How I Fed Kittens With the Power of Marketing

Marketing is not a tool but rather a way of thinking about solving problems with communication. Not convinced? Let me show you my example that can expand your marketing thinking.

Random travel

Around September, one of my best friends got married. The wedding was fantastic. After a few days later, my friend called me and asked if I wanted to hop on a wedding trip. Rather an unusual proposition, but, hey, I love adventures. I said yes, and soon, I was sitting in a car going to the coast.

Boredom → Inspiration

Everything was going well, but the local tourist attractions seem a bit bland. So, I was looking for something that could entertain me. I saw this box.

Look for bad marketing and fix it

The box got my attention mainly because of how bad it was. I wasn't surprised to know that the box was empty.

Why this marketing was bad

👀 It doesn't get any attention.

🙌 It doesn't feel like you're a part of the cause. Feels generic and impersonal.

🎉 It's not fun and doesn't give anything in return.

Can I make it better?

Since my brain was a bit bored, new ideas started popping into my brain. I almost brushed off my thoughts about the lame marketing and communications in general. I didn't want to change anything, but one idea just came to my mind involuntarily when I saw her 😻.

Sometimes you need a hero

I noticed one specific cat sitting on the bench. The strange part about it was that the cat wasn't trying to go anywhere. It almost looks like she was waiting for someone. I thought that think might be a great opportunity. It started with WHAT IF. What if this specific kitten asked for money? Me and, probably, other people would be happy to donate some money. Cats can't talk, but how can I approximate this effect?

Get creative

I asked my friends if they had a pen and a piece of paper. To my surprised, they had them. We sketched a quick note as if it was written by a cat and put some money. That worked as social proof. People trust things and people that are more popular. If you know that a lot of people do something, you tend to do the same.

Why it's good

👀 It was able to get people's attention.

📸 It was a cool experience that people wanted to remember. Some took pics.

🙌 It feels that you're a part of something.

👨‍👨‍👧‍👧 Social proof. My own money made people think they weren't the only ones who donate.

Profit aka milking them

After a few hours of walking around the park, we came back to the spot. I saw some laughing people while approaching the bench. To my surprise, the money tippled. I quickly ran to a convenience store and bought some milk for all the stray cats. I poured them into small cups and got all cats happy.

Just give it a try

Here, I wasn't thinking about marketing. I look at a situation around me. The reason why the personal note was a good idea is not that it had some genius insight. It was just easy to try and see what will happen.

Think about a small idea, something that doesn't hurt to try but worth exploring.

That's a marking mindset. Or should I say MEW-kerting?