BBB vs Cupcakes!!!! So a few days ago I had the pleasure of sitting in on a lecture by (in my eyes) one of the innovative marketing geniuses of my generation - Johnny Cupcakes. I am surprised how many people refuse to give him his props for creating a brand that has done nothing but grow and has a freakish cult following that won't quit.
I waited at the end and actually for to pick his brain and see what he had to say about my brand and some tips. We talked for less than ten minutes but one thing he said was i needed to push and be more different because some of my designs were to cliche. Which is true for my past collection and something I have to make sure is not true for the next.
I have heard and read about his journey many times but I decided to go see the man, the legend for myself after all, seeing is believing right? Well at first I thought this guy is going to put me to sleep because he is so chill and monotoned, but after ten minutes I warmed up to his mellow almost west-coast-like tude. Turns out to be quite the jokester.
So the three things I got from him besides all the knowledge he dropped on his methods and rules he abides by are this:
1. Packaging is everything, he works so hard to make sure he goes an extra mile to create a unique branding experience with his packaging and his store interiors. He almost splurges on these things and it always pays back because he creates a unique buying experience.
2. Exclusivity: He turned down making quick millions by refusing any and all offers to sell his products through any other place other than his store and his website. So his customers are always special and are always in hoards when they cram his few locations, making the demand high and keep brand longevity. So by this decision he makes less money now but lots of it in the long run, he doesn't get the Ed Hardy syndrome - Flood the market in any which way possible until people get so sick of you they throw up in their mouths at the sight of your product. Not to knock that way because Ed Hardy made millions and that money is prob going into a new brand which is doing the same thing... who knows... or people are on boats sipping champs and laughing at us all. I prefer the first I am strategising for BBB to one day be an exclusive brand that is controlled and avail in only so many ways - that way I can convey my message exactly how I want to.
3. You are Your Brand. After the lecture there was a Q&A and of the lets say 30 questions, about 28 were kind of personal questions about Johnny himself. All the people were barely interested in the product ( a few did ask ) but mostly they are interested in the guy himself, it's him they want. So I realized that his success is based on his personality, his message he conveys and then the products come out but even those are simply an expression of what he thinks is cool, so again they are an extension of his personality mostly. I realized that contrary to all the people who keep saying "Let's see how long that lasts!!" he is not going anywhere. His fans look at him as regular underdog fella just having fun and making millions and unless he one day decides to quit self promoting he is not going anywhere. People will love Johnny for as long as he does his lectures, cracks jokes and makes t-shirts that's how he strives by making you fall in love with his humble self. Guess it works coz here I am blogging about him.
Anyways I just have a lot of respect for someone so original, someone who has never spent a dollar on traditional advertising and pushing 4 million a year in sales in ten or less years in business with no outside investor money. I think that's amazing!
Thanks for the inspiration Johnny!!
Love Peace BBB
Bless
