Care of the good folks at DISRUPTIVE, this is our take on some of the often overlooked and underutilized principles of an unconventional marketer. Perfect for those folks who value creativity and strategy over big budgets and wide cast nets.

1. UNCONVENTIONAL
M A R K E T I N G T A C T I C S
F O R S M A L L
B U S I N E S S E S

2. “If you want to stand out, don't be different;
be outstanding.” – Meredith West
All fancy data and analytics aside, the fact remains that we do
business with people and brands we like. And, psychologically
speaking, our minds awake from their monotonous slumber when
we experience something extraordinary. All of this leads to the
definitive end of business as usual. (Man, that excites the living
shit out of us!) Find a way to consistently deliver surprise and
delight paired with value and authenticity, and you’ll discover
exactly what today’s version of successful “marketing” is – a
journey for the courageous and willing, brand and consumer hand-
in-hand.
We hope this paper helps provide the spark for your creative fire.

3. Real-Time Action

4. Real-Time Action.
Cool stuff is happening all around us, every single day.
Some is local, some is global. But it’s there. Royal
Weddings, broken sports records, Presidential elections,
natural disasters, rollerblading squirrels. Somewhere,
somehow, your target market is talking about events that
just happened...and you’re only a spectator. That buzz is
for the taking, man. What are you waiting for? Be fast, be
flexible, be nimble, be courageous, and you will reap the
benefits of real-time marketing. Success in this arena
requires constant listening, unique creativity, flawless
execution, and minimal red tape (no time for your seven
VPs to approve the plan, or that buzz will be gone quicker
than it appeared). Oh, and demonstrate some respect and
empathy here – nobody wants to see a brand capitalize on
someone’s misfortunes or suffering.
Snowball exchange
“Rapture” themed night Taco Bell saves the day
promotion

5. Be Exclusive

6. Be Exclusive.
Access is boring. We’ve all been so caught up in unleashing
the Content Beast so ferociously that we forgot about the
first rule of sales – create scarcity. Giving someone the
answers is no fun. Intrigue, slow reveals, clues, mysteries,
teasers – these make for curiosity and excitement. And
once the veil is (slowly) removed, you’ve created a grand
stage from which you can truly offer value and excitement.
Grey Poupon’s private Nike’s invite-only
11k Club’s secrecy
Facebook page basketball court

7. Surprise &
Delight

8. Surprise & Delight.
You may not be fully aware of the most powerful tool in the
human mind, but you utilize schemas dozens of times a
day. What are schemas, you ask? In short, they are models
that your brain creates to make daily life easier on itself;
you don’t have to think about driving on the right side of
the road every time you hop in your car, you just do it.
When a schema is disrupted - when expectations are blown
away – people will 1) become alert, 2) pay special
attention, and 3) talk about the disruption to set their
frenzied minds at ease. This is the foundation for word of
mouth marketing. Once you have your target’s attention,
the world is your oyster. It’s about creating new
experiences...together. It’s about giving them a reason to
go home, all smiles and excitement, with something
amazing to talk about at the dinner table.
Heineken’s trophy tour Spider Man window washers Bud’s Flash Fans

9. Listen

10. Listen.
You know what they say – the best conversationalists are
the people who’ve mastered the art of listening. In this
current environment of personal content creation and
broadcasting, there’s ample opportunity to monitor and
join the conversations that your colleagues and customers
are having on a daily basis. But listening isn’t about
creeping or launching mass sales pitches. It’s about
making someone feel wanted and cared for, adding value to
their lives. Authentic, interesting, unexpected, personalized
interactions are the currency of today’s market. Spend it
wisely.
Warby Parker’s personalized EA responds to a
KLM’s foursquare surprise
customer videos game glitch

11. Marry Online
With Offline

12. Marry Online With Offline.
The digital landscape is undoubtedly the new frontier for
not only brands and marketers, but friends and family
members. But guess what? You can’t give a hug on
Facebook (not yet, at least). You aren’t able to shake
someone’s hand over email. Over 90% of brand-related
word of mouth conversations happen face-to-face. That’s
enormously important for us to consider. The very best
engagements use the most fertile elements of both online
and offline to connect with consumers. When you are
deliberate in your tactics during each key phase – before,
during and after – these two worlds complement each
other better than PB&J.
Nike’s “pay with miles” Pizza chain follows you
Vail’s Epic Mix
auction back in real life

13. Humanize

14. Humanize.
Just like your mother told you as a child – there is only one
you. That notion should be the impetus for your every
movement, particularly when interacting with others. Don’t
be afraid to step outside the realm of “business as usual”
and be different. Be you, damnit! People respond to brands
that show they are not afraid to buck the system and take
some chances, because deep down that’s who we all want
to be. Bonus points for becoming the reason someone
smiles.
JetBlue’s “Election Oranges shipped with Ritz Carlton’s stuffed
Protection” “splash bibs” giraffe tale

15. Discovery

16. Discovery.
At the end of the day, great marketing results in (or
perhaps causes?) investment. The more interaction
someone has with your brand, the better invested they are
in the relationship. And there may be no more significant
path to investment than to grab your customer by the hand
and take her on a special journey. Challenge her with
something she’s not used to and make the trip fun and
exciting, rewarding her each step of the way. Just make
sure the juice is worth the squeeze – nobody jumps
through hoops for a high five and a “good job, bro!”
Dodge’s media-powered Ford’s fake super
Nestle’s “GPS bars”
scavenger hunt model

17. The Recipe.
Have fun.
Do you.
Take time to stop and think.
Give a shit.
“Move fast and break things.”
Put yourself in their shoes.
Learn.
Take chances.
“In heaven, all the interesting
people are missing.”
- Nietzsche

18. Real-Time Action
Be Exclusive
Surprise & Delight
Listen
Marry Online with Offline
Humanize
Discovery
{the recipe}

19. The only
agency with
its own DJ
mydisruption.com “extremely innovative”
dave@mydisruption.com “an evil genius”
401.316.3827 “passionate” “pure awesomeness”
“goes above & beyond”
Deep Thoughts
by Dave Marcello
@MyDisruption
be interesting or be forgotten