Can You Do "The Whoa"?
Every couple of months there is a new viral dance craze 🤪.
There was the Harlem shake, then Milly rock, dabbing, the whip/nae nae, the mannequin 👤 challenge, and how could we forget about flossing? Now, we have the "hit the whoa", and it is taking the internet by storm ⛈.
The trend started on TikTok and has since spread far beyond the platform. For anyone not familiar with this phenomenon, hitting the woah is when a dancer makes a quick, small circular motion with their fists 👊 and leans into a freeze position when the beat drops in a song.
We have all felt the “Whoa 😱” sensation. It is an extraordinarily uplifting feeling. It makes you want to be better, do better, act better, live better, and think differently. We may have not even realised that it was promotional content that made us feel this way.
We were not “played”. We just enjoyed it and the company benefits. From that, they have given themselves a level of brand trust 🤝 that the customers do not currently realise. That is what marketing through the “Whoa” sensation is all about - movement, but not unwarranted movement.
That is what marketing through the “Whoa” sensation is all about - movement, but not unwarranted movement. It is a movement that the company created, we enjoyed and subsequently forwarded (a.k.a shared, a.k.a contributed to, a.k.a propelled forward). “Whoa” marketing can be experienced on multiple emotional levels 🕹.
👊 “Whoa” can be controversial
There is a fine line with controversy between “Whoa” in a good 👍 way and in a bad 👎 way. The line is your target market - the people who will actually be buying your stuff, using your products, or engaging with your community. If you do not know who this is, do not be controversial. Controversy is about polarisation. Plain and simple.
It is about getting all of the people who agree with you rallying 💪 behind you, and the people who do not believe in you speaking about you anyways. If you do not know clearly who will be rallying behind you and who will be roaring against you, do not pick a side. Do more research 🧐, then pick a side.
The “remote work environment” is a “Whoa” inducer because of the sheer thought 💭 of being able to work from home 🏠. If you work in an office, just let that marinade for a minute.
👉 No commute
👉 No interruptions
👉 No “Hey can you do this real quick even though it is completely meaningless to you”
👉 In your own environment
👉 On your own clock
👉 Under your own control
Those are the kinds of things the “remote” controversy gives you a “Whoa” sensation about. The key 🔑 to positive controversy is breaking social norms and picking your battles well. Even something as simple as being completely transparent about your company’s and employee’s salaries can spark ⚡️ some intense media discussion.
👊 “Whoa” can be inspirational
RedBull’s “Stratos” launch was one of the most inspirational promotional feats of the past decade. It did not feel like promotion; it felt like entertainment because it was entertainment. It was “Whoa” inspiring entertainment. It made you want to get up and do something, move and improve 🤗 yourself, test your own limits and go beyond them. Check out the RedBull’s “Stratos” launch here 👉 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOoHArAzdug.
Tony Robbin’s talks are an inspiration straight to your face and movement focused. Tony Robbins speaks about how he went from a homeless 17 year old living on the street, to buying the castle 🏰 he had plastered on his wall as a kid. He had an uphill battle from the get-go, and he strived through it. He uses NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming, or the art of reprogramming your brain 🧠) to give people hope in their lives, to see the possibility that was clouded from them, and genuinely changes peoples lives in massive ways.
This is all through the “Whoa” sensation - the act of inspiration. Tony Robbins is a global 🌎 celebrity. He is widely known as a life coach who has mentored some of the greatest greats of our time. The reason he has become a celebrity is the impact of inspiration he has on many people. They share it, they talk 🗣 about him, and they propel it forward. Inspiration is contagious, or “viral” 🦠 as many would put it.
👊 “Whoa” can be exhilarating
GoPro’s product launches have always been notoriously teamed with jaw-dropping product videos. GoPro sponsors professional athletes doing the most absurdly incredible stunts in mind-boggling locations 📍, all recorded on GoPro devices and paired with some gnarly beats featuring artists, like The Glitch Mob.
