You’ve probably seen this optical illusion before:
Do you see a vase? Or two people staring at each other? We think you should see both. See, when it comes to marketing, sometimes you have to see the “negative.” Now, the “negative” is not always pessimistic (although sometimes it’s not exactly positive). It’s the opposite space, the truest form of the unexpected, and a great way to devise a campaign. Come on, you remember art class.
Here are a few great examples.
Snooki. As a fashion designer, your greatest hopes are that a stylish celebrity will wear one of your pieces – and of course be photographed! But, if you’ve sent complimentary items to every who’s who in Hollywood without success, maybe it’s time to take a different route. And that’s exactly what happened. Just like the rest of the western world, the media has been obsessed with Snooki, the pouf-sporting shrimp from MTV’s Jersey Shore. And let’s face it, for all her paparazzi love, Snooki hasn’t been painted in the most glamorous light. Yet, she managed to be spotted carrying a $900 Gucci bag! That can’t be good for the high-end brand – and that’s exactly what Gucci’s competitors thought too! Turns out, the top designer houses have been sending Snooki their competitors’ looks, and as you might have guessed, Snooki didn’t care. Subversive? Yes. But, we should look at this more in theory than in practice and remember to think about PR from every angle.
Chic-Fil-A. Imagine you’re sitting in a company brainstorm, and you’ve been told you have to sell chicken. What do you think about? Clucking? Feathers? Roosters? Sure, but that would be too obvious. What’s the last thing you would think about? Cows? Exactly. You’re probably familiar with the Chic-Fil-A cow campaign featuring cows holding signs encouraging people to “eat more chikin” (cows are apparently bad spellers). It’s the epitome of looking at the negative space to find the answer, and one of the more well respected campaigns in place today.
7-UP. Take a step back in time – to 1967 precisely. Overwhelmed by the “cola” market, this clear, tart soda had to differentiate itself. Instead of trying to fit in and latch on to the success of the parent brand, 7-Up did just the opposite. They marketed themselves as the “uncola.” Not a lemon-lime cola or a new kind of cola, but something completely different. The trick here was to define a new niche, and it worked.
We always preach about doing the unexpected and taking a different approach, and so, just like the optical illusion up top, we suggest looking at things from a different perspective. Find the negative space – whether it’s a new market, an unlikely spokesperson (or animal) or a grassroots campaign (that your competitors hate).
– See more at: http://theblacksheepagency.com/blog/index.php/site/deets/black-sheep-wants-you-to-get-negative#i