Strength from "Weakness"

When Arnold Schwarzenegger first came to the United States, he started a small bricklaying business with fellow bodybuilder and immigrant Franco Columbu.  The business wasn't off to a good start.  In fact, even though the pair undersold the competition—they were having a hard time finding work.

That is until the friends realized that they could turn their collective "weaknesses" in the form of thick accents and a "foreign first impression" into their strength.  They quickly re-invented their business model into a service that was much more expensive than the competition and sold themselves in a way that played up their European heritage.  They would seduce their LA customers by saying that their method of bricklaying was different because it was "Austrian Bricklaying".

During 1971, Los Angeles was hit with one of the biggest earthquakes in it's history and to keep the story short, let's just say that Arnold and Franco did very well before they pursued their fulltime bodybuilding dreams.

This is one of my favorite brand/marketing stories, because is demonstrates the following:

1. Sometimes the best marketing involves exaggerating certain "truths"
2. Occasionally brands are built not from strengths, but from turning perceived weakness into strength

What Arnold and Franco did was tell a story that the LA residents wanted to believe.  Was it accurate?  Well, not entirely.  Was it compelling?  Absolutely.  I can imagine the owner of an expensive LA pad chatting to her friends about the "European Bricklayers" she just dropped a pretty coin for.  That's a good story.

Similar to Arnold's story, the iPod Shuffle marketing strategy also turned a weakness into a strength.  The "Life Is Random" concept was born from the lack of a visual display on the device.  And like the "European Bricklayer" angle—it works.

Point is that we're ALL marketing ourselves even if we would like to think that we aren't.  We all have strengths and weaknesses.  I'm a much better creative leader than I am a visual designer.  I figured this out early on in my career and pursued creative direction as a result.  I now "market" myself as a "strategic creative thinker" able to go from concept to execution.  Have you figured out what your weakness is?  Is there a way to turn it into a differentiating strength?

Comments

[rakhi]

This is interesting because it's easy to get caught up in focussing on your weaknesses and not knowing what to do with them. I think a lot of us do the strength/weakness exercise and then just accept what we've put down on the list and it almost becomes a reason for not doing something..."Oh i can't do that, it's one of my weaknesses". Perhaps it's not so much about turning a weakness into a strength but about seeing your strength/weakness list as a job description of characteristics that are needed and not needed; now all you need to do is find the right title for it!

[David Taylor (brandgym)]

David,

A slightly different take on what you talk about is building on and amplifying a TRUTH about your product or service. In a world of spin, I think there is a real need for substance, and authenticity. I often feel I am talking into the wind, but I for one still believe that "behind most great brands is a great product".

And one good example of building on a truth is the one you describe, which is re-positioning what seems at first to be a weakness into a relevant point of difference. Some other ones:
- Guiness beer taking time to pour: "All good things come to those who wait"
- Heinz ketchup being thick, hard to get out: thinkness as a sign of quality
- Mini car in US, small vs. demand for big cars: the Anti- SUV backlash starts here

David

[Valeria Maltoni]

You said it well, the weaknesses in this case were "perceived". It was written nowhere that Arnold and Franco had to speak perfect English to succeed. As it is written nowhere that brands need to be perfect.

Seth said it best: they just need to be remarkable.

[Robert Hruzek]

Although the cynic would be tempted to sneer at those snobbish LA-ites, this is actually an excellent example of innovative thinking, and how looking at things from a slightly different angle can turn your product or business around.

Point #2 can be pretty powerful!

[David Anderson]

when does "ethics" rear its ugly head?

does playing upon people's vanity or greed or whatever constitute "good marketing"?

what happens when vain, greedy people naturally want to consume ever more stuff, and are encouraged to do so by "smart marketing"?

is one name for that: "global warming"?

is another name for that: "constant war"?

[Mamatha]

It's a good article I understand the strategy is more useful to people. If you are interesting visit the site marketing strategy