The Great MOOC Adventure (part I)

I have decided to take three MOOC's over the next four months and track my experiences and my learning objectives! I have selected a few classes to take and I'm excited to start learning about my new subjects!

For my learning (and to demonstrate this isn't just "for fun"), I have created three main objectives that will designate success

1. Dedicate 5 hours a week per class.
2. Be able to apply concepts outside of class.
3. My own feeling of concept mastery.

I know that number three seems pretty flimsy, as it is very hard to measure. I believe however that a lot of what education gives us is simply the belief and confidence that we are educated. As a marketer I have to argue that there is a lot of added value created that does not come from a classroom or textbook. Whether you learn statistics in Harvard or a community college, it's the same topic, right?

Here are the classes that I have enrolled for:

Ironically, I already had the textbook for this one - I had gotten it for personal use. Thats when I knew I needed this class! 

Couldn't hurt to learn a little bit more about computer languages? I already like languages, so this should be easy - right?

Egyptology and Spanish in the same class - I'm sold!

So the adventure begins!! ...Around October.

Ok, the rest of the story is on the back burner for now, but stay tuned! 

ALSO, feel free to enroll in any of these classes alongside me or any classes that match your interests (links below)

Coursera.org 

Edx.org

Case Study: DryBar

Case Study. 

Ladies, have you ever heard of drybar? Well if you haven't, maybe you know the founder Ali Webb who was just invited to Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards?  She is the founder of a wildly successful startup called - you guessed it - drybar. The concept for the startup was a place that women could get really good blowouts (their tag line - "no cuts, no coloring, just blowouts"). Sound mildly crazy to completely impossible/unfeasible - well try telling that to a business with long lines and that is now opening locations around the country. 

Dry Bar Engagement Strategy. 

This post is going to analyze their marketing success - which really looks at how flawlessly they communicate both their value proposition and their core beliefs. To keep this post clean we are going to be using the my own egyptian analytical framework, which is weird I know - but stick with me. 

Develop an ideology.

Peace, Love and Blowouts. That pretty much sums it all up.  Behind the yellow hair dryer, the company has produced a very unique view point and experience, which drives their engagement strategy. They even went so far are as to publish a video of their 10 core values - a type of exercise and publication I believe every company should go through. Why does this impact marketing/engagement - it completely streamlines the decision making process. If you approach marketing/engagement as a medium to construct added value to things (as drybar as done amazingly) - then you need to define goals, methods and approved communication styles. 

Establish a story.

drybar has done a very good job of that - they even released a video explaining the drybar experience. As every good marketer knows, a hair salon should not focus on the scissors but the environment in the salon. Indeed the "bar experience" story has been very well established. When you walk in you are greeted with a "menu" (with the services they offer) and cocktails. This story has been physically manifested as the menu indeed looks like a real restaurant menu. The story of "haircutting" has been completely thrown out the window - to drybar's advantage. 

Condense into symbols.

See the little upside-down yellow hair dyer from way above - her name is Buttercup. This company has also done a great job in the usage of symbols. Take their distinctive mascot - Buttercup - who is prominently displayed at every location. The symbol is a good use of color, personality and visual identification. Furthermore the "menu" of hairstyles are boiled down into archetypes - symbols that assist in the decision process. Women can choose to get the Manhattan or the Cosmo. In the "restaurant design" of their shops you can see the minimalist esthetic, which is white and their symbolic yellow. This narrow design choice is very specific and fully realized to every aspect of the experience - making it highly visible and recognizable. 

Maintain narrative.

This menu style experience insures that the bar narrative is maintained and that it ties back into the company's story and ideology. I can't really talk about the company's online or social media campaigns - I have not performed a thorough analysis of them. 

Engage & rumorize.

This would require more information - and more analysis of their social media usage - how interactive they are online - how hard they publish creative content to drive conversation. 

However this little image (left) I found is exactly what I am talking about - engagement pieces that drive word of mouth marketing. These pieces have to be big (in size or some  other characteristic), they have to be bold, they have to be eye-catching and they have to hold true to the system of symbols.  I would say a giant yellow hair dryer fulfills those requirements. The cherry on top, the kicker, the engagement piece to really promote brand vitality and strength. 

The Psychology of Persuasion: Social Media Story Telling

YES! This article talks about the use of storytelling and narrative to persuade and convince people. This is exactly what I am talking about - and I  therefore completely agree. The egyptians mastered this technique - capturing our imaginations with myths and stories of the devine. 

​The story of Osiris -  A 3,000BC social media tactic?

What's even MORE surprising  - the structure they lay out in the slideshare article has remained relatively unchanged. 

• A Hero to drive the action
• An Antagonist to challenge
• A movement of awareness or enlightenment 
• and finally transformation. 

You don't have to follow this structure (but it would be fun to try to fit this character arch into - say - GE's brand story - very entertaining indeed), however the classics have always worked and will always work for a good reason!