When brands become communicative self-starters without classic advertising. Tesla, MyMüsli or Westwing have shown us how it’s done

At one time, the advertising world was highly predictable. Three things formed the pillars of plannable marketing success: a big budget, extensive reach and clear positioning. This classic mix is certainly not outdated if someone wants to sell, say, gummy bears, toilet paper or beer.

Another approach is that of not making the classic media the exclusive central focus of a campaign – which often works like a charm:  Tesla’s off-the-wall carmakers, for instance, have achieved a brand awareness level of 60 per cent in Germany according to You Gov. Tesla is not a unique case: The breakfast cereal makers at MyMüsli or the furniture shop, Westwing, are brands who have largely achieved their fame by taking completely new routes. At the same time, their products, like their makers, are very different from one another. Nonetheless, they have certain common points that could be noted down in the new textbook for modern brand management:

A good story

A new product must have its own story. But not just any old blah-blah story. It has to be one that grabs the attention, that is different, and that interests people. And, of course, it has to be in touch with the zeitgeist. That means: successful brands pick up on mega trends – but in an unconventional, indeed sometimes even surprising, way. Tesla is surfing the wave of massively increased environmental awareness that has been building over the last few decades. It all makes sense so far. In addition, they are also triggering their very own brand surprise moment. Because in terms of design their cars are the absolute antithesis of accepted eco-style and functional, home-made solar-powered mobility. Their groundbreaking electromobility is housed in an extremely elegant, exceptionally desirable and very expensive car. It’s an elitist product that clearly separates smart ecological awareness from conventional green worthiness.

This game also works if you take it down to a smaller scale. MyMüsli has picked up on the trend for organic foods as its basis. It then fitted that trend with rocket engines, enriching the product with individuality plus convenience. An organic muesli that you can create yourself with online clicks is ornamented with personal fantasy names, and is then delivered by courier directly to your breakfast table.  Pour on the milk and get stuck in. Simply laid-back, tasty and healthy – that’s the way we live and eat today. On top of that, in order to show the maximum achievable, the product developers have got their calculators running red hot: according to the company, there are 566 quadrillion possible muesli variations. No-one can try them all in a single lifetime. You really can’t get more variety than that. It’s a great story that catches the fancy of every muesli maniac, and one that people enjoy sharing. However, since online sales and online marketing alone are not enough, for some years MyMüsli has increasingly been banking on its own shops in busy locations in relevant conurbations, staffed with real-life individual muesli consultants.

Westwing has also picked up on the quick & easy feeling brought to us by the internet. Some of their smart people took a look at what’s happening in our homes. There is hardly any other nation that spends so much money on furnishing their homes than we Germans. In addition, we really love being at home – what is known these days as “cocooning”. So it’s more than logical to find some way of sparing us a journey: the previously unavoidable trip to the gigantic out-of-town furniture megastores.  Instead, this clever start-up conveniently delivers trendy branded furniture and interior accessories to your home. Since furnishings are largely chosen by women, obtaining new armchairs and tables is now no more difficult than buying a pair of high heels from Zalando.

Westwing plays very well on the psychology of consumers. A clock can be seen ticking on the Westwing sale portal. If you don’t order within the remaining time you get kicked out, and can’t get the trendy product anymore. It’s something we’re familiar with from classic retail… only while stocks last. Only after all received orders have been bundled does Westwing order the goods and deliver them. But customers pay upfront.

The stars on the top of the tree

Brands that move people, arouse interest, enthral, turn customers into fans who then become part of the brand. Participation is the new mantra.

Additional help is provided when management has a substantial media presence. Because successful brands and their stories need narrators. And they have to take to the stage. It’s something one has to want and be able to do. Self-marketing was long reviled as personal vanity. Indeed it is still widely considered a dirty word. Those successful individuals who have mastered the high art of personal presentation to perfection couldn’t care less.   They do their thing – and benefit the marketing of their brands. Tesla’s Elon Musk is the virtually ideal protagonist in this regard: A billionaire visionary as the face of the company. A man who not only wants to level e-mobility’s way into the mass market, but who is constantly making headlines in the worldwide press with other sensational projects. Sometimes it’s reusable rockets, another time he’s thinking about colonising Mars, or building a tunnel beneath Los Angeles that will catapult pedestrians from Point A to Point B. A positive madman, but one who delivers perfect storytelling, thus continuously recharging his manufacturer brand.

Although the German counterparts are far more modest, they are just as effective. Both the MyMüsli management troika – all former students from Passau – and Deliah Fischer from Westwing, are being celebrated as showcase founders, and given awards. None of them has any qualms about appearing on talk shows or blowing their own trumpets for their brand in a high-profile way. And they always make a fresh, personable impression. Deliah Fischer, who studied fashion journalism, has certainly contributed the most to Westwing’s high profile to date. A power woman who is well-received, and who is the face of a vision, an idea and, ultimately, of a brand. Those who buy something at Westwing are always buying a little piece of Deliah Fischer’s spirit as well. Just like at Tesla, where the ingenious founder Elon Musk is somehow always there as an invisible front-seat passenger. A really good feeling.

Discover the new possibilities

These days start-ups usually have a different business model and they do their advertising differently too. They are consistently living out the game change in everything they do. And that’s a good thing. Three days after MyMüsli launched in 2007 it already had 16,500 hits on Google. The founders later filmed their first TV ad – entirely on an iPhone – because their funds were limited. In the meantime the company can also afford to invest in classic advertising. However this is often also in the shape of modern, interactive formats.

MyMüsli was a huge media hit because the founders recognised the signs of changing consumer interests and adapted them intelligently. Tesla is a media self-starter, powered by Elon Musk. The marketing experts from Rocket Internet – who know how to promote start-ups online – are behind Westwing.  With the examples of all channels from social media to influencer marketing. It is the art of winning people over without a big budget and without classic advertising. This works exceptionally well on the internet which is why it is often the preferred medium for the new brand marketing.

The agencies too have long since had a rethink. They accompany their clients throughout the entrepreneurial process from strategic product development to integrated, interdisciplinary marketing.

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