Energy, Enemies & Exes

Just want to address the elephant in the room right now…. I’m really not feeling inspired or motivated this week to write Trust Fun. And honestly, if this was something I felt like I could just skip, like going to the gym or an unimportant meeting, I probably would just punt it till next week. Weird how that happens to you, especially with stuff you usually can’t wait to do.

Analogy time.

I like to exercise. I’ve never not, for as long as I can remember, been in a phase of my life where I just haven’t exercised at all. Obviously, there are periods where I’m hitting the gym harder & more often, or running longer & faster, but for the most part, I’m always exercising at least a few days a week. I very much value what getting a sweat in does for you. I’m bought in. It is truly dynamite. An elixir for your body. The ULTIMATE reset & brain activator. Nature’s MDMA.

But… sometimes… I just don’t want to fucking do it. Like literally at all.

Why tho? Why do I sometimes not want to exercise? Something that makes me feel so good. Something that really only needs to take 30 minutes AND can literally turn around my entire day.

Well… Because it’s hard. Sometimes it’s slightly out of the way. Or inconvenient. It also requires a certain amount of energy. Energy sometimes that I don’t think I have available… Or haven’t budgeted for.

But what I ALWAYS tell myself is that the times that I don’t want to get a sweat in, are the times that I truly need it the most.

So here we are. Rain or shine. Welcome to week 11 of Trust Fun. Sticks week.

Woke Up Feeling Dangerous

Way back in an early episode of Trust Fun, week 3 to be exact, I wrote about brand archetypes. If you don’t want to re-read (I don’t blame you), here is the abridged version (thank you Chat-GPT)…

In a non-existent Shakespearean play about consumerism, the brands you buy are the actors, embodying different archetypes like heroes (Nike), badasses (Liquid Death), lovers & sex (Calvin Klein), or jesters (Dr. Squatch). All with the unified goal to tap into our emotional decision-making & forge deeper connections. Forget loofa specs, pick an archetype you resonate with and build your brand voice to stand out, because feelings, not facts, sell in the crowded CPG market.

Great. Now that we all have PHDs in branding, I want to dive even deeper. Deciding & identifying your brand’s archetype is great… But it’s also vital. It’s sort of the bare minimum. Without it, you will fail. But with it, you’re only really at eye level with everyone else.

So… How can you separate? How do companies blow the roof of the damn thing? Ya know. Really take things to the next level.

This is some Big Mac secret sauce type shit. Keep reading.

Anyways, the question you should be asking is… How do you not only get your audience to identify with you, but also FIGHT for you?

The answer, if you dare, is to establish an enemy. Let me explain…

Red Sox vs. Yankees

Barstool Sports vs. Roger Goodell

North vs. South (civil war)

Zuckerberg vs. Musk

Mac vs. PC

Coke vs. Pepsi

Taylor Swift vs. Kanye

All of these brands (yes, BRANDS) were elevated because of the rivalries they established. If you don’t think these things (for the most part) were entirely calculated as strategic pushes to grow brands… Well, you’re wrong.

Perfect example here. I used to own this Calvin & Hobbes shirt on the right of Calvin peeing on the Yankees logo. It ruled. As a diehard Red Sox fan, I thought it was epic. It made me LOVE Calvin & Hobbes even more. Little did I know, those scumbags were selling the identical shirt in REVERSE. That traitor Calvin was also pissing all over my beloved Red Sox.

This is when I realized, at the innocent age of 11 years old, that brands truly ruled the world.

Sure, the Red Sox & Yankees actually didn’t like each other very much. Especially in 2003 and 2004. BUT, what did they really care about? Making money.

But back to the appropriate point here. Enemies, as you can probably tell from the extensive list above, can be super super powerful. It helps turn your existing customer base into a a legitimate army. Battling each & every day for you against a villain, boots on the ground. But also, it helps anyone new that is introduced to your brand, “place you.” In a crowded as heck space, comparisons can be good. The top-of-funnel (aka, new) customer may be familiar with your enemy, which then in turn, helps them understand better what your brand is selling.

“Oh, those guys fucking hate Larry’s Loofas? They must make some good loofas, cuz Larry makes some good loofas.”

Pretty sound logic, right?

*Editor’s note #1: This will not work in the dating world. I’m strictly talking about consumer brands. Do not shit on your ex in your hinge profile.

**Editor’s note #2: Larry’s Loofas is a fictional brand for the sake of explaining my point.

I encourage you to establish an enemy. You don’t need to be mean or hostile necessarily either. Even though that’s how I like to do it. Think about MAC vs. PC. It can be civil & mature. Honestly, sometimes the calmer & more civil, the harder it hits.

Remember this? Apple literally buried PCs here 10 feet under.

Thanks for reading.

See you all next week. And go get a sweat in. Even if it’s 10 minute morning yoga on YouTube.

Also, the new job is going great. You can still get Mugsy’s delivered on time for Xmas too. If you’re a late shopper like me, free expedited delivery is critical. Check it out here, this ends at noon EST today.