We’re gunna talk about how to make your niche brand speak mainstream language.

But first

Why did Every single CoOp employee wanted to slap me round the face?

Look, I regret it.
And I’ll never do it again.
Promise.
Well, maybe not.

I’ll tell you why shortly.

Just been in in Manchester for an event with the CoOp. 9.21 am arrived at Euston.

All sprogged-zonked-n-bugged out - - Catatonic cruiser - - melting moocher - — - weaving wanderer, wandering weaver — - - - - -weaving through Euston Station.

Tired. Tired. Tired.
Ordered a Starbucks.
Cawfeeee
Cuppa-Joe-Joe

Told the Barista my name was Darren Dope.

ABSOLUTE SHITS AND GIGS MATE.

On the train up, I was rippin’ ABSOLUTE BANTER. The whole of carriage thought “HANG ON, I’m not in First Class?!?! Is this First Class, why is the chat in this carriage ABSOLUTELY First Class?

Me likey Mancy. Warm souls. Cold weather. Gloopy gorgeous gravel n’ gravy accents, cantankerously cuddly.

Ramona is THE GAFF

Grim rain punctuated with sparkling fairy lights drooping over the canopy, like a sparkly hazy milky way.

Fabulously dangerous and dangerously fabulous as you walk into the place/.

A sacred bunker banishing boring, grim, moody, mardy, tardy, lethargy weather. Ramona harbours a hacienda of FUN-FUN-IN-MY-TUM-TUM.

Square pizza, Spins your tastebuds right-round, Baby right round.

Detroit Deep Dish.
Deep Flavour.
Deep Satisfaction.

Hang on…

Did someone say DEEP HOUSEE???

Yep. Courseeee, you guessed it.

Shhhhhhhhh.

Courseeeeeeeee, we threw an illegal rave in Manchester too.

HUNGRY presents: CoOp’s Warehouse Project

CoOp’s warehouse is in Biggleswade.

A.K.A. Bigglesrave
A.K.A Biggles-Wade in
A.K.A Biggles-misbehave for those in the know

And, yep, course you guessed it.

Yours truly was HEADLINING too.

For some strange reason the CoOp people call it a Distribution Centre, not a WAREHOUSE ?!!!

I think that’s cause they’re not like actual-proper ravers or, like, something, maybe?

Anyyyway, I’m like an actual-proper RAVER.

Under the DJ name…. CPI.

At, CoOp’s Warehouse Project, my set was pretty-fucking filthy

ARE YOUUUUUU GUYSSSSSS HUNGRRYYYY FOR SOME CERTYYYYYY BANGERS AND GET-MASHED??!!

DJ CPI Insideeeeeee the placeeeee.

Cost Price Increase-The-Bass Line

DJ CP IIIIiteeeeeeeeee.

When I say CP.

You say I

THE CROWD ERUPTED.

Wildy chanting.

CP I

CP I

CP I

When I dropped Nelly Furtado “Turn on the Lights”. The mood became less hacienda, what’s your JPB agenda, Brenda?

And that’s why Every single CoOp employee wanted to slap me around the face. 

The next day we ambled to Trof inside the Northern Quarter.

A Full English winked, gloated, goaded me into Full-Throttle gluttony. Hash Brown Hacienda 0161 Broooo. Yes. Please. Eggs, a deep melting sunset orange, with pearly snow-white whites, sprinkled with little kisses of salt and pepper. Crispy bacon. Little machine gun attack of fat that erupts in your mouth like a fatty-fuck-YEAH-fireworks-display. Sausage dunked into glistening brown sauce. Symphony of utterly bewilderment.

Anyhoo - here’s some wonderful things I learnt last week.

Creative Rigour. Know Framework. Break Framework. Disrupt Categories.

Chatted to Oliver Llloyd, founder of Great British Chefs and creator of Disruptive Incubator which he sold to Unilever.

We talked all things Creative Rigour.

Brands must know the Creative Framework to Break the Framework.

Jimi Hendrix needed to play the guitar, know the rules and framework of song writing. To break them with “Hey Joe” or “All Along The Watch Tower”

Jimmy Carr knows the rules of comedy writing, before creating his comedy, with his fiery one liners.

Lionel Messi needed to know the rules and framework of football, before he could inject his own style.

Once you know the Creative Framework. Break It.. Disrupt categories.

3 Ways to break the rules of your category:

1. Steal the clothes of other categories and apply them to your category.

All Things Butter stole colourful cues from Craft Beer - applied them to gold banal butter = disrupt butter.

Liquid Death Stole the cues from Craft beer too, applied them to water = disrupt butter.

New craft beers brands should look at wellness brands or furniture shops or = disrupt beer.

2. Steal Semiotics from other categories

Semiotics is a big old braggadocios, ostentatious, precocious, pugnacious word. Sorry for being a tw*t.

Semiotics definition: the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation.

Examples: red tap to signal hot water. Blue tap to signal cold water.
Traffic light to signal stop, get ready, go.

Humans are dumb and lazy and busy. Semiotics are an easy way to make sense of things.

I was at the launch of Ben Branson’s new brand seasn.

seasn is a bitters you add to cocktails and drinks to improve taste.

Very few people know what bitters is. Pretty much everyone knows what salt and pepper is.

No one really understands “add bitters to your drink”. Pretty much everyone understands “season your drinks”

seasn your drinks.

The salt and pepper of drinks.
Black bottle for dark drinks.
White bottle for light drinks.

seasn your drinks. FUCKING GENIUS.

Niche brands can steal semiotics of other categories to speak mainstream language.

3. Steal Analogy from other categories

Analogy is THE easiest way to hook people. The easiest elevator pitch. Analogy is the easiest way to get your niche brand to speak mainstream language. 

LOCAL - “We are the Diet Coke of Beer”
HEXCLAD - “We are the Rolls Royce of Frying pans”
All Things Butter - “We are the Camden Town Brewery of Butter”
Denzels Dog Treats “We are the innocent of Dog Treats”

Analogy is the easiest way to get your niche brand to speak mainstream language. 

Buyers and consumers often don’t “get it” straight away. Analogy makes your brand speak mainstream.

fancy a free consultancy sesh from big fish?

Our wonderful sponsor big fish are responsible for the BIGGEST brands in the game. Charlie Bighams. GU. Tyrell’s. The Coconut Collaborative. Roda’s. RANA. Yeo Valley.

big fish has worked with pretty much EVERY single brand in your cupboard.

The TOTALLY-bloody amazing news?

We are offering one free consultancy session to one lucky brand… If you’re a Force for Good. Truly disruptive. Taste amazing.

Please feel free to reply to this email, we’d absolutely love to hear from you!

Fankkkssssssks for reading.

I am off to SOHO to jump into the Crimbo Soup.

Have a lovely weekend yaaa filthy animals

Still Hungry? Course you are…

Please feel free to gorge on the most downloaded podcast episodes of all time (these are CERTY: BANGERS)

1. Rory Sutherland: Why Challenger Brands Must Never Follow Logic to Truly Disrupt Categories 

2. Waitrose CEO: How Challenger Food & Drink Brands Can Win and Build Profitable Partnerships with Waitrose - James Baile

3. Spencer Matthews: How Spencer Matthews Built Unshakeable Resilience and Raised + £10m to Launch Clean Co. in Sainsbury's, Tesco and the U.S.A. 

4. How Grenade Exited to Mondelez for £200 Million and Lessons in Unapologetic Authenticity- Juliett Baratt

5. Tyrells Tycoon: How William Chase built and sold Tyrells for £50 million and sold Chase Distillery to DIAGEO 

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