Should We Really Be Marketing to ‘Weird’?

I just read Seth Godin’s We Are All Weird’ this morning and like most things Seth writes, he got me thinking. Now, if you haven’t read the book, it is a manifesto that defends the idea that brands and marketers need to do more than simply cater to the masses or what they perceive as the ‘normal’.

Our availability of choice has enabled each of us to embrace what is unique in regards to our wants, needs and desires and in turn, we are ‘weird’ because of our niches.

It’s an interesting idea to consider the availability of our ability to have an option to make a choice rather than having it made for us in addition to the ability for someone to develop, produce and sell something ‘weird’ and how this is changing the concept of how we market and to whom.

I agree with Seth on these premises; if people want something, are willing to pay for it and we are willing and able to make it and sell it, then so be it. But does that remove the market for normal?

In the last section of the book, Seth writes ‘if you’ve made it to the end of this manifesto and come to the conclusion that you need to spend more time going after niche markets, I fear we have both failed.’

What if we all started going after tribes or groups of ‘weird’ consumers? Is there really no need for brands to cater to a niche?

And what if we can’t do anything beyond going after niche markets? What if that is what we do best?

In the book, he talks about a hotel chain in the San Fran area that caters to the ‘weird’. They are ‘weird’ themselves, so are able to capture, articulate and build an experience for the audience. He then talks about how Hyatt observed this working and made an attempt to do it themselves. What happened was a fake atmosphere with a fake staff catering to a non-fake ‘weird’ consumer.

As the consumer I would be offended. A little like the way people come to visit Boston and try to take on our accents. It’s BS and it doesn’t work. So how can a brand like the Hyatt cater to ‘weird’? Is it even possible?

In this example, I feel that the Hyatt works as a niche market. They have a brand and a reputation and a loyal following. We know what to expect when we check into one and we don’t expect them to be ‘weird’. Are they missing an opportunity because of this? I would have to say no.

Now I’m not saying there is no opportunity for someone to market to a ‘weird’ audience. In fact, I love that this opportunity exists because it fuels the growth of small businesses in our economy. But I don’t think we all need to be marketing to ‘weird’.

What do you think of this?

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Thanks for the review, and for the time to engage about the book--even with people who haven't read it!

Hyatt is of course in search of the normal business traveler. And yes, of course at a distance, there are still normal business travelers. But given the chance, just about all of them would prefer to be their own sort of weird. They'd like the room to be the way they like, not the way the Pritzkers like it. Hyatt defaulted to mass because it used to be impossible to know better.

Two points and then I'll go, since I don't want to rewrite the book:
a. businesses that are incapable of learning enough about their customers to be weird will still exist, but they shouldn't expect to grow and prosper as they did when everyone was clueless...
and
b. The book isn't about niche marketing, it's about knowledge and respect.

Hi Seth,

Thanks so much for stopping by and sorry for the delay in my reply!

The thing that got me thinking about the book was that this idea that weirdness has come from our ability to have and make choices which is what it really all boils down to. Businesses that do not cater to the weird in their customers will still survive because somebody needs them and perhaps that 'normal business traveler' is a weird thing to be in and of itself.

But I would have to ask you about your last point about the book being about 'knowledge and respect'.... Are you referring to a brand respecting an individual's weirdness enough to react to it positively and give them something - an experience - that shows you are knowledgeable? If that's the case, then I may need to re-think my answer to my own question because whether you call it weird or normal, we are all marketing something based on knowledge and respect - I hope.

Hi Christina,

I haven't read "We Are All Weird," but reading your take on it makes me think that marketing to weird is just another niche. If it works for you (and your product), great. But speaking from my own "brand' position, I'm not sure I want to be known for working with the weird.

Hi Daria,

I thought that same thing! Isn't it funny that Seth says in the end that if you are marketing to a niche, then he and the reader wasted their time? I had to go back and read that a few times because up until that point, I was going right along with the idea behind the book. But then that statement. 'Weird' is a niche! And every single 'weird' within the 'weird' is a niche.

You gotta think about the word 'weird' differently too. What we think of as weird is not necessarily where he is going with this. DM me your address and I'll send you my copy so you can read it :)

Thanks, Christina. I'd be interested to read it. Will DM you my address.

Perhaps a better word for "weird" might be "quirky". But the problem is, today's weird and quirky is tomorrow's normal.

Also, I think a lot of the weird and quirky that I see is awfully contrived, and therefore doesn't have legs. I look at the hipsters all around me, and it isn't real. The moment you start wearing your weirdness or quirkiness as a badge of honor, it ceases to be genuine, or at least that's my thinking.

Do we market to that? Perhaps, but will it stand the test of time? Doubtful.

I'm honestly not sure Ken. Have you read the book? I like the idea that we have the ability to build and deliver things to very, shall we say, 'unique' audiences but I certainly don't think that removes the need to market to what 'normal' remains. Your point is valid about the evolution of trends and what is considered 'weird' and what is not. What is today, will certainly not be tomorrow because it wasn't yesterday - right? And further, what is 'weird' to some, is 'normal' to others.

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