Hi

This month I look at how you can use your competition to do your marketing for you, how a visit to the Far East was the spark for a new business, we’ll try and get the the bottom of NFTs, look at how ads can add a little more humour to your marketing, and look back over the last year of lockdown.

Nike 0 - The Devil 1

Nike sued Brooklyn art collective MSCHF over a controversial pair of "Satan Shoes" that contain a drop of real human blood in the soles. They won the case and MSCHF had to stop selling the shoes. And that's the end of the story, or so you'd think. 

Before the case came to court all the shoes sold out in one minute for $1,018 (£740) a pair. All Nike achieved by seeking to stop the sale of the trainers was to elevate them from a niche product few had heard of, to hitting the news around the world and raising the profile of rapper Lil Nas X internationally. For the 666 people who bought the shoes, Nike just increased the value and interest in the shoes immeasurably. 

There's already a huge market in bespoke designed trainers. How MSCHF and Lil Nas X raised themselves above the others was right out of Dave Trott's marketing tool box, get your competition to do your marketing for you. 

If you've never heard of Dave Trott, let me introduce you. I think you'll love him.

Escaping the normal marketing with Hannah Duraid

Hannah Duraid created The Great Escape Game, an escape rooms business based in Leeds and Sheffield after experiencing one on her travels in the far east. When she returned to the UK and took friends to one, she felt she could do a much better job.

I had the huge pleasure of speaking to Hannah to find out how she's coped over the last few months and how she's planning to bounce back.

An NFT Painting Just Sold For $69 Million

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are taking off in a big way! They are effectively a way of owning the right to digital media using Blockchain. I'm not going to explain Blockchain here, because it's dull. However the fact that you can own an original digital file in the same way you could own an oil painting is very interesting indeed. 

Digital files can still have copies around the internet, just like the one above, but if you own the NFT you have the rights to it, just like you can get a postcard of the Mona Lisa, but you can only see the real thing in the Louvre. 

Beyond art NFTs are also being used for Music, Virtual Homes and Fashion. How could they be used in marketing? Not sure yet.

Are you a runner like George Lewis?

I just really love this ad from Nationwide Building Society. After all the earnest ads of the last year, it's good to see some humour come back.

“What’s the one lesson the lockdown has taught you about your business?”

A year on from the first lockdown, I found myself wondering how different businesses have coped. So, I asked a few people in my network that very simple question.

The answers I received, were not as simple as my question.

I hope you enjoyed this email. If there’s something you think others may find just as handy, I’d love to know. Reply to this email with your suggestions and I’ll add it to my pool of links.

If you'd like help with your marketing, give me a call on 0113 477 1210, or reply to this email.

Richard Michie
CEO - The Marketing Optimist