Each of these product launches have a jaw-dropping “Whoa” appeal that not only leaves the watcher 👀 wanting more, but also wanting to do more. You want to record 📹 what you are doing and share your awesome feats when you want to do more. What you end up doing is essentially providing GoPro with content marketing on a grander scale than any other startup in the world. Check out some of these “Whoa” wares by GoPro 👉 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC-24Nfr7fc.
GoPro just has to provide the product, which they sell, and inspire the movement - you do the rest. It is benefiting you, but it is also of paramount benefit to GoPro, which is part of the reason why they went from a $5,000 savings account hunch by Founder & CEO Nick Woodman to a $1,000,000,000 💰 company in 10 years.
👊 “Whoa” can be interesting
Amazon’s drone announcement during Cyber Monday 2013 had everyone tweeting 📱. It was interesting, but it also made us say “Woah” due to the impact this could have on our everyday lives. A “60 Minutes” spot on CBS with the CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos unveiling their “30 minute shipping solution” to the world 🌎 in the form of octacopter drones got Amazon more coverage on Cyber Monday than any other company.
Obviously targeting this unveiling to drastically increase 📈 sales on their already hyped Cyber Savings shopping holiday, Amazon destroyed their competition and actionably raked in the most influence. It was interesting, it captured our minds and thought “duh” 🙄 that just works. Subsequently, it was a bit controversial due to the amount of controversy recently around “drones” in the military and their domestic usage.
No one is going to compete against Amazon’s infrastructure on the same field of battle. Not many venture capitalists are going to invest in a Google Glass competitor when no venture firm can out-spend Google’s revenue. It is a smart release for multiple reasons, but the “Whoa” sensation caused by the interesting 🤔 subject matter is one reason why this is such a cool media release.
👊 “Whoa” is emotional
Google astonished marketers and consumers alike with their “Reunion” ad targeted 🎯 at the India market. The ad shows the journey of two long-lost friends reuniting in their late 80's by their grand-children using Google products to find each other and set up a meet. It was so emotional that you could not help but to like it. Watch the “Reunion” ad here 👉 https://youtu.be/gHGDN9-oFJE.
We hope your bottom funnel actions will be enough to get users to convert. However, it does not mean that your job is done ✅ . You should ALWAYS work to retain your customers and ideally get your new customers to promote you to their friends and family.
Marketing through the “Whoa” sensation is at its heart ❤️ emotional. It relies entirely on a strong emotional response. The chills running down your spine and the bumps standing up on your back. This video does that, it is what every “Whoa” focused ad should do.
👊 “Whoa” is actionable
The “Whoa” sensation makes you want to get up and move. It makes you want to take action immediately. It is a sales driver 🚗, a knee-jerk responder, and an impulse inducer. When you finish watching a GoPro video some would say “HELL YEAH! I have got to get out and do some more extreme stuff! Oh, and I need a camera to record it with”, which is why people would end up buying 🛍 the GoPro to record their personal extreme sports ventures. Watch one of these GoPro videos that make you go “HELL YEAH!” 👉 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhWbh2pZc1Y.
👊 “Whoa” is simple
It engages an emotional response, which leads to subliminal brand trust 🤝. It lays down clear, actionable steps - propelling you to the first movement towards using their product. It uses a targeted approach in order to ensure that it aligns 📏 with you and their audience in the way that will have you interested. It leads to end usage that initiates the process that leads to the sale.
AK47™ believes that every business should think about how they can market using the “Whoa” approach. We live to inspire, to motivate, and to push 🤜 people to go beyond their limits. It is what pushes us forward as mankind. It is what makes us strive to be greater and to better the world around us. The only thing that you need to know is how your audience wants to be inspired. What do they want to be inspired with? What will give them the most value? That is the only question, then you can inspire the masses🤩😎.
References:
Roots, C. 2019, April 10. The best and worst of the 'hit the whoa' challenge. Mashable.
Smith, S. 2013, December 4. Market through the “Whoa” sensation. Medium.
