The Power of Unpopular

Every successful brand in history is inherently unpopular with a specific demographic. Somewhere along the way, people felt they had to be popular in order to be successful, when in fact, the opposite is true. The brands playing in the space you want to dominate have already figured out the inherent power of being unpopular. In The Power of Unpopular, you'll discover the difference between flash-in-the-pan brand tactics and those designed to place you miles above the competition. Brand Personality: What's yours? Explore the importance of taking a stand and why brands become road kill without a distinct personality. Community: It's the number one thing that unpopular brands have figured out—learn how to build yours. Brand Advocacy: It knows no scale and your fans don't care how big you are. A guide for businesses on the proper care and feeding of their biggest asset. Erika Napoletano's irreverent yet never insincere tone takes readers on a colloquial and actionable journey, producing concepts that readers can immediately graft onto their existing business strategies. Complete with case studies of businesses from across the country, this is the book that couples theory with practice, creating pathways for business owners of any size and age. Change the way you do business and live your life—become unpopular.

Acknowledgments ix Introduction: Lessons Learned from a Lippy Lady on an Airplane xi Chapter 1 Rethinking Unpopular 1 Chapter 2 Identifying Your Audience 23 Chapter 3 Personality—Pick One 47 Chapter 4 Approachability—Putting Out theWelcome Mat 75 Chapter 5 Sharability—Getting Your Audience to the Rooftops (and Letting Them Shout) 107 Chapter 6 Scalability—News Flash: You Can’t Do Everything Yourself 129 Chapter 7 Profitability—The Money’s Gotta Come from Somewhere 147 Chapter 8 Finally—They Hate Me! 165 Chapter 9 The Backyard Economy—A Bit on Nurturing What We’ve Built . . . 179 Epilogue: Shutting Up 189 Appendix A: Shit You Should Read, Who Wrote It, and Why 195 Appendix B: Getting into It—Your Guide to Resources on the Book’s Website 201