Five shades of leaves
Marketing still matters
As a professional marketer, I pretty much think about marketing in some form all the time.
A lot of my thoughts are on the complexities of marketing to business audiences, the rapidly growing impact of AI as a marketing tool, and the role of the CMO. Weighty stuff.
Sometimes, I see marketing working in the wild and I have to acknowledge its power. Or at least its power over me.
I offer to you the lovely Pentel EnerGel Kuro pens in “Shades of Black” and “Shades of Leaves.” Yes, they are simply pens, about $10 for a back of 5. But just look at the marketing going on here. Five pens in varying shades of black! Pens that evoke the colors of leaves! All of this aimed at the person who buys these pens and then writes with them. Not just one black, but five!
Pens and writing have always had a special attraction for me, from the ultra-expensive Mont Blanc I collect to these lovely gel pens (refillable!). The infinite colors available, from bottled ink for fountain pens to these cleverly packaged sets from Pentel.
Pentel knows their audience and delivers exactly what we want (product-market fit!). They treat a mostly commodity product as something special, worthy of unique packaging and promotion. The price is elevated compared to regular gel pens, and the value is demonstrated clearly. In Japan, pens and stationery are a much bigger deal than in the US, but Pentel clearly knows how to reach their buyers here.
Great lesson in knowing the customer and finding ways to excite them and make them buy. A valuable reminder for every marketer.