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When beer brand Modelo launched its “Mark of a Fighter” marketing campaign in March 2023, it was not only an intriguing concept that appealed to America's underdogs, but it was also an indicator that this beer brand was tough and competitive with spirits – something that which you desperately need if you're going to take on Anheuser-Busch, the brewer behind Bud Light and “the king of beers,” Budweiser.
In fact, Bud Light was America's #1 beer for more than two decades (since 2001). It seemed that Bud Light was as American as the Fourth of July. Reportedly, Modelo wasn't even in the top 10 beers a decade ago.
But Modelo has fought its way to the top and is now the most popular beer in the country.
You might be even more surprised by Modelo's secret weapon: marketing. Here are three lessons we can all learn from Modelo's marketing strategy that will also help you reach the top spot in your industry's list.
Related: 5 Marketing Strategies of Big Brands: What You Can Learn from Their Mistakes and Successes
Lesson 1: Spend insane amounts of money on your marketing – far more than your competition.
If Modelo was “brewed with fighting spirit,” it definitely shows. They fought so hard to get to the top that they spent incredible amounts of money on advertising. Research shows that they actually had the highest TV advertising bill since the second quarter of 2020.
Last year, Modelo spent $155 million on TV commercials and plans to spend even more in 2024. As of July, they've invested $65 million in TV advertising – that's about 75% more than Bud Light has spent this year and 35% more than Michelob Ultra, which just dethroned Bud Light as America's second most popular beer in July.
You may notice a trend here: the more you spend, the more business you generate.
This is actually my most effective – and most hated – marketing advice for business owners: spend more on your marketing than you think is rational or sensible. This is the hardest thing for me to convey to my clients.
Here's a story that sums up what I mean: I have a very successful friend. In his entire career he has never needed marketing because he is a money manager and growth comes through word of mouth in his circles. He recently decided to try his hand at real estate development, building eight beautiful waterfront townhouses in Hiawassee, Georgia, and hiring a real estate agent. Easy real estate investment, right?
Unfortunately no! None of his townhouses have been sold yet and only one is under contract. He honestly thought, “If I build them, they will come.” But it doesn’t work that way! He finally realized he needed to market these homes and is in the process of running a large integrated campaign using direct mail and online ads.
The point is this: A very smart, very successful man had no idea! He wanted to do a small campaign and I really had to spend time teaching him this principle: you have to market more than you think is reasonable or rational!
This applies to all types of businesses, but here are three great examples of companies that have grown by increasing their marketing budgets:
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The American manufacturer Procter & Gamble's marketing budget of 9.84% sales led to sales growth of 5.9% in the 2023 fiscal year
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SaaS company Atlassian's marketing budget of 15-16% of revenue led to 26% revenue growth in fiscal 2023
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Another SaaS company, Asana's marketing budget of 78.3% of revenue resulted in 45% year-over-year revenue growth in 2023
Related: The Growth Hack My Clients Hate The Most Is The One That Promises The Biggest Financial Benefits – Here's What You Should Know
Lesson 2: Resist trendy and popular marketing tactics to truly dominate
Fighting against competitors is not always a front-line battle. Sometimes a smarter approach helps you win. It may seem counterintuitive, but it's the hidden spaces that can help you along, like taking a shortcut forward that no one else is paying attention to.
For example, between 2019 and 2023, total linear TV advertising spending fell 20%, falling by more than $183 million. Going with the flow, competitors Budweiser and Bud Light cut their TV budgets. Research shows that between 2018 and 2023, Budweiser reduced its TV advertising spending by 77% and Bud Light reduced its spending on TV advertising by 38%. Meanwhile, Modelo continued to exceed expenses – by a lot.
Despite the waning popularity of linear television, Modelo invested heavily, which helped them take over this advertising space when other brands like Bud Light were spending more on social media and influencers.
My company PostcardMania has also taken a less well-known path. Direct mail, once the most common form of advertising, has also declined. Marketing emails decreased by 26% between 2014 and 2023.
But not us – we've grown and now send 232,000 postcards every week to promote our own services.
Postcard marketing takes up most of our budget and it pays off. As of 2023, email delivers six times more revenue per lead than digital advertising. We found this out by analyzing 114,373 leads that converted to sales in 2023 and found that we earned $229.41 from each postcard lead compared to $37.09 from each pay per Click lead.
Meanwhile, digital and social media remain a hot area for advertising dollars as spending on digital platforms such as Meta and TikTok continues to rise steadily. In fact: According to reports, for the first time more than half of US advertising dollars will be spent on digital platforms such as Google and Facebook.
So would you rather be a big fish in a smaller pond or fight for space in a crowded ocean? I know which one I would choose.
Related Topics: Don't Copy. Be different. And your marketing will win.
Lesson 3: Optimize your strategy by tracking your marketing
Failure is often the best teacher and can prepare us for success in the future. By tracking all of your marketing, you can see which opportunities are missing and which are successful. Just like a boxer in the ring, you can use hard punches as a learning experience and come back stronger and harder.
In Modelo's case, they realized that traditional television advertising was working for them and continued to invest in it. Of course, you shouldn't put all your money into a single tactic; Also diversify your marketing budget. But let the data determine what percentage of money goes to one form of marketing or another. We also spend a pretty penny on digital advertising!
One of my clients, a dentist in Charlotte, North Carolina, once called spending money on direct mail a “money pit.” But his marketing manager insisted on a direct mail campaign, and when his practice saw an 87.5% increase in new patients thanks to these postcards, he had to admit he was wrong—and his practice was all the better for it!
And of course you must never give up the fight. The hard times and losses I experienced only fueled my fire to succeed. Let it do the same for you!
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