The Rainmaker Report: Retail & Packaging Concepts

Everyone’s brain is programmed to release dopamine when they are expecting to receive a reward. The secret sauce is creating engaging campaigns that satisfy consumers’ dopamine fix. But how in the unicorns do you do that? 

Well, we found 3 ways leading companies provide the perfect dopamine fix through their packaging. 

1.  Trident's Unique Smile

There's no guessing why Trident made their gum look like a perfect pearly white set of teeth. Trident wanted their product packaging to both, stand out in stores and showcase how their gum will give you the perfect smile. 

It is not only about creative packaging but product placement. When a customer is going through the checkout line in the store and is most likely bored, they are looking to the items around them for entertainment. That is where the unique Trident smile comes in, the packaging draws the consumer in to grab the product, and the mixture of being next in the checkout line and wanting to continue the entertainment will lead them to purchase the product. 

2. It’s all in the packaging

Many companies like Mini Cooper, Apple, and Pizza Hut have fun unique packaging that makes any consumer excited to see what is inside.

Imagine purchasing a Mini Cooper and you receive a mysterious-looking box. You excitedly and curiously open the box to find a fun and great surprise, a spy game! The game gives you an extra excitement to the purchase of your new Mini Cooper and it revalidates why your purchase was a great one. 

3. Get a gift every month!

Or so it seems… Many companies like Fabletics, Birchbox, Lovevery, and more have created monthly subscription boxes for any and every niche. Gifts are the ultimate dopamine releaser. And with these subscription boxes, it’s like getting multiple gifts every month!

Fabletics for example is the perfect subscription box for women. It comes with makeup samples, candle samples, jewelry, nail polish, and more! With the monthly subscription prices being very minimal many people forget they spent the money and remember the seemingly free gifts that show up at their door every month!

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Memes and Marketing: Engage Gen Z with Trendy Humor

Memes and Marketing: Engage Gen Z with Trendy Humor

Every year, the newest generation, Gen Z, is hitting the workforce more and more. They’re equipped with newly found income and curiosity to explore the market. This generation is on the rise and on their way to becoming the future majority of your customer base. In 2020, Gen Z already made up 40% of all U.S. consumers! With each generation, there’s a different way to advertise products to them. Considering 69% of Gen Z reported finding ads disruptive, it’s time to take a fresh approach – Memes!

Traditional print and TV ads might’ve worked with baby boomers, but that’s not the case today. In order to best reach and engage today’s up-and-coming audience, marketers need to get creative. By incorporating memes into your marketing strategies, businesses can gain traction online and deliver content right to their customer’s phone. Bear in mind that Gen Z spends an average of 250 minutes a day on their smartphones. So, this is perhaps the hottest way to reach your audience. Especially since old-school tactics get ignored by a large chunk of the new consumer population. This blog will discuss how to market your brand to Gen Z by using the popularity of memes!

Why Do Memes Work?

Gen Z is an infamously difficult group of consumers to market to. Traditional marketing methods have become largely unpopular due to their disconnection to younger people on a cultural level. However, memes on the other hand are something that everyone in Gen Z can relate to. Take Denny’s for instance:

This classic Denny’s meme was a massive success. It gained hundreds of thousands of likes and retweets at an insanely quick pace. This post was entertaining and relevant to common memes at the time. Yet, while appealing, it’s also extremely cheap and highly shareable. Making a meme like this costs almost nothing, but can have a huge payoff when done right. So, by taking advantage of all of the latest and most popular social media websites, businesses small and large stand to benefit. Let’s take a look at how to use memes in marketing effectively:

Make Memes That Sound Organic

Even though memes are a great way to market to Gen Z, a lot of businesses struggle with it. This is because they often seem forced. Customers will see this as an ingenuine cash-grab by companies. So, a 65-year-old who’s never used Reddit or made a meme looking to cash-in on trendy humor is probably not going to work out well. You need to be familiar with meme culture and how that fits in with your brand. Focus on putting emphasis on entertainment over profit and your audience will engage.

Take Advantage of Trends

Meme culture is ever-changing. So, memes from last year, or even last month, might not be relevant anymore. To get the best response, you should know what’s trending. Follow some meme accounts on social media and make sure to stay up-to-date. Content that’s currently going viral holds the hottest opportunity for success.

Know Your Audience

If you’re a serious company with a serious audience, then memes might not be for you. However, a lot of companies can get aboard the meme express and knowing your audience is a big part of that. Just like any marketing, there should be a strategy behind your memes. You need to know who you want to engage, what your target audience is most likely to respond to, and what social media platforms they use.

Be Familiar with Social Media

Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Tumblr, TikTok, Reddit. Nowadays, there are a lot of platforms to choose from. Yet, that doesn’t mean they’re all the best fit for your business. For example, LinkedIn is a professional, business-centered platform. If you want to run a B2B marketing campaign, would these companies respond to memes? For the time being, that poses potential risks. Currently, a lot of Gen Z typically fills lower-level roles in businesses. So, it’s likely that you would be sending memes to the older generation where memes aren’t as popular.

While posting memes on multiple accounts is a good idea, it’s still important to know each platform. For instance, food related content is especially popular on Facebook and Instagram. To further the engagement of your meme, make sure to delve into analytics to gather information on your audience. Just like any ad, information such as post time or demographics should play a role in the creation and posting of your meme.

Furthermore, you can increase your meme marketing prowess by becoming an expert in each platform’s unique capabilities. For Instagram, you can research the best hashtags to tag onto your post, or even create and promote one to help guide the trend. For Facebook, you can make a contest or get involved in meme groups to further post reach. Familiarizing yourself with your platforms is key to success!

Make Original Content

This one can take a bit more effort and creativity, but have some great payoff! Making original content is a great way to stand out and make more of a splash. Keep in mind that original content usually works best for existing brands with large amounts of followers. For small companies, hopping on a trend tends to be an easier way of increasing engagement. This is because the general public may be unfamiliar with the company, but know the meme. Nevertheless, well-made original memes can be a fantastic way to show your audience that you’re relatable.

The Rainmaker Report: Hilarious Campaigns

The Rainmaker Report: Hilarious Campaigns

We are here to tell you why keeping it professional should not always be in your marketing efforts. Hilarious Campaigns leave a lasting impression and are arguably the most successful campaigns.

Hilarious Marketing Campaigns can gather a lot of positive attention because it releases a small amount of dopamine that gives viewers a great and memorable experience. Remember when we reported on the Dopamine Fix (if you haven’t you definitely should read our Blog now)? Well, when a company has a hilarious campaign people remember the happy feeling next time they see that product at the store, on social media, or being used by someone else.

Here are some pretty famous TV Ads, we are sure everyone remembers.

We see most hilarious campaigns on tv typically during major televised events like the Superbowl, where major companies try to make the $1 million + ad slot worth it. Check out these two hilarious campaigns that definitely left a mark in everyone’s memory.

The Doritos Time Machine

Jimmy’s time machine, that of course ran on Doritos, left a lasting impression on everyone watching because there was a funny twist to the traditional TV Advertisement. The next hilarious campaign is another snack, they even changed their packaging because of the campaign’s great success.

That’s right you guessed it, Snickers “You are not You When You Are Hungry” Campaign

This campaign had such great success because it was relatable and hilarious. It even had major stars like Betty White and Joe Pesci joining in on the fun!

Are you wondering if Hilarious Campaigns will fit with your type of marketing? Don’t worry, although mostly seen on TV, Hilarious campaigns can be through any medium. Like on Social Media through Memes. Check out our Blog “How to Market With Memes” to learn how you can make hilarious campaigns happen through Social Media too.