Everything is an ad.

How To Make Billions of Dollars and Not Advertise

On this episode of the NerdBrand podcast, we’re uncovering “Marketing’s Dirty Little Secret” and Brand Visibility. How household brands manage to hold their ground without spending hordes of cash on advertising.

We’re happy to welcome our friend and client, John Moore, as a guest for this show. John is the Director of Packaging at IQpack, a leader in the packaging industry, and a company we recently helped launch a full rebrand.

Brand Visibility Examples We Discuss

  • Trader Joe’s – Direct-from-supplier, uses funds to maintain a quality list of unique addictive products, dumps lesser performing products. The most prominent marketing they do is their flyer which is a print and online newsletter with light, quippy copy and lots of discounts. It’s a brand staple, and the only promotional materials they produce.
  • Krispy Kreme – Unique, highly visible locations. Every Krispy Kreme employee attends training at Krispy Kreme University where they’re taught marketing. Consistent customer experience.
  • Costco – High-quality “house brands,” in addition to select highly-visible brands and a wide variety of categories. Frequent rotation of desirable and seasonal products. Have industry-low turnover rates, low prices, and stocks that have nearly tripled in value, resulting in very happy investors. 90% customer renewal rate.
  • Sriracha – Serious devotion to quality ingredients despite the cost. CEO David Tran says, “I don’t advertise, because I can’t advertise (because of commitment to ingredients).” The cost of the ingredients and maintaining the integrity of the product makes it financially disadvantageous to invest in advertising.
  • GoPro – A brand that created its own niche. A steady stream of engaging content on social media has built a community of nearly 5 million subscribers. GoPro is the token brand when it comes to building on user-generated content (UGC).
  • Tesla – Focused on disruption through innovation. Have a leader in Elon Musk, who has a knack for leaving audiences wanting (and expecting) more. In 2014 Tesla spent $48.9 million on marketing, General Motors spent $5.2 billion.

Brand Visibility

Reasons vary, but common similarities appear to be:

  • Preeminent quality
  • Highly unique niche
  • Membership marketing
  • An innovative mindset that keeps them ahead of competitors

Tips for Building Your Brand

1. Craft your brand strategy. Knowing who you are, what you’re trying to achieve, and how you’re going to do it.

2. Know your voice. Find and hone your brand voice across all communication

3. Share your brand story. Share how your brand was founded, or offer a view into your process. Bring people along for the ride.

4. Uncover the stories in your data. Data is one of the best sources of content.

5. Use your brand’s culture to make compelling content. Let the public look inside the curtain.

6. Lead with your beliefs. People support brands with shared same values.

7. Build strong brand identity. Visual presence tells your brand story as much as your words.


Curious to learn more about IQpack and see the work we completed for them? Visit IQpack or our portfolio.