Case Study: How Content Helped Tribal Marketing Come To Life Amongst Rev-Heads.
In this guest post, CEO of content marketing agency Edge, Fergus Stoddart (pictured below), says brands would do well to play on their customer’s loyal tribalism…
Normally over Christmas, any downtime is spent asleep on the sofa, mildly lubricated with a belly full. This year, with the Ashes in the background, I managed to stay awake long enough to read Seth Godin’s Tribes: We need you to lead us. I was few years late (as ever) but Godin is always ahead of his time and tribal marketing has never been more relevant.
For millions of years people have been part of tribes. Whether these groups are built around work, a passion, religion, ethnicity or politics we all need to belong to a collective larger than ourselves. Some people hate the notion, but it’s true.
Godin believes that all tribes share three components: a group of people, a common cause and at least one leader who represents and organises the tribe.
All around us, there are tribes yearning for leadership. Our job as brand marketers is to create tribal leadership around a cause that we can clearly be identified with.
The most important feature here is the shared cause that can turn tribe members into driven believers not merely followers. Those people make the cause their own, they internalise it and become self-motivated to advocate for that cause.
Godin’s book made me reflect on one of our successes with Nulon Oil in 2017.
Nowadays with technology and laziness, in my case, there’s few of us motorists who take pleasure from getting under the hood to change their own oil. In fact, just 15% of car owners do any DIY engine work themselves – just under 2.5 million Aussie consumers.
But our research showed that these drivers are die-hard car lovers. They tinker, modify and race. They live for it. We identified a tribe of what we called “Modifinkers” whose shared cause was their passion for their car and its performance. They aren’t like the rest of us whose groins don’t strain with the smell of oil or the growl of an engine, these guys and girls were ‘Born This Way’. They can’t help it.
Nulon shared that passion, so we set about leading and connecting this tribe. We launched with a ‘Born This Way’ branded content film then continued with a series of mini-documentaries covering real enthusiasts and how they are ‘born this way’. The success has blown us away.
The 24 films in the series have had a total of 5,854,563 video views and 78,200 engagements (likes, shares comments). The series reached 2.47 million unique Australians – that’s 100 per cent of our target audience – putting the Nulon brand in front of every potential car-loving customer.
Since the launch of the campaign, sales of Nulon’s Synthetic Semi-Diesel Oil have increased in volume by 36 per cent, and sales of Nulon’s Full Synthetic Oil has increased in volume by 48 per cent.
One of the keys, and Godin agreed with this, is that it needs to scream of newness, and allow for people to be directly engaged in the movement. Fundamentally, a meaningful cause scratches an itch that hasn’t been sufficiently scratched yet. The oil industry has been traditionally dominated by big corporate players like Shell, Caltex, Penright. Yet here came a lesser-known brand with a new “real” mantra.
It shows that the cause of a tribe can be anything from environmental justice, a political campaign or a group of car enthusiasts who believe in the superiority of their beloved oil brand.
The Born This Way narrative told the story, shared the passion and created the connection between the leader (Nulon) and the tribe and among the tribe members; and it gave them something to dream about and something to do.
Interestingly a tribe’s influence is no longer directly correlated to its size but to the intensity of the passion and depth. The passion of Nulon’s following now they are connected is fascinating to see. That passion creates real sustainable growth driven by the people who truly love your cause, advocate your values – and beat the social media drum for you.
Creating a movement is about organising an existing yearning into a way that tribe members can connect with each other, and form a movement under your leadership. We crowdsourced our Modifiers series stories from the tribe. We gave them a platform to share the stories of their suped up beasts, their Japanese XXX or the Aussie muscle car.
People need to be able to communicate intensely about their shared cause. This means that communication can’t just be vertical – between you (the leader) and the individual tribe members – more importantly, it must be horizontal, between tribe members.
Our job now is to continue to tighten the tribe bringing members closer together by facilitating communication and tightening their common bond. To create a feeling of cohesion, Godin talks about developing a culture of insiders – which inevitably excludes others. This allows the tribe to differentiate itself from other tribes, and creates a stronger sense of internal identification. Think Apple and its secrecy with new launches.
With Nulon, their own petrol head events like The Nulon National Series allow us to create exclusive money-can’t-buy moments where the tribe can mingle and bond over their cause, safe in the knowledge they have a new leader.
Looking forward to a tribal 2018. Best to you all.
Latest News
The Mars Agency Announces Latest Findings Of Retail Media Report Card
The Mars Agency has developed a scorecard that assesses the capabilities of leading platforms across key criteria required to optimally plan, execute, and measure effective retail media programs. The scorecard aims To help brands efficiently evaluate their spending options across retail media networks in Australia (and New Zealand). With spending on retail media advertising in […]
‘It’s The Lesser Of Two Evils’ – NRL Eyes US Betting Market As Aussie Regulators Circle
US betting firms will be delighted by the circa 50,000 Americans who could soon watch the NRL on their favourite app.
A-League In Deep Discussions With New Partner To Keep Games On TV After Production Company Enters Administration
The A-League's insatiable appetite for scoring own goals continues.
TV Ratings (27/03/2024): Jungle Members At War Over Concealed Lipstick
A heated argument between two jungle members did the numbers for Ten last night, with I’m A Celeb obtaining a total national reach of 1,282,000. Fans were delighted as Candice Warner and influencer Skye Wheatley got into it over a stick of lipstick, leading Warner to dub the Instagram star “selfish.” Wheatley, best known for […]
Is The Australian Music Industry In Trouble? Inquiry Launched Following Splendour Cancellation
Earlier this week, an inquiry was launched into the challenges and opportunities currently facing the Australian live music industry in the wake of multiple festival cancellations. On 25 March 2024, the Minister for the Arts, the Hon. Tony Burke MP, asked the Committee on Communications and the Arts to inquire into and report on the […]
Liana Dubois, Leandro Perez, Aimee Buchanan & More Gather For Inaugural Compadres Leadership Event
Didn't get the invite? Perhaps you're not as important as you thought.
