I polled the office and we’re pretty evenly split on the issue of Miracle Whip. Half of us are passionate supporters and the other half are pretty appalled the very thought. Which of course led to a discussion of Primal Mayo vs. Veganaise, and quickly digressed into the usual teasing about eating coconut oil from a jar with a spoon. File this under the category of office stories you’ll have to pry out of us in person.
But here’s the important part: People can hate your product and you can use it to your advantage.
Take the original example. Miracle Whip did some market research and discovered people in two camps. Love it and hate it. And in a smart move, they embraced the conflict with a series of ads highlighting the rift. The result was a 631% surge in social media postings and a 14% increase in sales.
If you know me, you know I love Scotch. The strong peat flavor is reminiscent of the way my firefighting father’s turnout gear smelled after he’d spent the night amidst the chaos of flame and smoke. So basically I love the taste of burned rubber and canvas, which is odd. Laphroig, a distillery on the island of Islay, welcomes such seemingly disparaging opinions. Go to their site, share your opinion with a custom poster, and if you’re lucky, you might see it published. Or better yet sung by a professional choir.
What makes your brand polarizing? Do people hate an aspect of your product? Do you have lovers and haters? Can you use it to increase awareness or gain new tribe members?
