What exactly is UN-marketing? It’s when you position your product to be the exact opposite of the norm to attract your non-customers.
Huh? Let me explain…
So you know how everyone that has one thing they absolutely hate? Take my husband, for example. For him, that thing is cruises (and by hate, I mean loathe). Getting him anywhere near a cruise ship would be like shoving a cat into a bathtub. And no, I am not exaggerating – it would very likely involve scratching and hissing.
The idea of floating around in the middle of the ocean strapped to a buffet only to be set free for a mere 12 hours like a pack of sunburned locusts on an unsuspecting tourist destination sends shivers down his spine. Thank you to David Foster Wallace for solidifying his distain for cruises.
So you will understand my astonishment at seeing him quietly sitting at the table reading a cruise catalogue. Cleverly titled “The Uncruise”, the catalogue, pardon me, the “Trip Collection” strategically positioned itself to target cruise haters, their non-customers not because they are loyal to another brand, but because they would never consider a cruise as a vacation option.
It detailed how you could experience all the advantages of travel by ship, labeled “floating boutique hotels”, without the hassle associated with typical cruises. The brochure addresses EVERY single objection to cruises and positions their offering as a unique travel experience. UN-marketing.
The Uncruise: A Case Study in UN-Marketing
The purpose of their un-marketing campaign is to position the unique selling proposition in such a way that it answers every possible objection of their un-customer. Point-by-point, the Uncruise campaign addressed every typical objection to cruises:
- Too Crowded – Choose from one of several small boutique ships with a maximum capacity of 30 people.
- Tourist Destination Ports – Unique “off the tourist radar” destinations away from the cruise ship routes, many of which are unreachable by any other means.
- Boring ‘Cruise’ Activities – Create your own adventure or customize an existing trip with options that include hiking, biking, kayaking, swimming, snorkeling, wine tasting, painting lessons…and the list goes on.
- Stranded On Board – Consider the ship to be a private hotel anchored just offshore of exciting adventure travel.
- Crowded Buffets – Intimate on-board dining with plenty of opportunity to sample local fare at each well-chosen port.
- The Dreaded Onboard ‘Upsell’ – Every imaginable travel cost included in the price of admission.
The Un-Marketing Lesson: How to Target your Non-Customer Base
Instead of targeting the converted, un-marketing targets your non-customers, the customers who rail against your product or service, harshly criticizing its very essence (or at least its essence as they understand it).
UN-Marketing Tip #1: Know your Un-Customer
Shifting your focus requires understanding what it is about your product your un-customers find objectionable. Is it price? Product delivery? Value?
UN-Marketing Tip #2: Address Every Objection
Think about how you could address each objection. Not every objection will require a fundamental change in your product. In fact, you will likely discover many of them are perception-based and overcoming them is a matter of educating your target audience.
UN-Marketing Tip #3: Shift your USP
Un-marketing is stepping away from the “Me too” and delivering something truly unique. In the case of the Uncruise, that meant shifting the USP (Unique Selling Proposition) to attract a completely different market: high-end travelers.
UN-Marketing Tip #4: Create Consistent Messaging
The best part of the Uncruise campaign is that it boldly professes itself as an UN-campaign. Everything from the brochure name to the description of the cruise options is consistent with a cruise experience for cruise haters.
UN-Marketing Tip #5: Deliver on the Brand Promise
Often un-marketing requires that you step beyond simply shifting the perception and change the fundamentals of your product delivery. The Uncruise not only changed their marketing approach, but the entire cruise product!
Note: Un-Marketing as discussed in this article is a reference to the Uncruise marketing campaign, not to be confused with the work of my good friend and Un-Marketing strategist, Scott Stratten.If you want more tips on marketing against the grain, grab his latest book aptly titled, Un-Marketing (because quite frankly, it’s awesome).
8 Comments
Interesting post. As an event planner, I’ve been thinking of doing something similar with a brochure that addresses the thoughts people have about not hiring a planner… price (a planner pays for herself with discounts from vendors), impersonalized events (I actually specialize in making events that reflect the message of the client), etc.
This is an interesting post, and it makes me wonder… do we really want our un-customers? Wouldn’t it be more fun, easier, with the flow to work with the people who already love what we’re doing? It seems a little counter intuitive to me to try to talk someone into liking me and what I do. What do you think?
Great post with very tangible and doable examples. We have been considering adding a ‘what we are not’ section to our marketing materials for our on-line legal database to help explain how we do things differently and hopefully better than our competitors and to illustrate how our differences may make us a better choice for law firms.
There’s a difference between attracting customers and talking them into it.
Take Sue’s comments above: as an event planner, she offers a lot of benefits that overcome the huge objection to her un-customers hiring her: the cost of hiring an event planner. It’s true that it’s not a one-size fits all strategy, but that simple shift in perception makes her a huge asset to her clients, which funny enough is saving her clients money.
Another interesting case study is from Blue Ocean Strategies where they talk about how Yellow Tail wines shifted their marketing to attract beer-drinkers and completely ignored the wine snobs. Yellow Tail achieved this by focusing on being a fun brand and refusing to play the wine pedigree game that they knew they wouldn’t win at.
I had a similar perception about hiring an interior designer until I realized how much she saved us by negotiating better pricing with suppliers and how easily a good designer can step into your home and create something that perfectly reflects you.
Good luck with your un-campaign!
Defining what you are not is also a strategy to repel the potential customers who aren’t a fit for your company. It’s a good idea to make your differences very tangible — consider using examples to illustrate HOW you do things differently (because everyone says they do things differently, but few actually do).
I see what you’re saying, and the first thing I thought was how much easier it might be for those clients to revert to “I told you so” thinking if things didn’t go exactly as expected. I could see this happening especially with your cruise example. I’m not trying to be negative, just get a better understanding of the tactic. 🙂
That’s why one of the key components is delivering on that brand promise. You are right – you can’t put a dress on a frog and call it a princess because when it comes right down to it, it’s still a frog. BUT if you offer something that does have a unique value proposition or if you can shift your product to deliver a unique value, then it does make sense.
For example, if the only thing between someone who would really enjoy an uncruise is the perception that it’s just like any other floating nightmare, the un-marketing campaign is successful. The same campaign would not work for the mainstream cruise companies because as you said, they would get on the ship and realize it wasn’t what they signed up for at all.