First 1000 - Tips & Examples: April Fools
If this was forwarded your way and you wish to sign up to First 1000, you can do so here :) Today’s issue is brought to you by AroundNot a fan of clunky video calls that take over your screen? Around video calls are unobtrusive, lightweight, and free up your desktop. I use it with my team for casual virtual work sessions. The collaborative interface helps teams get work done together and comes with anti-fatigue touches like AI noise cancellation and background cropping. Around has eliminated everything tired about traditional video conferencing and rebuilt it from the ground up for remote teams. You'll never want to use Zoom or Google Meet again. — Hey Frens 👋, Welcome back to First 1000! One thing I have been curious about for the longest time is why and how things go viral. The beauty behind things going viral— in the context of early startups— is that it is an almost level-playing. Bigger budgets, customer bases, and resources may help, but to a limited extent! — FrameworkTo help me understand the science behind virality, I leaned on the work of Ernest Dichter. Ernest conducted one of the first large-scale studies on the motivations behind word of mouth. The study was reported in the Harvard Business Review back in 1966, 55 years later and his work is still relevant. According to Ernest, there are 4 motivations for someone to talk about a product.
Unjargging the findings in today’s context
Using Ernest’s framework, let’s investigate some of the creativity behind memorable April Fools. ExamplesNovelty in Product ExperienceStatus/ Character/ ValuesCaring (or not) for others Introducing a little thing we've been working on with the folks at @JoinToucan who help you learn a new language as you browse! Now you can translate any English phrase into dog. (Though as we all know, "SQUIRREL!" is the same in both languages.
Culture/In the moment/ Social IssueQuick thoughtsI am yet to find a formula to come up with the actual creative, but at least now I have a roadmap (or at a minimum a starting point) Step 1 would be answering these 4 questions:
Step 2 is to take those initial threads or answers and dial the answers up to 11! Step 3 is sprinkling in a little bit of (preferably inside) humor. Congrats! You got yourself a potentially viral April Fool! Disclaimer There isn’t always a clear cut between the different building blocks (the 4 core motivations Ernest discussed), but it often helps to anchor the Fool around one. Mixing and matching is highly encouraged. For instance, The Lawyer Fights Duolingo Owl is centered around a novel product experience (Duolingo Owl) and plays around something culturally relevant (0-800 lawyer commercials). In the case of the Warby Parker Dog Glasses. The fool is centered around the viewer’s character (being a dog lover) whilst also playing in on the novelty of the product (affordable, high-quality glasses). Can’t wait to see what you all come up with next year! Happy fooling in 2023! Ali Abouelatta |
Key phrases
Older messages
🕹 Referrals
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The what, how and why behind First 1000's referral program
Lyft
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+ seizing opportunities!
MarketerHire: The future of work is here!
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+ the too good to be true go-to-market
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