a single source, nothing corroborates it

Spend on delight where recipients already post

Generosity buys distribution only where the people receiving it habitually publish about that subject, which is why unsolicited pet portraits work for a pet retailer and would not elsewhere. Marking a milestone with a personal challenge alongside long standing customers, turning up at gatherings they organise, or inviting them to hand make something attached to a cause all produce the same effect. Run the cheap idea colleagues laugh at, because the ritual can compound for decades.

The method

1. 01

   Pay artists to paint portraits of customers' pets and post them unannounced.

2. 02

   Spend heavily on delight only where the recipients habitually post about that subject, so each gesture buys you distribution.

3. 03

   Set a personal challenge or stunt with long-time customers to mark a milestone.

4. 04

   Turn up in person at the gatherings your audience organises and stay for a drink.

5. 05

   Ask customers to hand-make something that goes on your product, and tie the resulting sales to a charity so participation has a point beyond decoration.

What it returned

• 100

  Chewy keeps 100 artists on staff purely for pet portraits

• Chewy's pet portraits appear across social media daily

• Klopp played an impromptu bowls match against lifelong supporters at the end of his first season

• Klopp dropped in on fan events before lockdown

Sources

• How Chewy delights customersHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · undated
• How Jürgen Klopp makes fans smileHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · undated
• Innocent’s Wooly HatsHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · Innocent's Wooly Hats · undated