Casio's Overlooked Features
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Sam Parr shares a story about how copywriter Joe Sugarman effectively marketed Casio watches by highlighting features the company took for granted.
"Joe Sugarman, one of my favorite copywriters, used to sell so many of these particular watches - I forget which company it was, Casio maybe. Casio was explaining to Joe Sugarman how they make their watch because he was like, 'Tell me everything so I learn.'
They said, 'We use this space grade aluminum to make this watch.' And he was like, 'Wait, so this aluminum is strong enough for spaceships?' They responded, 'Yeah, but like every watch company ever uses the exact same stuff.'
Then they said, 'This quartz movement is special for this reason,' but again, every company uses that. Joe said, 'Space age aluminum, precise quartz movement!' And that became what sold a lot of Casio watches.
The makers had what's called the knowledge complex - when you know too much about something that you think it's not interesting. But Joe Sugarman, an outsider, a copywriter, was like, 'No, this is so interesting,' and that's what sold the watches."
Sam Parr
Host of MFM and fitness influencer
Sam Parr is a serial entrepreneur and business media pioneer.
In 2016, he founded The Hustle, a business news media company that started in his kitchen with just $12 and grew to eight figures in revenue.
Sam led the charge in making newsletters popular when few believed in their potential.
After four successful years, he sold The Hustle to HubSpot, a publicly traded company. Now operating as HubSpot Media, The Hustle reaches 3 million readers daily, employs a team of nearly 100, and has been the launchpad for dozens of its staff to found their own media companies and newsletters.
Sam remains the host of the popular business podcast, My First Million, and continues to start and sell companies. He also co-founded Hampton, a highly vetted community for entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs, and teaches people to write better through his platform, Copy That.