3 proven tactics to capture people's attention
Earning people's attention starts with meeting them where they are
Hey all—happy 2023! Moving the newsletter to Substack because Elon killed Revue on Twitter. Womp womp.
Today I want to talk about they holy grail of marketing—capturing people’s attention.
At Off-Menu, I typically work with technical founders working on weird, hard to explain products.
What most founders don’t realize—even the clearest explanation of what you do doesn’t matter unless you have someone’s attention.
It doesn’t matter if you’re introducing a new technology to the world. (i.e. AI, crypto/web3)
Trying to stand out in a highly saturated market. (i.e. VC)
Or if you’re creating an entirely new category that don’t currently exist. (i.e. New type of beverage)
The big takeaway: People respond best to brands who “meet them where they are.”
Let me explain…
Founders who ask their customers to understand why their product or technology is better are slower to grow. They are playing a sales game. And even in a b2b context, people don’t like to be sold too.
On the other hand, there’s a small cohort of brands who put their product in context of people’s lives.
They give them something they can relate to.
A reason to pause. A reason to give them the time of day.
All through signaling they understand them.
Today I’m going to walk you through 3 tactics for how to capture people’s attention by meeting them where they are.
Tactic 1: Virus of doubt
Remind potential customers of daily frustrations, get them annoyed all over again, so you can prime them for a solution.
Glonuts is amazing at this. They are a CPG company that sells gluten-free, vegan donuts. Their sugar-free product is 10x healthier than Hostess or Dunkin, without sacrificing on taste.
Yet instead of marketing a “better for you” product, they tap into a deeper insight around the sugar crash—specifically around how bad it makes you feel.
They’ve managed to break out not by selling healthier ingredients, but by helping people understand they can have something delicious without the crash.
By meeting people where they are, they inspire potential customers to rethink their choices. And because their product is so tasty, it usually leads to a change in behavior.
From: A healthier donut
To: Enjoy a donut without the ick
(Disclosure: I’m an investor in Glonuts)
Tactic 2: Speak their language
Another way to capture people’s attention is to get super niche in your messaging.
Think of it like an inside joke—not everyone is supposed to get it by design.
Meet customers where they are by showing them you understand them.
If you live in NY or LA, you probably remember the Postmates “We get it” campaign. They got ultra niche their OOH messaging, surfacing unique (and hilarious) insights born from past order trends. Absolutely brilliant.
From: It’s all about us — i.e. Our product is 10x better than alternatives
To: It’s all about you — i.e. We get you, so you’ll probs enjoy our product
Tactic 3: Break convention
Capture an audience’s attention by going rogue against the status quo in a way that feels authentic & own able to your brand.
We just saw Equinox do this with their “We don’t speak January” campaign, front & center in the New York Times. It captures your attention because it’s the exact opposite of what everyone else does, but done in a way that feel genuine to their ethos.
Back in the day, Everlane got famous for this too going dark on “Black Friday” to push their message in a way that felt fresh and on-brand.
Breaking convention works just as well in digital experiences as it does in marketing. My favorite example is from my former employer, the design agency Ueno.
They broke convention with a funny and conversational privacy policy—the exact kind of thing 99.9% of people skip over. Doing so gave potential clients and talent a glimpse into their creative prowess.
From: Easily ignored when you play by the rules
To: Capture people’s attention by breaking convention
Eating my own dog food
As I build Off-Menu’s brand, meeting people where they are is of course top-of-mind. For example, most of Off-Menu’s clients are early stage startups.
While founders want unique memorable brand, they tend to be allergic to the word “strategy.”
Back when I first started consulting 10+ years ago, I used to try to change people’s minds.
I used to try to convince them that strategy was a worthwhile investment.
I used to have them come to me.
(It didn’t work very well.)
With Off-Menu, I’m changing things up. I cut the word “strategy” from my vocabulary, and instead focus on “story.”
Businesses are built on the back of narratives.
To align teams. To inspire investors. To evangelize customers.
So while Off-Menu is a studio that technically specializes in brand strategy, we meet people where they are, selling “story” & “differentiation” instead.
Same product. Different framing. Incredible results.
Meet people where they are. It will capture their attention. And once you have their attention, anything is possible.