Pull’s Post

Why your brand customers must never grow old. Consumers grow old and die. Your brand must live forever. So do you know the age breakdown of you brand’s customers? Does it matter? What should you do about what you find? When should you be worried? At Pull we call it the Harley Davidson effect. Did you know it's estimated the average age of a Harley motorcycle owner has gone up one year per year for the last 30 years? You don’t need to be a genius to work out where that will end up. I delve into the Harley Davidson effect in my latest Substack and explore these 5 pitfalls with real world examples. 1.     Don’t get seduced by the ‘lure’ of Gen Z 2.     Know the age breakdown of your customers 3.     Market to them accordingly 4.     Monitor the median age of your customers 5.     Act to ensure that median age doesn’t go up #brand #brandmarketing

I'm dying to read this one... by the sounds of it I'd better not leave it too long! Pull's very own spring chicken is at it again, putting marketing under the microscope and telling a few home truths in the process! #brand #targeting #brandstrategy

Nostalgia is taking over marketing, but the rise of "nostalgia-washing" shows how tricky this strategy can be. When done right, it sparks emotional connections, but when it feels forced, it fails. For instance, Frito-Lay featured flip phones in its ads to appeal to Gen X and Millennials, while brands like Sprite and Gatorade have revived old slogans from past campaigns. The key to success is staying true to your brand’s identity. The secret to success is staying true to your brand’s identity. For today’s consumers, especially Gen Z, nostalgia only works if it feels real. Want to stay up to date on the latest #marketing and #consumer trends? Join a Drive Wheel #peergroup!

Why Nostalgia Marketing Should Be Temporary In The Brand Revival 💡 Nostalgia is a powerful tool for brands that have had the privilege to be part of one's childhood. It is tapping into our emotional connections to the past while evoking fond memories of its glory days. For many of us, our brand loyalty and preferences are handed down from generation to generation. Our emotional response towards these brands makes us(the consumers) feel a sense of comfort and familiarity. While this may be an incredible marketing strategy that can drive brand recall, marketers should view it as a short-term tactic to nudge. Brands that remain stuck in their youthfulness while consumers, competitors, culture, and the industry take off will suffer a great risk. This is how you do it. Take, for instance, a brand like Coca-Cola. Since its founding in 1886, Coca-Cola has managed to maintain its classic formula and brand identity. Its determination to attract its older customers who remember the original and younger audiences drawn to the retro appeal by leveraging nostalgia to reintroduce classic products is admirable. Not to mention, its strategic partnerships and collaborations with global events like the Olympics have kept the brand culturally relevant, helped it gain a competitive edge, and sparked conversations. There's an increasingly blurry line between nostalgia and familiarity and brands should be cautious not to rely on it exclusively. Instead, brands should strike a healthy balance between nostalgia and innovation, blending old emotions and memories with modern relevance to attract a broader audience. #NostalgiaMarketing #Marketing #B2BMarketing #ecommerce #contentmarketer #Digitalmarketer

I keep seeing a commercial from a toothpaste brand I admire because it stays true to its niche, solves a genuine problem, and has a strategically apt name. But one line in the ad stands out: "...everyone wants that Hollywood smile." It prompted me to wonder about the source of this assertion. Is it based on best practices? Conventional wisdom? Research from select markets? In contrast, we've conducted brand research for three different dental practices in a Midwest market it's airing. Aggregated, consumers prefer a healthy smile over a Hollywood smile by a ratio of 2 to 1. That's a healthy margin. While a Hollywood smile might resonate in places like, uh, Hollywood, it misses the mark here. This disconnect makes me question where else it's off-target. It's also a red flag for wasteful spending, lost revenue, and unintended negative impact on brand perception when messages don't align with local preferences. For those reasons, I firmly believe that speculation should never drive marketing strategy. Decisions should be based on audience validation. However, understanding isn't just about demographics; it's about knowing their values, preferences, and what truly matters to them to ensure that every message resonates authentically and effectively, wherever your market may be. Let's prioritize understanding over assumptions and data-driven insights over guesswork. That's how brands can build lasting connections and relevance in today's diverse and nuanced marketplaces. 😁

