a single source, nothing corroborates it

Stage the attack against you as your own set piece

When somebody bigger insults you, adopt the insult in front of your own audience: one musician opened a festival set with footage of a famous critic slagging him off, dressed as him and dedicated the show to him. A disqualification can be worth more than the placement lost, as when a track pulled from a genre chart became a national argument and hit number one two weeks later. Assume a platform will block a campaign that attacks it, and have the write-up about being blocked ready, because that post is the real distribution.

The method

1. 01

   When a bigger name attacks you publicly, do not defend yourself: adopt the insult, stage it in front of your own audience, and let the joke carry your name.

2. 02

   A public rejection or disqualification can be worth more than the placement you lost, so don't treat it as a setback.

3. 03

   Assume the platform will reject a campaign that attacks it, and have the write-up about being blocked ready to publish as the real distribution event.

4. 04

   Treat a crisis as raw material for your best-performing marketing asset rather than something to keep quiet.

What it returned

• 4

  The captioned robbery video reached 4.6M views and national press, and the owner reports queues are longer than before

• Lewis Capaldi opened his Glastonbury set with footage of Noel Gallagher slagging him off, dressed in Gallagher's trademark bucket hat and parka, and dedicated the show to him; the entrance went viral, drew press and won him fans

• Billboard pulled the song from the country chart for not being country; the argument became a national talking point and the track was number one two weeks later.

• Facebook banned Signal's ads; Signal's blog post about the ban went viral

Sources

• Signal's Instagram AdsHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · Signal's Instagram Ads · undated
• Becoming an antifragile brandHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · Lewis Capaldi · undated
• Turning a restaurant robbery into a viral adHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · Turning a restaurant robbery into a viral ad · undated
• The marketing genius of Lil Nas XHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · Part 2 · undated