Cathay Captures The Unforgettable Thrill Of Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Rugby Sevens, Via Publicis
Nobody does rugby like Hong Kong, apparently. Certainly nobody does it as badly as Australia.
Cocogun Nabs Christine Watts, Kirsty Reynolds & Shev Tan Bolstering Management & Creative Teams
Cocogun bolsters its team with new hires. Committed to purchasing a bigger sofa, too.
The Media Store’s Jacquie Alley & Sam Cousins Take The Plunge With Pro-Bono Work For Cure Cancer
B&T chats with The Media Store bosses about their great pro-bono work and sponsored swim.
Hawke’s Brewing Co. Taps Rocket Comms For PR Agency Following Competitive Pitch
We're expecting Rocket Comms productivity to crash in spectacular fashion following this win.
Spotlight On Sponsors: Patties Serves Up A Taste Of Home For Olympians & South Sydney Rabbitohs Recommit To Gambling Reform
While the Rabbitohs commits to gambling reform, B&T reckons the team should commit to a decent auto sponsor.
Google: “Inevitable” That Bad Actors Will Abuse Ads Platform As Advertiser Account Suspensions Double
Google maintains it's simply impossible for it to entirely stop bad people placing & paying for ads using its service.
Quantcast Expands APAC Sales Team With Appointment Of News Corp Account Manager
No pressure at all when you are appointed as a client success manager.
Publicis Sapient Tests Microsoft-Powered Gen AI Search Tool With Homes & Villas By Marriott Bonvoy
Given Gen AI's record for mangling stuff, B&T cannot see the problem with letting it decide your next holiday digs.
Volkswagen & DDB Group’s “Roo Badge” To Reduce Kangaroo Related Road Collisions
Watch out for RooBadge as Cannes Lions' most debated campaign this year.
Twilio Launches Unified Profiles & Agent Copilot Features To Boost Productivity & Engagement
Agent Copilot sounds like James Bond's less interesting cousin.
Reebok & Honda Among New Clients For onetwo agency
OneTwo finally lives up to its name with this double billing.
Ogilvy Report: Throw Out The Social Strategy Rule Book, The Rules Of The Past No Longer Apply
B&T was puzzled that all 'influencers' aren't, effectively, 'virtual', but here we are.
WhiteGREY & AKQA Merge In Australia, Lee Simpson Departs
Fortunately, the combined agencies aren't opting for a trite portmanteau for the new name.
Splendour In The Grass 2024 Music Festival Cancelled!
Music fans all over the country reportedly relieved they can pack away their rain coats and gumboots for another year.
TV Ratings (26/03/2024): “Fairy Bread, F***ing Disgusting”: Gordon Ramsay Slams Aussie Food In Food Stars Launch
Ramsay not one for mincing his words, even when it comes to minced meat pies.
Paramount+ International Boss Doubles Down On Aussie Content, Says Ad-Tier will Grow Audiences And Revenue
Good news as Paramount will not be binning I’m A Celebrity for re-runs of Frasier.
Brent Smart: Telstra Pushing For 50-50 Brand-Performance Split But Warns Numbers ‘Won’t Look Great’ Initially
The old brand vs performance debate continues. But here, Brent is firmly sitting on the fence.
Crowded House, Tones And I & Dom Dolla Win Big At The Shure Rolling Stone Music Awards
B&T staffer reports back with humdinger of a hangover & feeling seriously uncool after mixing with music types.
Opinion: Dyslexia “A Hidden Gem” For Brands & Agencies
Dyslexics offer underappreciated benefits in the corporate field, according to this op-ed.
David Jones Taps Criteo To Power Online Retail Media Arm
Want to see ads for things you probably can't afford? David Jones has got you covered with new retail media play.
oOh!media Sets Up Team To Target Business Audiences Across Airports & Offices
oOh! wants brands to harass you every minute of your next business trip.
QMS Launches Australian First DOOH & TV Partnership With Samba TV
Samba TV, of course, is not a channel dedicated to dancing. Much to our dismany.
Slew Of New Hires At Amplify
Four new faces join the Amplify offices. Team say desk scarcity becoming "acute".
Adobe Announces Content Authenticity Initiative Expansions To Counter Deep Fakes
Try as they might to enlighten them, we suspect Trump supporters will continue to watch and believe Fox News.
The PR Group Appoints TechCrunch Senior Reporter Catherine Shu As Director Of Content & Media
Catherine Shu makes the bold leap from journalism to PR. Says inevitable pay bump was "unrelated".
HERO Nabs Ebony Santin From AMPR
Rumours Santin cleared out the stationery cupboard before departing are as yet unconfirmed.
Karena Noble Checks Out Of EVT Hotels & Resorts To Launch Comms Consultancy
Noble still managed to squeezed in a continental breakfast before departing.
Canva Acquires Design Platform Affinity To Bring Professional Design Tools To Every Organisation
Canva & Adobe face off continues. We're not picking sides but keenly aware that Canva's office is next door to ours.
“Lean On Our Team To Help You Find An Audience”: Why Understanding Audience Engagement Is Essential In Journalism
Engaging the audience is critical to journos, apparently. We'd thought self-loathing & alcoholism were key.
Adobe Summit: Major Gen AI Developments, Data Concessions & Partnerships
What happens in Vegas stays there. Unless it's the Adobe Summit and then you get to read about in B&T.