AUDIENCE(89)

Amazon Prime: This Amazon (@Amazon) service began simply as a delivery service promising unlimited, free, two-day shipping to members. Over time, and without any obligation to do so, Amazon added the additional benefits of Amazon Instant Video (free streaming movies and TV shows) and the free Kindle Lending Library (free digital books). When you look up “exceeding expectations” in the dictionary, the Amazon Prime logo should appear.7

Cedar Point In-Park Messaging: When you’re the Roller Coaster Capital of the World, you can be sure of two things: big crowds and even bigger expectations. Cedar Point (@CedarPoint) manages these expectations by using in-park digital signage, push messaging within its mobile app, and Twitter to keep VISITORS informed of incoming weather, ride maintenance, and other issues that may impact their visit. This multipoint communication strategy helps minimize frustration so that the park’s AMPLIFIERS are positive about their experience—rain or shine.

LinkedIn Year-End Email: LinkedIn (@LinkedIn) launched this stealthy bit of email marketing genius in 2011. A prime example of how email can help social media, the message shows SUBSCRIBERS a mosaic of their CONNECTIONS who changed jobs in the prior year. It not only sends an avalanche of VISITORS to LinkedIn, but also delivers on its promise to keep you connected to the people who may aid your career in the future.8



As you wrestle with how to deliver timely, relevant content that improves lives, understand that the vast majority of a company’s problems come from a lack of communication. Companies that over-deliver usually also over-communicate—but all within the bounds of consumer expectations. If you want to keep your red velvet theater filled to capacity, make sure that when you take the stage, you deliver on each and every promise made to your proprietary audiences.





4. Surprise (The Red Velvet Rope)


Most people have a love/hate relationship with the red velvet rope. On this side of it, you’re an outsider, hoping and praying that fortune smiles on you so they let you in there where all sorts of amazing things must be happening. Of course, the view once you’re inside may not be as fantastic as those kept outside imagine—but perception is reality when it comes to access.

In the past, companies hung the red velvet rope in front of their brands, guarded by lawyers and rules and incredibly didactic brand standards that dictated exactly who could tweak, touch, and shape the brand. Today, however, brands are a living, breathing expression of consumer experiences. The trademark may belong to the company, but the brand is shaped just as much—if not more—by its passionate FANS as by the marketing team.

You can eliminate us vs. them thinking by inviting your most passionate FANS to help shape your message, products, and services. In the process, you’ll gain AMPLIFIERS who can’t believe that their ideas are being heard, while you also capture the interest of attentive FANS who want similar access. Initiatives granting this kind access behind the red velvet rope today include:

Beck’s Song Reader: Beck Hansen (@Beck) turned heads in December 2012 by releasing Song Reader, an “album” that consisted of sheet music for 20 songs he had written but not recorded. His wish? That FANS the world around would record their own interpretations—which they did, by the thousands. At www.SongReader.net, Beck shares all of the FAN creations and, in so doing, turns into a FAN and AMPLIFIER himself.

Melt Bar & Grilled Tattoo Club: As I shared in Chapter 4, the Tattoo Family at Melt Bar & Grilled (@MeltBarGrilled) has over 500 members. In addition to their discount, the Family also receives updates on Melt events and sandwiches before regular email SUBSCRIBERS. If you watch the Man vs. Food episode recorded at Melt in 2010, you’ll see a lot of Tattoo Family members in the crowd because they were the first to know that Adam Richman (@AdamRichman) was coming to town to tackle The Melt Challenge—a monster, 5-lb. grilled cheese sandwich. The winner in the end? Both Adam and Melt’s most loyal FANS.9

Samsung’s Jay Z App: Sometimes, the red velvet rope you remove doesn’t have to be yours. Samsung (@SamsungMobileUS) surprised Jay Z (@S_C_) FANS by announcing during the 2013 NBA Finals that the hip-hop legend’s new album, Magna Carta . . . Holy Grail, would be provided free and exclusively to Samsung Galaxy owners on July 4, 2013, at 12:01am—72 hours before its release to the rest of the world. The catch? You had to download a mobile app that also provided exclusive content and behind-the-scenes footage. Surprise? Check. Access? Check. Unbelievable generation of SUBSCRIBERS, FANS, and FOLLOWERS? Triple-check.



When FANS get closer to the brands they love, good things can happen. Accordingly, tear down—or at least occasionally remove—your company’s red velvet rope and mingle face to face with your FANS.