The Little Video That Could

A quick look at Dollar Shave Club and how Michael Dubin took viral video to a never-before-seen level of instant profits with a razor tight message and a scene stealing bear.

 By: Matt Francis, Creative Director of Evoke Creative Group

Michael Dubin is a glowing example of a dude who turned a concept into a multi-million dollar company with a very clever video and a solution to a problem 

that was plaguing men all over the world. 

WHAT

At the time that Dollar Shave Club launched their video on March 6, 2012, Gillette controlled 66% of the 12.8 billion dollar market for men's razors and blades. A couple of years before then, Michael Dubin, the CEO and founder of the company, was listening to the world around him and discovering a problem that he was not alone in wrestling with.  He hated having to go to the store and buy razors so regularly, then once he got there he really hated how much they cost.  Soon he discovered that almost every guy he talked to who shaved at least 3 times a week was having the same issues.  "Dudes hated buying the expensive razors every month in the stores, and we gave them something to solve that."
 
He had discovered a problem that had no current solution. Then, he went into his apartment and began working on some prototypes of razors and packaging that he could take to investors.  He created a business plan to get the seed money to take this concept to market quickly and aggressively.  Michael had an extensive background in writing for NBC improv, a lot of practical marketing experience, and a good bit of acting on the side.  He knew that with a simple, low-risk solution to a problem like this, he could get a large number of the current market share engaged with his brand if he just presented it in a fun way that evoked a response. 
 
While still raising money for the company, he began to produce the YouTube video because he knew that whether it was his future clients, or new investors, this video was going to be the key to create that "aha" moment with people and have them laughing throughout the process.
 
To create a proof-of-concept, Michael took the strategy into a beta test phase, reaching close to 1,000 subscribers after months of work.  Once he reached a million dollars in seed money, they set the date for launch of the video.
  
On March 6, 2012 at 6 a.m. they launched the video.  By 6:30 a.m., their website went down because too many people were trying to get on at one time.  The website was down for over 12 hours, yet the YouTube video was growing in views by the millions.  Some comments that day stated, "Wow, what a great concept, someone should do this as a company."  All this, because the viewers could not find a website to go to for the Dollar Shave Club.
 
In just two weeks, the video had over 1 million views and over 12,000 subscribers, all paying an average of $5 per month to have razors shipped to their homes.  Within 15 months, because of one video, Dollar Shave Club had over 200,000 subscribers and was generating approximately 1.2 million dollars a month in gross revenue.

WHY

Here are some of the key ingredients that made this video a huge success.

Michael Dubin:

• Discovered a problem that a specific demographic was having.
• Presented a unique solution to 3 problems:

1. Going out to buy razors is a hassle.
2. Cost of razors is significant.
3. Unemployment was high at the time.

• Used humor
• Got right to the point and answered objections before they could be asked.
• Used humor
• Took the underdog position of "us against them."
• Used humor
• Personalized it with his own unique charm and style.
• Had a very clear call-to-action that was instantly convertible into a sale, with very little risk to the buyer.
• Gave viewers an asset to share that told the story of how Dollar Shave Club was saving the world from "razor blades with a vibrating handle, a flashlight, a backscratcher and ten blades." 

"Dudes hated buying the expensive razors every month in the stores and we gave them something to solve that, as well as pass it on to their friend, saying "Look, here is something someone is doing, and oh--by the way, isn’t this video funny! ...We gave them a sharable asset that told the story."  -Michael Dubin

 

WHAT NOW FOR YOU

Michael is continuing to grow his brand with new products coming to light every couple of months, but he is doing so with the same philosophy that he started with.  Listen to the marketplace, solve their problems, and answer their questions with your offering.
 
I would like to encourage each of you to do the same, whether you are a company, an organization, or a personal brand.  Too many of us are putting out information that is not answering questions or presenting solutions.  Most importantly, you must have fun in the process of sharing your message.
 
