What was Snapchat thinking?

What fits your band?

Whether you run a business or a personal brand, have you ever wondered, “What fits my brand?”

About a week ago, I was sent an opportunity to have a cannabis gummy company as a sponsor for an issue of my newsletter. I’d be paid for each click I drove to their website.

I don’t know what edibles have to do with no-budget marketing, but I was somewhat intrigued by questions like, “Is that a product my readers would click on an ad for?” and “Would it turn anyone off to the point that they unsubscribe?”

So, I posted a quick poll on X (Twitter) just to see people’s reactions and because it seemed fun to do it.

The ad opportunity also got me thinking about how sometimes a brand does something unexpected, and it generates discussion. A couple of weeks ago, I saw an example of this with the New Yorker and Snapchat.

I’ll share that X poll and the New Yorker/Snapchat example below…right after the weed gummy ad.

-Mike

What was Snapchat thinking?

Sometimes, a brand does something so out of the ordinary that you wonder what its marketing team was thinking.

But, then sometimes you talk about that thing they did, telling others, “Can you believe they did this?”

Suddenly, the brand has buzz going for doing something people thought was odd. Doing the same thing all the time doesn't always work.

In mid-August, Snapchat ran an ad on the back of the New Yorker, and multiple people commented online about how off that seemed.

Never in a million years would I guess much of the same audience that uses Snapchat reads the magazine and vice versa.

But maybe that was the idea.

With this ad, Snapchat got people talking. While many people use both Snapchat and read the New Yorker, many likely don’t.

I imagine some people flipping over the magazine and thinking, “Oh, that’s what my kid (or my grandkid) uses.”

Maybe it got them wondering more about it. Maybe it got them talking to Snapchat users who asked questions like, “What even is the New Yorker?”

What does this look like for your brand?

Sometimes, you might find your brand in need of a spark. That’s when it might be time to do the unexpected.

Collaborate with a brand no one would ever guess you would work with. Take out an ad that seems completely off-base for you. Look at your competitors and ask yourself what you could do that they would never do.

Don’t do anything that will destroy your brand, but don’t be afraid to try something new and see what happens.

Maybe your action will create a buzz on a whole new level without you spending more money than you normally do just because it was so different. Let me know what you come up with!