Shocking CPG Brand Strategy | Gross-Out Marketing & Attention Economy | Strange Food Combinations

CPG marketers are constantly trying to come up with ways to stop consumers’ infinite scroll, so why not utilize a remixed version of an 1860s military strategy, right? While most think about “shock and awe” as simply a massive application of firepower by the military, the real battleground is within the opponent’s mind. “Shock and Awe” accomplishes psychological victory by influencing the will and perception to get the adversary to do what the attacker wants. That might seem just a tad extreme for CPG industry strategy, but let’s swap a few words or phrases around and it would read like this…While most think about “shock and awe” as simply a massive production of content assets by CPG brands, the real challenge is within the consumer’s mind. “Shock and Awe” accomplishes attention getting by intriguing and influencing to get the consumer market to do what the CPG brand wants. Now…that sounds a bit more CPG strategy-esque, right? We are well past the point that more content is going to be the answer to disrupt the infinite scroll and get attention in today’s information-heavy society. CPG brands need to realize that precisely targeted communications could be the online equivalent of smart bombs, but also “shock and awe” can’t be carried out entirely online. Some kinetic force is still needed because you can’t fully “shock and awe” with information operations alone in the CPG industry. But this kinetic force is not sought on a large scale, but to give the impression that CPG brands can influence a consumer’s mind. What the heck am I talking about? Let’s dive deep into why CPG brands are using a shocking strategy that aims to combine playfulness and consumer interest into limited edition items that attract both social media attention and sales. FOLLOW ME ON MY SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS LINKEDIN - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuaschallmba⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ TWITTER - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.twitter.com/joshua_schall⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ INSTAGRAM - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/joshua_schall⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ FACEBOOK - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/jschallconsulting