Tom Fishburne once famously said 'That the best marketing doesn't feel like marketing.' And honestly, he couldn't be more right!
In this fast-moving world of business and technology, consumers often find themselves in awkward situations when they realize that all these exhausting marketing strategies continuously influence and mould their choices, lifestyles, and purchasing activities. As a result, modern customers have become immune to the thousands of marketing messages and tactics that are designed to "attract" attention almost every day.
So what's the better way of telling your prospective customers about your product/service?
Simple.
Show, don't tell!
It might surprise you but some of the best marketing is actually invisible!
Invisible Marketing
Invisible Marketing refers to the messages that we don't see. It focuses on the customers' emotional response to the message received by them (which are not explicitly stated). Invisible marketing is based on the principles of behavioural economics that discuss the three elements of decision making - Triggers, Frame, and Fuel.
One such example of Invisible Marketing is Cultural Marketing. This type of marketing combines the demographic knowledge of consumers with cultural insights to establish an effective marketing strategy. An important aspect of cultural marketing includes the process of understanding the behaviours and assumptions of customers and identifying the opportunities for growth and cultural shifts.
Nestlé in Japan
To gain a better insight into invisible marketing and cultural marketing, let's take a look at the famous French psychologist, Clotaire Rapaille's strategy for Nestlé in Japan.
In the 1970s, Nestlé envisioned an opportunity to enter the booming market of Japan with its star product Nescafé. However, Japan's cultural inclination towards 'Tea' turned out to be a huge challenge for the coffee selling giant. After several failed attempts, Nestlé decided to rope in the famous French marketer Clotaire Rapaille with the hope to enter the Japanese market.
And surprisingly, Clotaire Rapaille's strategies were not only successful for Nestlé's business but also a breakthrough in the field of Cultural Marketing.
But how did he do it?
After conducting several sessions with ordinary Japanese people, Rapaille found that the Japanese had no emotional connection to coffee and hence advised Nestlé to introduce coffee flavours in candies for children, to create an “imprint”. These candies proved to be the key to the hearts of the Japanese as the candies inculcated a positive emotional response towards coffee which opened the gates for Nestlé in Japan.
Today, Japan is the world’s fifth-largest importer of coffee with Nestlé being the market share leader. And all this was made possible because of a single marketing idea which quite obviously... didn't feel like marketing!
Now that you are introduced to the power of Invisible Marketing and Cultural Marketing, it's time to employ it for your business! The correct market strategies that follow an exhaustive marketing process could be the first step to your future success story!