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A genuine, authentic story is a powerful marketing message. Especially when it's the little guy competing against the big guy.
The J. Peterman Company is a great example of a company that has used storytelling to set apart its products (long before it was hip to do so too).
Sure, the descriptions are silly — to the point where it became a running gag on Seinfeld. But that’s part of the charm. Like the hand-drawn illustrations instead of actual photos. It’s setting its own tone that is a world away from department store genericness.
The J. Peterman Shirt:
Thos. Jefferson disliked stuffy people, stuffy houses, stuffy societies. So he changed a few things. Law. Gardening. Government. Architecture.
Of the thousand castles, mansions, chateaux you can walk through today, only Monticello, only Jefferson’s own mansion, makes you feel so comfortable you want to live in it.
I think you will feel the same about his 18th-century shirt. Classic. Simple. Livable.
Polo Shirt, circa 1472:
In the British Museum there is an illustrated manuscript, dated 1472, showing Persian princes playing polo.
Yes, polo.
Even more amazing, it shows exactly what they wore. Look closely and you’ll even understand why they wore what they wore.
They were hot.
The reason they were hot is that polo wasn’t yet a gentrified sport where people in Land Rovers parked around a green field nibbling cucumber sandwiches.
Polo, as originally played in Persia, was a war game with hundreds of players… cavalry units, king’s guards, and princes spoiling for blood.
(The training, then, was succinct: “hawk, cheetah, swordsmanship, archery, and…polo.”)
The shirts they wore? Open-necked, just as we know the polo shirt today; except that the neck, six centuries ago, opened twice as deep for…better ventilation.
Of course it’s ridiculous. But it sure does make J. Peterman stand out from the pack. And there’s a lesson in that for anyone who wants to decommoditize what they sell: The story you surround your product with is a great way to differentiate it from competitors.
Banana Republic sells you a jacket.
J. Peterman sells you a tale.
What's your story? Did you hide your story while trying to look like a big business?
Stop it, make your story part of your mission, vision, and marketing.
No more hiding!
I guarantee that I would never have remembered the brand if it wasn't for the story. The level of detail makes it that much more memorable.
