Welcome to issue #003 of Mike’s Marketing Lab! We are in the home stretch to Black Friday or maybe you’ve just launched your Black Friday promotion. Either way, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover. So if you still have any leftover Halloween candy, bust that out. Let’s get started!
Turn Your Stereo Up to 11
I love to doomscroll just a little bit every now and again. It’s relaxing and helps me turn my brain off. Still, I always try to see if I can pull something productive from my doom scrolling.
During one such doomscrolling session, I stumbled upon a great video by Ryan Holiday, the writer of The Daily Stoic.
As Holiday tells it, Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood, their manager since 1979, was once praised at a dinner honoring the band for his skillful work in the music business. Smallwood’s reply:
“I’m not in the music business. I’m in the Iron fucking Maiden business.”
I particularly loved it because I think it sums up a lot of what great marketing is and a lot of what we get lost in when we do marketing.
We love to take our whole industry and say, “I’m in the fitness industry. I’m in the consumer packaged goods industry. I’m in the tech industry.” And yes, you do have to worry about outside industry forces. If you read any big book on strategy (pick yours: Michael Porter, Clayton Christensen, and so on) you’re going to find a lot of really good, useful information in there.
But at the end of the day, you are in the business of helping your company, your brand, and your customers succeed.
This forces you to narrow your aperture in a way that is incredibly beneficial.
If you think, “I’m in the fitness industry,” now you’re measuring every single thing you do against the industry. You’re going to get so bogged down, lost in every trend, and swayed by every new shiny toy. It’s going to be dizzying and leave you delirious from trying to keep up with the Joneses.
But if you think to yourself, “I am in the business of helping my company,” you focus your thinking. The question then becomes “What can I do right now to help my company?” It frees you to zero in on what really matters: driving sales and helping your customers.
To sum it all up, do everything that is unique to your company and nothing else.
Now, pick up your guitar and turn your stereo up to 11, because you’re in the Iron fucking Maiden business.
Lab Notes: When to Not Be Creative
We just retired the first generation ANCORE unit in October. It’s a bittersweet moment as this is the product that put us on the map. But as my dad would say, it’s a “turn the page” moment. The story will go on even if one of the characters just exited stage right.
The biggest lesson from this month-long retirement party is that in some instances, it actually pays to not be creative in your marketing. Instead, be as crystal clear and vanilla as possible. Allow me to explain.
The first generation ANCORE shares the same name as our company, meaning there is inherent risk our message gets misconstrued into ANCORE the company is riding off into the sunset (1000 percent NOT TRUE) as opposed to ANCORE the product.
To solve this, we decided to play it straight down the middle. The half-back dive of marketing. The proverbial fast ball of communication. Say it as clearly and to-the-point as possible so customers could make the most informed buying decision. No jokes. No gimmicks. Only maximal clarity.
Creativity can be our biggest and best tool, but that doesn’t mean it should be used for every job.
AI Corner: AI Video Editing
One of the things I particularly love to do is throw things at the latest and greatest AI model and just see what happens. The outcome could be great, or it could be laughably terrible. Either way, I think by working at the frontier, we can really learn the capabilities of the tools we’re working with.
One really fun thing I’ve discovered recently is using AI models (whether that’s ChatGPT or Claude) to edit video. Here’s the quick and dirty workflow to get you started, get the ball rolling, and get you thinking.
1. Record a couple of clips.
This can be you talking on camera, different takes, and maybe some B-roll. Ultimately, what we’re trying to get here is a soundbite and some B-roll. We’re not shooting the latest Avatar movie. Keep it simple.
2. Put your footage in a folder.
Take those videos off your phone or camera and stick them in a folder. Call it something like “AI Video Test.”
3. Open your AI tool and give it a simple ask.
Drag your folder into your AI of choice. Remember, if you’re using ChatGPT, make sure you use Work mode. Then say something like:
Please turn these videos into a 30-second social video about [whatever you recorded]. Add captions. Please make it [length between 15 seconds and 60 seconds].
Keep the ask simple, and let it work.
4. Review and riff.
What I’ve found is that the model is actually very good at video editing. Obviously, as with anything, it’s not always going to get the edit right on the first try. But on some of these smaller videos, it can speed up your workflow and remove some of the tediousness of sitting in the edit bay.
Go get shooting and let me know how it goes.
Black Friday Tip of the Week: Make a Checklist
The foundation of every great party is a checklist, and you need to treat Black Friday the same way.
Make checklists for every part, just like you would for a party:
Before: Everything you need to get ready.
During: How do you make sure your guests are having a great time?
After: What comes down when it’s over?
Black Friday needs to be executed the same way. Checklists on checklists on checklists. The key is, don’t overthink it. Open a Google Doc or grab a piece of paper. List everything that needs to be done, sort it into before, during, and after, and then pull up the right checklist when it’s time to get to work.
It’s easy to overlook little things while you’re getting the site ready, during the action, and after it’s over. The last thing you want is a discount code still active when it shouldn’t be or a broken link to a webpage.
Checklist, checklist, checklist. Before, during, after.
Start now. It’ll save you stress and make your party the best on the block.
Get Moving: The Light Jog
One of the reasons I love fall weather is that it’s perfect for a light jog in nature. See the changing leaves, get outside, breathe some of that crisp autumn air. A nice, comfy jog can change the trajectory of your day for the better.
If you’re not a runner, that’s okay too. Pair that light jog with a little walk. We’re not trying to win a race here or set a new PR. This is all about embracing the fall vibes, getting outside as the days get shorter, and getting the blood pumping.
I’ll see you out there!
-Mike