Earlier, we looked at a few examples of products that were launched successfully with creative marketing strategies. This discussion asks you to identify and share effective marketing strategies from a short case study about a WePay launch and from your own experiences with successful product launches.
Instructions: Identifying WePay’s marketing strategies
- Read the case study: WePay seized an opportunity for its launch when its competitor, PayPal, received negative publicity about freezing member accounts. WePay showed up at PayPal’s annual developer conference and demonstrated a massive block of ice with frozen cash and the message ‘Paypal freezes your accounts’ in it.
WePay wanted to assure its users that it would never freeze their accounts. Within about two hours of dropping the ice, WePay’s stunt was on TechCrunch’s front page. It also featured on other popular tech sites. The publicity from the exercise resulted in: three times more conversions on the stunt landing page 225% increase in web traffic 300% increase in signups. This was achieved with a start-up’s limited marketing budget. - Answer the following questions:
- How was WePay positioned and what was its main product messaging?
- What specific factors of their marketing strategy do you think made it successful?
- Post your answers in the discussion group.
- Respond to at least one of your peers’ posts by considering the risks associated with the WePay strategy and reflecting on other examples of successful product marketing strategies that you have experienced or learned about.
Positioning: Wepay positioned as a better alternative than PayPal, knowing it’s weakness, showing up at PayPal annual developer conference and been featured on other tech sites.
Product messaging: “They would never freeze their accounts
WePay had knowledge of their competitor’s strengths and unfortunate weakness at that time. They quickly took advantage of Paypal issue at that moment to spotlight their own strength and to convince the public that they would never have such an experience of accounts being frozen if they joined WePay.
Timing was the factor that made the marketing strategy successful
As far as I’m concerned, Wepay must have being studying PayPal to be able to take advantage of this consumer dissatisfaction experience ‘Account Freezing’. The product manager of Wepay is to be elated who was able to sensitive the product team to take smart actions at the spot of their major competitor’s weakness, ‘Paypal’. It’s a lesson for all product manager to keep a study undertone of major competitors and be smart enough to take steps at the spot of any error most especially when it infringes the customers pleasure or trust in the product.
There was not to begin to look for product massaging that has wild value proposition, the product manager made the trending pain points of the customers their product messaging. Once again kudos to the the product manager of Wepay.
As far as I’m concerned, Wepay must have being studying PayPal to be able to take advantage of this consumer dissatisfaction experience ‘Account Freezing’. The product manager of Wepay is to be elated who was able to sensitive the product team to take smart actions at the spot of their major competitor’s weakness, ‘Paypal’. It’s a lesson for all product manager to keep a study undertone of major competitors and be smart enough to take steps at the spot of any error most especially when it infringes the customers pleasure or trust in the product.
There was not to begin to look for product massaging that has wild value proposition, the product manager made the trending pain points of the customers their product messaging. Once again kudos to the the product manager of Wepay.
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WePay positioned itself as a reliable alternative to PayPal, emphasizing that it would never freeze user accounts, a major pain point for PayPal users at the time. Its main messaging focused on trust and transparency.
The success of WePay’s marketing strategy was driven by several factors:
Timely and Relevant Response: They capitalized on PayPal’s negative publicity.
Creative Stunt: The ice block demonstration was bold and visually striking, generating media attention.
Viral Potential: The stunt quickly spread across tech sites, boosting traffic and sign-ups.
Effective Use of Limited Budget: The marketing strategy generated significant results without heavy spending.
Clear Call to Action: The landing page converted the increased interest into sign-ups.
Overall, WePay’s strategy was effective due to its creativity, relevance, and ability to generate buzz with limited resources.
very true
WePay’s Positioning and Main Product Messaging
Positioning: WePay positioned itself as a more reliable alternative to PayPal, emphasizing trust and user empowerment.
Main Product Messaging: “We don’t freeze your accounts.” The message directly addressed a pain point associated with their competitor, instilling confidence in their potential users.
Factors that Made WePay’s Marketing Strategy Successful
Bold Differentiation:
WePay directly confronted PayPal, the industry giant, by addressing a well-known issue—frozen accounts. This bold approach instantly captured attention and made its value proposition clear.
Creative and Visual Messaging:
The use of a literal block of ice with frozen cash effectively visualized the problem they were solving, making the message memorable and easy to understand.
Strategic Timing and Context:
WePay executed this campaign during PayPal’s developer conference—a key event for their target audience. This timing maximized visibility and positioned them as a direct competitor.
Media Amplification:
The stunt garnered attention from influential tech publications like TechCrunch, which amplified the message far beyond the initial event. This earned media coverage was critical for expanding reach.
Low-Cost, High-Impact Execution:
The campaign was executed on a startup’s limited budget but achieved high ROI through its viral and disruptive nature, proving that creativity can outweigh financial constraints.
Lessons from WePay’s Launch
Directly address competitor weaknesses if they resonate with the target audience.
Leverage bold and memorable visual stunts to ensure your message sticks.
Choose the right moment and setting to engage your audience effectively.
Use earned media to amplify your message without a massive marketing budget.
WePay’s success shows how creative and well-timed marketing strategies can level the playing field against larger competitors.
Analysis of WePay’s Marketing Strategy
1. How was WePay positioned, and what was its main product messaging?
WePay positioned itself as a reliable alternative to PayPal, focusing on addressing the pain point of account freezing. Its main product messaging was that WePay is a trustworthy and user-friendly platform that ensures customers’ accounts remain accessible and funds are not arbitrarily frozen.
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2. What specific factors of their marketing strategy made it successful?
Exploiting a Competitor’s Weakness: WePay capitalized on PayPal’s negative publicity about freezing accounts, turning its competitor’s misstep into a selling point.
Creative Guerrilla Marketing: The ice block stunt was bold, visual, and directly tied to their product messaging, making it highly memorable.
Event-Based Targeting: By targeting PayPal’s annual developer conference, WePay ensured maximum exposure to their competitor’s users and stakeholders.
Amplified by Media Coverage: The stunt attracted attention from major tech platforms like TechCrunch, creating organic publicity without a hefty budget.
Clear Call to Action (CTA): The landing page tied to the stunt was optimized to convert curiosity into action, leading to a significant boost in web traffic and signups.
Using Wepay as a case study. Wepay uses the lack of trust occasioned by PayPal inadequacies and glitch which led to many customers account been freezed to lunch it’s product. They use that negative feedback to position themselves as a trust worthy agent for that service and it worked for them. They also considered what led to the negative feedback and worked on them using (SWOT).