THE MARKETING OF CUTENESS… IS IT REALLY SO POWERFUL?
“Happiness is a warm puppy.” “Just watching my cats makes troubles go away.” “My friend’s baby on Facebook literally made my lunch break!” “Saturday equals binge watching cute penguins on YouTube.” -Multiple Internauts All Over The World.
THE MARKETING OF CUTENESS
As a marketing agency owner I search for new trends all the time. Reddit, The Hustle, Morning Brew and many other services are a consistent part of every morning. Even weekends, I’m not kidding! I’m in this business for a reason.
Before all these chunks of educational marketing content get consumed, just for a split second or more like a solid 15 minutes, I watch cats on Instagram. It’s far beyond “guilty pleasure” it’s a dopamine injection that sets my mindset for the day. I follow hashtags: #cute, #cutecats and Dear Readers… that is exactly how I found out about the existence of Baby Yoda.
CUTE HE IS…
This green little guy, who from the perspective of a Star Wars ignorant couldn't mean less, suddenly started to mean EVERYTHING. #babyyoda hashtag was 4 days old and almost 300k people were using it! I started my investigation.
I switched to TikTok and my mind had blown completely. Baby Yoda was everywhere. People were drawing it, baking cakes shaped like it, writing songs about it. The obsession was real. Creative geniuses from Disney+ knew what they were doing working with Jon Favreau on The Mandalorian TV Series.
Within only few weeks Baby Yoda has not only become the baby of the decade but also a pop culture icon. Why, you might ask… well: cute he is!
THE STRATEGY BEHIND IT. WHY DO WE REALLY CRAVE CUTENESS?
There is nothing crazy scientific about it. A 5 year old can tell you that watching a video of a puppy is far more interesting than studying alphabet. We love to see positive things, sweet images, comforting messages… The unwinding factor stands behind 70% of expectations we have from the entertainment industry (social media including). What do we want to escape from? It’s simple - the world is ugly enough and sometimes simply boring. No research needed, we crave cuteness for the balance.
We all know how we react seeing a Facebook post about the puppy that has just been rescued, a cat meme or a toddler in a pumpkin suite on Halloween. Big and small brands are conscious of it and sometimes thanks to the talent of their creative teams we get to enjoy “Baby Yodas”.
CAN I APPLY CUTENESS TO MY MARKETING MESSAGE?
Cute marketing strategy isn’t anything new. We keep seeing it everywhere. The BIG issue here is what’s in it for you? How is it relevant to your business? You probably noticed by now that any social media post with a cat, dog, baby or anything cute in it wins likes, hearts, shares and follows.
Era of showcasing your products on social media without ANY context is far gone and honestly ... it's the easiest way to kill any social media account. Before you commit this social media harakiri, consider finding your own “Baby Yoda”. If we were to advice, obviously anything cute! Your dog, your cat, your baby, your parrot, you, your awesome customers, their pets... Whenever the situation sparkles cuteness, act fast, snap a picture and post it!
NINJA TRICKS:
- Often your customers don't mind taking pics of their pets and once you post it, they will most likely share it. When it comes to sweet babies, always make sure if it’s ok to post.
- If cuteness surrounds you and you actually get to choose (lucky You!) - always go for a pet. An unwritten social media rule is "a pet will ALWAYS surpass a baby". Just think how easy it is to fall in love with your friend's cat!
If you found your business-baby-yoda but you suspect it might take a while for it to fully blossom, why don’t we help you a little? E-MAIL US FOR THE CUTE MARKETING STRATEGY THE WORLD WILL LOVE!
Check our portfolio, it's pretty cute. The sky of adorableness has no limits!
By Dominika Thompson 