The Moleskine Evangelists
Perhaps you own one. I don’t. I barely write anymore – most of my thoughts get hammered out on a keyboard or spoken directly into a digital recorder. But I’m intrigued. Not by the odd Moleskine-bearer strolling nonchalantly around Melville or Rosebank (I usually dismiss them as artsy-types), but rather by the phenomenal online following the ol’ Moleskine brand enjoys.
The Moleskine (pronounced mol-a-skeen-a) is simply a brand of notebook manufactured by Modo & Modo, an Italian company, bound in oilcloth-covered cardboard (Moleskin) with an elastic band to hold the notebook closed and a sewn spine that allows it to lie flat when opened. Not particularly high tech, or particularly sexy, for that matter. The pocket notebook’s reputation has grown in stature through the endorsements of the likes of Bruce Chatwin, Neil Gaiman and Pete Doherty, and rumour would have it that the Moleskine was a favourite accessory to the likes of Picasso, Hemingway and Van Gogh.
Whether all the folklore is verifiable or not the Moleskine brand, through its product’s minimalist design and stylish simplicity, continues to enjoy a formidable, almost cultish following. I’ve never heard Moleskine notebooks advertised on the radio, nevermind on the telly, and yet everyone who’s anyone either owns one or can tell you something about them. That’s exceptional – the immense power of viral marketing, personified by a wad of blank pages.
I was interested to hear Jackie Huba of the Church of the Customer blog talking about her Moleskine-fetish, and she listed some fascinating links to some of the more fanatical Moleskine Evangelists in the online world. Moleskine blogs, a MySpace site and even a comprehensive Wikipedia entry (from which, just by the way, I got most of the information for this article). All this free marketing by unpaid, enthusiastic citizens, who believe in the unobtrusive allure of an overpriced notebook.
How many citizen marketers does your brand have?
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I am a fan, I have one too. They are great for taking notes on stuff that you dont want to forget, ideas that you have seen, things that are unique or how things are bad that could be done better. In fact, my very first moleskine entry is about Art_Storm which is now a business that I am involved in (www.artstorm.biz)
I also wrote a blog entry last year about this, take a look at: http://www.tmtd.biz/2005/11/02/is-pen-and-paper-on-the-rise/
It seems the trend is growing!
The companies who have to shout the loudest about their product usually have a crappy product propped up by even crappier pre- and after-sales service. You’ll see them plastered everywhere, from publications to radio to tv to billboards to point of sale. The strategy (the term used very loosely in this instance) is that bullshit baffles brains and the more money you have to spend on marketing, the better your product is.
Then you have companies who create products of an excellent quality. They are clear about who their customer is and they ensure that the customer is always happy.
I have been a Moleskin convert for 3 years now and use their notebooks as well as their smaller pocket diary. Not once have the pages come loose, the elastic snapped, that wonderful back pocket split at the seams – in fact it has lived up to it’s excellence everytime. I have not, and do not expect to be disappointed by a shoddy Moleskin product.
So for companies who ‘desire’ citizen marketers – I have some advice for you:
- Don’t resort to setting up sneaky blogs masquerading as one set up by your product’s fans.
- Don’t bullshit us – don’t dress your product up in emperor’s clothes.
- Do pay attention to giving us a quality product which consistently delivers on what you promise us.
- Be quick to support me (as a purchaser of your product) with wonderful aftersales service – being put on hold or given a smorgasbord of numbers to press in search of a human voice in a relevant department does not engender feelings of warmth or love towards you or your product.
- Make sure your product is always accessible – time spent hunting down something in a supermarket or mall only to find out that it is out of stock is time wasted.
- Don’t spend big marketing bucks trying to convince me to buy an inferior, second-rate product. The sense of disappointment I feel when I suspect that I’ve been ‘conned’ will ensure that I will never again try another product from you – once bitten, forever shy.
Simply, create a brilliant product, care about your customer and look after them.
And then your customer will market your product for you – free of charge and with passion!!!
My “mol-a-skeen-a” is ina my heada.
But I do realize there are times when I could do better with a pen…