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🔥 Lessons from Toys "R" Us and Amazon's Latest Moves

🔥 Lessons from Toys "R" Us and Amazon's Latest Moves

Educate, Don't Sell: New Rules for Brand Success in the AI Era

Sarah Stoker
June 27, 2024

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Hi there – It’s Sarah. Thanks for all the feedback on my new format.

I got both positive and negative feedback, so I’ll keep trying a few things out. Thanks for your patience. FYI, I’m not a people pleaser but drop a reply to what you want more of. Thanks for being here 🫡

👀 Here’s what we’re covering:

What the first AI commercial means for us
How to really grow your business
AI tools to help tell your story
and much more…

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IN THE NEWS

The First AI Commercial Premiered at Cannes

Toys "R" Us unveiled a commercial created “mostly” with OpenAI's Sora AI at Cannes Lions, but despite the technical feat, the ad has been criticized. You might see why. My main problem was with the voice.

😮 What we can learn

This AI commercial takes the audience on a journey to see why the mascot, Geoffrey, is important.

While mascots may seem dated, this case shows that they provide an important visual connection for brands.
Mascots are a personal representation of a brand (baseball team, fast food chain, etc.)
Are influencers the mascot of the 2020s?

There’s a time and place for AI, was this the time and place for it? I personally think AI shines in today’s day and age when it’s used as a brainstorming agent, when it’s used as inspiration, and when it’s used collaboratively with other tools.

“There’s all these wonderful facets of creativity that can’t be outsourced.” - David Droga

🤔 What does this mean?

Here’s my hot take: a brand may have money, but its competitors are playing by a completely different rule book.

And by competitors, I mean China.
Just announced this week, Amazon is challenging Shein and Temu with a new China-to-US direct shipping plan.
- aka: Amazon is launching a section on its shopping site featuring cheap items that ship directly to overseas consumers from warehouses in China.
Tariffs have been increased for Chinese-imported goods, but not all of them. It’s mostly on EV technology and medical equipment.
- Toys R Us is competing with Chinese companies directly, and we don’t realize it necessarily. They have different labor laws.

Toys "R" Us's AI experiment likely aims to reduce costs while competing with cheaper imports. By cutting marketing expenses and exploring new tech, they're trying to maintain lower prices without sacrificing brand visibility. I think it’s smart.

“The world’s first trillionaires are going to come from somebody who masters AI and all its derivatives and applies it in ways we never thought of” - Mark Cuban

DEEP DIVE

What Educate, Not Sell Means Today

1. Understand the "Teach, Don't Sell" Philosophy

The core idea is to provide valuable, educational content that addresses your audience's needs and interests without pushing a sales agenda.

Consumers are increasingly immune to overt marketing and prefer engaging with content that educates rather than sells.

2. Develop a Content Strategy

Step 1: Awareness Content

Start by creating awareness content that inspires and informs your audience about relevant topics.

This content should highlight the transformational potential of certain actions or ideas without directly promoting your services.

Case Study: I Never Had To Sell, Persuade Or Negotiate To Grow My Consulting Business

Step 2: Demand Content

Provide more in-depth content that offers practical solutions to their problems. This stage involves creating how-to guides, case studies, and detailed articles that demonstrate your expertise and help your audience solve specific issues. Example Hooks:

I know there are a lot of people who tell you it’s impossible to launch a DTC consumer product, here’s why they’re wrong…
If you run a business, here’s what you need to know so you don’t make the same mistakes I did…

3. Implement the 80/20 Rule

Ensure that 80% of your content is educational and only 20% is promotional. This balance helps maintain audience interest and trust while subtly positioning your services as a solution to their problems.

Here’s How You Can DIY with AI

🤓 Perplexity is one of my favorite tools that use AI to scrape Google for case studies and links them to your prompt. If you are trying to create content for your social media strategy, I would start there.

🎨 Use this prompt: Your task is to provide a structured approach for a business owner who runs a [consultancy] (or bakery, or PR company, fill your company in the blank) who wishes to educate their audience rather than sell to them. The goal is to empower the audience with valuable insights through the use of data and case studies.