"Have fun creating your message. If you're having fun, your audience will have fun... and use a bear if possible…you’ve got to be unexpected...Unexpected is what makes comedy great!" -Michael Dubin
 

EXTRA BONUS FROM MATT

If you ever consider doing a video for your company, here is a breakdown of the Dollar Shave Club’s video structure for you to noodle on. This is very basic, but can get you thinking about how to structure your message in a powerful way.  Every meaty story starts with a skeleton!

1.   Unique intro
2.   Hook
3.   Features
4.   Problems
5.   Build rapport
6.   Clear call to action  

The Year of the Podcast coming and Clarke Allen is Rolling!

We are thrilled to be launching Clarke Allen's  first 5 episodes of "The Event Design Experience!" Here is the first episode with Jack Kelly of Eye Dialogue! He has a great perspective on what it means to put on an event not just a party!  Let us know what you think!

 

Developing a Successful Social Media Strategy

Social media has become an important driver today in the success of businesses and their products and services. Word of mouth has always been a top way to increase exposure and sales, but with mediums like Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest people can reach much larger audiences than in the past. With that said, it is important to have a social media strategy in place in order to define your goals and evaluate its success. Below is a 5 step chart to help develop your company's strategy. 

Step 1: Define your goal. Make it clear what it is you want to achieve with social media. This will help you in figure out your plan.

Step 2: Find Your Customers: Do a lot of research. Figure out where your customers are hanging out, what they're saying about you and your industry.

Step 3: Once you've found your customers, it's time to become a part of the conversation. Based on your experience and your research, determine the best platforms to use for your strategy.

Step 4: Put a plan into place: You've figured out what your objectives are, what you'd like to achieve, where your customers are most active and the best platforms to step into. You are ready now to create your plan.

Step 5: Evaluate: It's important to create a timeline for your strategy and evaluate it at the end to see where you are. Every month of 3-6 months you should look at your goals and see if the current plan is helping to reach them. If not, repeat steps 1-5 with a new approach.

Thoughts on Facebook Hashtags

If you haven't been hiding under a rock the past few weeks, you are aware that Facebook has become a part of the hashtag world. Now no matter what you're thinking, you can share it with others outside of your friend circle. Here's a few interactive questions this week we'd love to hear your answers to:

Have you used Facebook hashtags yet?

Do you plan on using them?

Do you think Facebook did the right thing jumping on the hashtag bandwagon?

Feel free to answer these questions by commenting on our Facebook page

Happy Father's Day

Evoke Creative Group wanted to take a minute out of this beautiful Sunday to wish all you dads out there a very Happy Father's Day. And a big shout out to our Creative Director Matt Francis who juggles this awesome company and a beautiful family!

Sounds of Summer

With the summer season officially upon us, we thought we would take today to acknowledge some of the newest hot and sizzling ads that have come about. In one way or another they put a clever twist on marketing techiniques such as: celebrity endorsement and innovation to name a few. Check them out and let us know what you think!

Who Should You Be Following On Twitter?

Do you ever wonder as a business the appropriate following etiquette for twitter?

Lets start with the reason you're on twitter. You want to gain awareness, attract new customers and see what your competitors are doing. With that said here's a little insight to those questions.

You can follow your customers. This will help you stay on top of what they are saying about your business as well as keep you up to date on their needs, wants and interests. You can see what other items they're buying, what other businesses they like and this can help you in the long run with product development, promotions etc. Following your customers back also gives them access to DM for any private concerns or comments they may have.

Also follow your competitors. It's important to stay on top of what they are doing and how they interact with their customers. Along with competitors, follow any influencers of your industry whether it be a business or person.

We here at Evoke Creative Group love motivating ourselves and others. So following twitter accounts with motivational quotes or motivational speakers is a great way to keep you reaching for the top. It's always nice to see something like that pop up on days you get discouraged.

Who do you follow on twitter?