I advocate Professor Byron Sharp’s view that it is incumbent on marketers to target all potential buyers of a product or service in order to stimulate growth, and that sole focus on your regular purchasers is a mistake. But – as long as marketers don’t forget that – thanking loyal clients for their custom must be one of our priorities as marketers. That’s particularly true in B2B marketing, but here’s a B2C example that I’m rather fond of…

Ridiculously loyal customers

There are few brands with super-fans as obsessive as Marmite. I also think Marmite’s long-term ‘you either love it or hate it’ approach is brilliant. Social media agency ‘we are social’ put those two things together brilliantly in this campaign – by creating a ‘secret’ society of marmite lovers called ‘the Marmarati’. By demonstrating their love for Marmite, brand-fans could progress to an ‘inner-circle of the Marmarati’.

To demonstrate that love, Marmite fans went to extraordinary lengths – some even got marmite tattoos! Here’s a quick summary of the phenomenal campaign..,

The campaign then went outrageously further. The inner circle of the Marmarati were invited to an exclusive trial (in a very old court in London), at which Lord Marmarati was accused of fraternising with Lady Marmaladi, the absolute rotter. Brand fans became the jury and were asked to decide what to do with him. It was all utterly bonkers, but I admire the brand for trying something completely unique.

You can read more in this slideshare, or watch a trial excerpt below..