A San Francisco tech company, New Relic, wanted to grow its business by getting potential customers to take action. They needed qualified leads. For New Relic, qualified leads meant potential customers who took the time to download the basic platform on which their product, software that identifies and solves various issues in several important apps.
They didn’t try a new SEO strategy to drive more traffic to their website, nor a new social media campaign, but instead chose a brick-and-mortar method to help overcome marketing challenges and promote their product. They chose T-shirts.
First, they chose a design and copy that would appeal to their target audience. This branding strategy is a key to the success of any business who wants to market their product. Because their target audience is the tech sector, they chose the theme “Data Nerd” to brand the new campaign.
After the t-shirts were designed and produced, they began to promote their product in social media, online ads, and even an email marketing campaign. The message was simple: “Install the platform on which our products work, and we’ll send you a free Data Nerd t-shirt.” When potential customers installed the platform, New Relic emailed them with a form they could send in to order their free t-shirt.
The campaign worked better than the company’s wildest dreams. Downloads—and therefore qualified leads—soared by 30%. This low-tech way to promote a high-tech business appealed to New Relic’s tech-savvy target market because it created a tribal vibe. Who among that crowd wouldn’t want a t-shirt that read “Data Nerd?”
New Relic’s campaign focused on their target customers. By carefully branding their company as “that company that understands what techies like,” they took the focus off themselves and put the customer in the spotlight.
Not only have the giveaways been wildly successful, but they have also spawned a movement. Customers have begun to wear the shirts proudly all over high-tech centers such as Austin, New York, Denver, and Seattle. They also post photos of themselves wearing the shirts on social media, which develops even more brand awareness among those who see the t-shirts.
Curious techies who have seen the shirts flooded New Relic with emails asking for the t-shirt. When they discovered that they only need to download and install New Relic’s product, they gladly did so—just to get the t-shirt. But as they develop a familiarity about New Relic, brand awareness will grow into trust—and trust is what brings in the sales.
Rafael Alenda, New Relic’s Director of Marketing, says of the Data Nerd marketing campaign, It’s…nothing short of amazing.” He has since incorporated the Data Nerd campaign throughout the company’s marketing strategy. Potential customers who browse through New Relic’s website but don’t download the product haven’t seen the last of New Relic. Part of Alenda’s marketing strategy is to target those people with banner ads. Those banner ads, of course, feature the Data Nerd t-shirt—drawing them back to the website to create an account and download the product.
Bold, innovative, and customer-focused. That is what sets a great marketing campaign, such as New Relic’s, apart from the competition.