?

Do you have a lesson about making your marketing strategy better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add in the section below?

Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service agency. With 40 years of business experience, he blogs on topics that relate to improving the performance of your business. Find him on Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way.

Learning Referral Marketing from These Campaigns Secret Sauce

Yes, we agree with Seth. Remarkable products do get talked about. Here are two very different but excellent referral marketing campaigns to learn from. Both are very well done and have some unique things to teach us.

Products that are remarkable get talked about.

– Seth Godin

Referral marketing … the Will It Blend Marketing Campaign

Funny. Memorable. Manly. The keys to success from the ‘Will It Blend’ marketing campaign. And certainly something you’ll want to do for a networked market. Like Blendtec did very successfully.

‘Will It Blend’ is a marketing campaign consisting of a series of infomercials demonstrating the Blendtec line of blenders. In the show, Tom Dickson, the Blendtec founder, attempts to blend various unusual items in order to show off the toughness and power of his blender.

As a little background, George Wright, Blendtec’s vice president of marketing and sales created a YouTube and marketing campaign called “Will it Blend”?

He happened to witness CEO, Tom Dickson feeding a 2×2 inch wooden board into a commercial blender as part of his destructive test and found it fascinating, hence thought others might get a kick out of watching the process, and the idea for creating a video was born.

So here is what your business can learn about how to create a similar marketing campaign:

Short, snappy videos

A recent online video study shows that 82 percent of Internet users watch online video at an average of 5.6 hours a week. And if you have a video that wants to be seen, the best possible platform, according to ComScore, is YouTube.

And remember to keep it short and sweet on YouTube, as viewers prefer not to want to sit through lengthy videos.

The simple objective … turn marketing into useful, entertaining content, not content into marketing.

Lots of content

The old saying never put all your eggs in one basket, certainly applies to marketing. Blendtec heeded this advice during its video response-heavy social media campaigns.

The approach is definitely quantity over quality. Try to make the best things you can, and as great as you can, but then move on to the next one.

It’s more about pumping out many videos than it is about getting five that are absolutely perfect.

If you create quality content, chances are that people will want more. After all, more content for fans to consume means happier fans.

Blendtec attacked this idea by producing as many commercial-quality video responses as possible.

Whenever a brand can give back—to give to the consumers more than it asks of them, in terms of entertainment and value—people are going to have a better feeling about that brand.

Any brand can do that. Always try to provide more in terms of entertainment and surprise and enjoyment to build that equity with the consumer.

Blendtec’s first “Will It Blend?” videos became the 33rd-most-viewed series ever on YouTube and helped drive sales of the company’s $399 high-end consumer blender up 500%.

Referral marketing examples … build community through engagement

Tom Dickson, is the star of the videos. You see him put different crazy things in the blender and say “Will it blend? That is the question”. While the item is blending he smiles and waits for the process to end.

When it does, he empties the contents and the subtitle “Yes! It blends” appears.

Once the videos got rolling, Blendtec engaged their fans seeking ideas for things to blend. Fans become more fanatical when their favorite brands go out of their way to invite them in on the fun.

Link to significant media events

Some episodes were produced to coincide with significant media events. For example, three episodes aired during Super Bowl weekends.

The first episode had Dickson blend a smoothie out of salsa, tortilla chips, Buffalo wings, and some Budweiser.

The second and third episodes used two blenders to predict the outcome of the Super Bowl by blending miniature helmets (AFC versus NFC) and foam footballs. Who says a brand can’t have a personality?

To coincide with the release of the film Transformers, Dickson blended the Transformers toys Bumblebee and Swindle before challenging two of his grandchildren to transform the remains. Make things personal.

This is certainly something your brand can do. Look for local events to take advantage of.

Memorable theme and tag line

One of the most surprising, extreme episodes featured Dickson placing six Bic lighters in the blender. In a matter of seconds, the mixture of butane, metal, and plastic ignited into a ball of fire inside the container.

The scene was exaggerated by the addition of nuclear explosion film footage before one of the production crew sprayed a fire extinguisher on the still-operating blender.

A WOW theme and tag line for sure.

