This week we're breaking down:

• The Highlights:
  • Unpacking MrBeast's new chocolate bar brand rollout on YouTube

• The Watercooler:
  • Outlining five marketing strategy mistakes you don't want to make

• #MarketingTwitter:
  
  • Diving into three Tweets about TikTok's new trend discovery tool, 11 books worth reading and the future of Clubhouse

ARE WE OVERLOOKING YOUTUBE?

On June 4, 2022, YouTuber MrBeast launched a new video to promote his chocolate brand Feastables.com. Having built a huge platform with over 96.5M subscribers, MrBeast looks exclusively to YouTube content to promote and advertise his products.

MrBeast's latest campaign speaks volumes in its creativity and cleverness all being supported by an organic YouTube video. In this campaign, MrBeast built Willy Wonka's chocolate factory and recreated a similar set of scenarios as seen in the movie. A series of contestants were selected if they found a golden ticket in their Feastables chocolate bars. 

The use of nostalgic references and the network effect of a strong brand presence on social media has led to a snowball of exposure for the brand and this video. 

THE NETWORK EFFECT

Feastables have been marketing their mystery tickets and a chance to participate in the Willy Wonka Factory since the beginning of 2022. Since the launch, dozens of videos have been created showing how people have ordered thousands of Feastables bars in an effort to find one of the ten tickets. One creator even went as far as to buy 10K chocolate bars. Now, not only are people buying chocolate bars, but they're also posting videos about it that are receiving millions of views.

THE CHALLENGE

Once the 10 tickets had been found, MrBeast made good on his promise and actually built a full chocolate factory with inspiration from the movie. The challenges touched on popular culture interests like throwing a mento into a giant coke bottle and bringing in Gorden Ramsey for a cooking competition. Within 3 days of posting, the video had generated just under 50M views. 

MARKETING BUDGET REIMAGINED

Instead of dumping millions into ads for this campaign, MrBeast leveraged his own following to invest in the creation of an organic video. The marketing budget was taken away from making ad creatives and repurposed to build a giant factory. Another budget shift was in contests at the end of the video. MrBeast bought ten Teslas on top of other expensive electronics to give away.

You may be thinking, my brand doesn't have 96.5M subscribers on YouTube so how is this applicable to me? This is merely a reminder to make sure you're looking at where your audience is online and working with the right people to make the best content in a way that will really attract them. Put yourself in Feastable's position as if it wasn't MrBeast's own brand, and make a truly creative and unique partnership come to life.

5 MARKETING STRATEGY MISTAKES YOU DON'T WANT TO MAKE

Is your brand making any of these marketing strategy mistakes? 😬

As marketers, we know the importance of a sound strategy but we seem to make the same common mistakes that can doom efforts from the start. With so many options available today, it's easy to get overwhelmed.

Here are 5 marketing strategy mistakes that you don't want to make:

1. Appearing on every channel or concentrating on the wrong ones
   
   
2. Using gut instinct instead of data-backed insight to produce content
   
   
3. Partnering with creators/influencers based on vanity metrics or because they're “cool”
   
   
4. Focusing on a new feature or tactic without aligning it to an overarching strategy
   
   
5. Not evaluating competitor activity in a measurable way

It's one thing to keep an eye on your competitors to see what they're doing, but without measuring the effectiveness of their marketing activities, you're missing a critical piece and essentially flying blind. By taking the time to track your competitor's activity in a measurable way, you can gain insights into what strategies they are using and how well they are working for them. 

THREE TWEETS

Here are three Tweets you should check out this week:

1. TikTok's new trend discovery tool

2. 11 books worth your time

3. What's happening with Clubhouse?

In case you missed any previous versions, check them out via the links below.

1. Are you doing SMS marketing correctly? - What's Working in Marketing
2. TikTok Takeover – What's Working in Marketing
3. A Community Tactic You're Missing – What's Working in Marketing