This past couple of weeks there have been some marketing campaigns which I loved. So what am I here to do? I am here to share them with you… 1. Waitrose Wonky Billboard 🛒 Waitrose launched a wonky billboard to highlight it’s latest price drops. However, somebody in the local area raised it as a concern to the council, who then surrounded it with safety barriers, whoops. 😬 With the campaign then gaining more traction, it was able to then generate more free publicity. 2. Maybelline X Lift Airlines 🛫 I love this new CGI campaign, Maybelline has partnered with Lift Airlines to create this new campaign. As we see the mascara in use on the eyelashes, the plane soars through the skies. 10/10 marketing from me… ✈️ 3. Gisou Beauty Fridge 💋 I am sure you have seen this ALL OVER your TikTok and Instagram this week. This is the PR package which has gone VIRAL, and we all want one… I mean can you get a PR package better than this?! 😍 4. Kiehls ‘Kids Should Be Kids’ 👧🏽👦🏼 TikTok is currently full of 9-12 year olds with intense skincare routines, using retinol and anti-aging products, even products that cost a fortune. Which they don’t need to use. Kiehls, among many other brands, have picked up on this and have launched this campaign. 💡 They are highlighting an important message that children have no need to use anti-aging skincare products… The luxury skincare brand are saying NO to complex beauty routines and YES to discovering the true meaning of childhood🧴 This is what you call a great campaign with a real message behind it that NEEDS to be said. What do you think of these campaigns? Which one is your favourite? #Marketing #SMM #SocialMediaMarketing #MarketingCampaigns #ThisWeeksCampaigns

Ready to boost your boutique’s online presence? Here are 5 stylish social media ideas to showcase your products! 1. New product arrivals with styling tips on how to wear or use them 2. Customer reviews paired with photos of real people wearing or using your products 3. Behind-the-scenes sneak peeks at upcoming collections or the buying process for your boutique 4. Styling challenges where followers share how they’d style your products, creating engagement 5. Feature a “Product of the week” post showcasing a bestseller and what makes it special. Fuel your brand’s growth with creative content strategies—crafted by Heatwave Media, where ideas ignite engagement. #RetailBoutique #ShopLocal #FashionTrends

People don't know what they don't know, LET THEM KNOW. I have ALWAYS loved myself a bit o' branch merch, and of recent times i've seen it become so much more available! Brands are starting to realise that it isnt so much the product that a consumer falls in love with, but the brand! By buying into these products it's almost like you stand by/with these brands. So yea, I want you to notice the ISOCLEAN jumper and I wear it on purpose; I rate both the products they sell and the drive they have...go buy from them. 🤷 Equally, it's those savvy decision makers that are utilising a consumers willingness to promote by purchasing alone in order to push their brand out further, and its brilliant ... If you aren't doing this already, you really do need to think about how you can incorporate ways to get get your brand more out there by adding merch! Here's a few examples of ways you can start if you haven't already. _______________ 🆙️Enhance your Brand Identity Okay, think custom beauty tools, makeup bags, or skincare accessories with your logo to compliment your products and make you more recognizable. 👫Create Customer Loyalty schemes! Think about exclusive branded merchandise can be used as rewards in loyalty programs, encouraging repeat purchases and fostering customer loyalty. Hello repeat orders! 🌟Influencer Partnerships FTW Collaborate with influencers to feature your branded merchandise can increase visibility and credibility, attracting their followers to your brand. If you havent got a huge budget, start with UGCs. Its about getting it out there! 🤤Limited Edition Items give 'exclusive' vibes Offering limited edition branded items creates a sense of urgency and exclusivity, motivating customers to purchase quickly before items sell out. Social Media Engagement is THE WAY 🤳 Encouraging customers to share photos of themselves using your branded merchandise on social media, it gives you access too free user-generated content and organic promotion. Why isn't everyone doing this? _______________ GET INVOLVED 👀 Do you have merchandise for your brand? What do you have 👀 feel free to link; I'm all for giving people the option to browse. Happy Tuesday. #brandawareness #branding #personalcare #beauty ps. partial to a hoodie feel free to send them 😅👀🤷

Learning about Marketing from brands is the reason why I do not trust brands. Expensive doesn't always mean good. If the price is high you expect high level quality.

Thanks Tendai S. for that interesting piece. It's a reminder that marketers are also consumers and those psychological framing we work hard to build around brands work also on us😁. In the post 'The brand that broke 'my loyalty' Tendai shared with us her personal experience of going out of default habit to try a new brand influenced by its persistent commercial. This struck me because it reminds me of the argument on effectiveness of repeated ad exposure. I hope you'll find the evidence based POV useful. However my personal add is that ad exposure alone does not predispose us to brands. Positive predisposition is what you feel when you are exposed repeatedly to a meaningful brand. #marketing #consumer behaviour #advertising