Related post: Some Great Story and Storytelling Examples to Study

Word of mouth campaigns … follow good marketing principles

Of course, Dickson and Wright aren’t as crazy as they look. They observe all of the cardinal rules of good marketing strategy.

First, they have a very good product.

Second, they put it through its paces: if it can blend a video camera, it won’t be troubled by a pile of strawberries. It’s funny and original because it’s so different.

The company, in other words, has created a personality for itself and its products, invites people to join in the fun (you can suggest things to blend via email), and adopts behavior that is a combination of the deranged and the single-minded.

It leaves you wanting more as all great campaign ideas do. What will they blend next?

Referral marketing strategies … use multiple marketing channels

The videos are such compulsive viewing that the company has spun off a website just to accommodate them.

The Will it Blend idea is using the web as its main medium. Its message is spread by people who want their friends to see how bonkers Dickson is and because it makes them laugh.

The fact that his blender is so powerful it will blend pretty well anything that can be crammed into it is secondary to the entertainment value of the films. Secondary but not unnoticed. The message could not be clearer: the Blendtec is one tough machine.

Consider all of the channels for advertising, too. Having several ads across many different networks is the best way to attract as many fans as possible to your cause.

By marketing all channels at once, the hope is that the multiple discussions on each network converge to create one giant conversation.

Key takeaways of this campaign

The fact that the ads are almost wholly lacking in what agencies call “production values” does not matter a fig to the YouTube user.

All of which is a shining exemplar of effective (and cheap) advertising that is being taken up more and more by brands big and small across the globe.

The Blendtec campaign has set the bar for how other companies and agencies can approach viral advertising, by focusing on the fans first.

By striking a perfect balance of content and advertising, and some fact of the matter is, other companies can, too.

As of March 21, 2013, the Blendtec series of videos had collected a total of 294,098,738 views on YouTube. That is an amazing statistic, isn’t it?

California Pizza Kitchen’s Marketing Strategy and Campaign

Have you tried different ways to create a word of mouth marketing strategy? We mean different ways. Ways to bring feelings into the marketing equation.

Feelings like curiosity. Feelings and emotions are a great way to influence and market.

Here’s a rather interesting promotion from California Pizza Kitchen, one where creating curiosity was used to engage consumers.

At the end of my dinner, I was given the bill and a CPK ‘Don’t Open’ Thank You, Card.

It’s a coupon with an interesting twist: you bring this card with you the next time you come to CPK. You’ve already won something, from a free appetizer up to $50 dollars (or more).

But you won’t know what you’ve won until your next visit.

The instructions are pretty clear: whatever you do, do not open the card or your prize is null and void! A manager has to open the card for you when you return.

You are guaranteed to get something worthwhile, and this is a critical part of arousing curiosity.

Coupons are too explicit: ‘Here is your 20% off Scratch-offs and lottery tickets are most likely to reveal that you’ve won nothing. With the CPK coupon, the fine print teases you with a list of the possible prizes.

Now I’m curious: which prize have I won?

Free is something you get, no matter what. A bonus is something you get as an add-on when you purchase something or trade your attention.

The purpose of being free is to spread the word, alert the universe, and generate interest.

The purpose of a bonus is to reward immediate action and to sway the undecided.

Both can generate word of mouth marketing results. The free coupon here could result in a bigger result. But to fewer customers. And lots of curiosity creating a pull to return to the restaurant.

This is a mystery that needs solving with another visit.

Key takeaways of this campaign

When you can’t figure out the best way to treat all your customers, the best way to price things, the best thing to offer, realize that the problem is almost always this: you’re trying to treat everyone the same.

Don’t.

Break them into groups with similar attributes, and suddenly the path becomes a lot more clear.

The bottom line

Make your thinking vivid by including what comes naturally to you. For example, you may not be able to imagine sequences of images very well, but you may excel in imagining other modalities such as smell, touch, and sound.

You may be excellent in infusing your visualization with emotional charge and great feelings. DO not feel compelled to stay within any single modality but make your visualizations and imagination vivid and rich by including numerous modalities.

Your senses are wonderful tools for you to engage while unleashing the power of the imaginative mind. Make it colorful and exciting. Make your imagination your ally and your best friend.