Potatoes + Positioning
Potatoes are a masterclass in marketing.
Not a typo. Potatoes.
Let’s talk about it.
We take tater tots and herbed fries for granted now, but when the spud made its first mainstream debut in Prussia (now Germany), it was an epic failure. No one wanted to eat something lumpy and dusty, dug up from the ground. The king’s intention was to diversify his country’s carb source and hedge from future famine, but folks were literally, not biting.
So, the king appeals to a timeless motivator of human consumption: aspiration.
Potatoes are dubbed a royal vegetable, to be grown in the royal garden, and to only be eaten by the royals. Peasants, get your paws off my blue blood veg.
And guess what happens?
Potatoes became the hottest thing in town. People started sneaking into the royal gardens at night to get their hands on these glorious tubers.
What changed?
Perception.
What didn’t change?
The product.
Marketing is an infinite game of brokering perception. Often, through speaking to human aspiration.
A decent product with great perception WINS.
Bonus: We live amongst pre-hype and post-hype ‘potatoes’. Keep your eyes peeled.