In my post on artisanal marketing I talked about how the Fearless Flyer resonates with people the way no other grocery store circular does. It even sounds ridiculous to put resonate and grocery store circular in the same sentence; but that is what Trader Joe‘s manages to do with its flyer. The reason it resonates is that it is authentic and real. Regardless of how it is crafted (I don’t know how or who or how many people write on it, etc.) but it feels like a regular human being has written it for you – to talk to you directly. It’s this authentic, imperfect voice that makes the flyer so appealing and enjoyable. And read – instead of recycled immediately. But what is authenticity exactly?
I think authenticity is the sum of many choices the people who assemble the Fearless Flyer make. First of all it’s not just something you can add, like an ingredient, or pinch of salt in a recipe. There is no one thing that makes something authentic. You can’t just point to something and say “that makes it real” like an art dealer trying to tell an original from a fake. It’s the entire gestalt of the piece that makes you think it’s authentic. There isn’t just one way to be authentic either. For example the Trader Joe’s Fearless Flyer has very little in common with a Breitling watch; but they’re both authentic. Just in their own way.
It starts with their customer. They know who we are. They know we are yearning for something more real, something less processed, something more natural. Something that gives us a break from the rat race, mass processed, over produced reality that we deal with every day. So they strip that away from the flyer itself. Newsprint, line illustrations, historic images and font styles all relay simplicity in the look and feel and form of the flyer. Then they perfect the voice. Whimsical, friendly, honest and forthright, the voice is enjoyable, reasonable and helpful. It doesn’t push us to buy, doesn’t scream at us with exaggerated claims of happiness and effectiveness. It simply tells us about the products and how they can fit into and make our lives a bit better in a friendly manner. There are other attributes as well: the length of the product descriptions demands attention from us if we’re to get anything out of it.
It’s this honestly – an intentional design and voice – that creates that authentic feeling. A feeling that compells us to read and to share and to spend. In a world of “pay attention to me” interruption-based marketing, fed by high-gloss, big promises and a dumbed down message the authentic, the real is what we yearn for, recognize and show our appreciation for with our dollars.
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Great post. I think the Fearless Flyer also proves the importance of content. Most circulars are not only super sales-y; they're also boring — just a bunch of prices and specials. And while that's useful, I'm not really that dialed into it. But TJ's circular has interesting meal/recipe tips, and it has that casual, familiar tone that makes it such an enjoyable reach. To sum it up, they made the flyer INTERESTING and they packed it with good content. It's almost like what GQ does in their style sections — when you display the fashion products in terms of guides that teach you how to dress for the seasons, for specific occasions, or how to cash in on the latest trends, then suddenly everything becomes content. It could be commercial at heart, or it could be purely editorial, but who cares? It's interesting and relevant at the end of the day.
Great post. I think the Fearless Flyer also proves the importance of content. Most circulars are not only super sales-y; they're also boring — just a bunch of prices and specials. And while that's useful, I'm not really that dialed into it. But TJ's circular has interesting meal/recipe tips, and it has that casual, familiar tone that makes it such an enjoyable reach. To sum it up, they made the flyer INTERESTING and they packed it with good content. It's almost like what GQ does in their style sections — when you display the fashion products in terms of guides that teach you how to dress for the seasons, for specific occasions, or how to cash in on the latest trends, then suddenly everything becomes content. It could be commercial at heart, or it could be purely editorial, but who cares? It's interesting and relevant at the end of the day.
Great post. I think the Fearless Flyer also proves the importance of content. Most circulars are not only super sales-y; they're also boring — just a bunch of prices and specials. And while that's useful, I'm not really that dialed into it. But TJ's circular has interesting meal/recipe tips, and it has that casual, familiar tone that makes it such an enjoyable read. To sum it up, they made the flyer INTERESTING and they packed it with good content. It's almost like what GQ does in their style sections — when you display the fashion products in terms of guides that teach you how to dress for the seasons, for specific occasions, or how to cash in on the latest trends, then suddenly everything becomes content. It could be commercial at heart, or it could be purely editorial, but who cares? It's interesting and relevant at the end of the day.
Great post. I think the Fearless Flyer also proves the importance of content. Most circulars are not only super sales-y; they're also boring — just a bunch of prices and specials. And while that's useful, I'm not really that dialed into it. But TJ's circular has interesting meal/recipe tips, and it has that casual, familiar tone that makes it such an enjoyable read. To sum it up, they made the flyer INTERESTING and they packed it with good content. It's almost like what GQ does in their style sections — when you display the fashion products in terms of guides that teach you how to dress for the seasons, for specific occasions, or how to cash in on the latest trends, then suddenly everything becomes content. It could be commercial at heart, or it could be purely editorial, but who cares? It's interesting and relevant at the end of the day.