The Spice is Right: Committed Communities (the Old Bay Way)
Having grown up in Pennsylvania just north of Baltimore (and going to college at the University of Maryland), I am no stranger to Chesapeake Bay crabs. Which means I also grew up with Old Bay Seasoning as a ubiquitous spice of my youth. Sometimes I enjoyed that unique blend of 18 spices on a bushel of crabs, and other times I found my favorite seasoning in a bag of Herr’s Old Bay Potato Chips. As I got older, sometimes I even enjoyed it on the rim of a spicy margarita at a fancy Baltimore bar or on an omelet at a stylish Sunday brunch.
Regardless of the ‘when’ and the ‘where’ though, my love of Old Bay seasoning has as much to do with my memories as it does with my taste buds. That is why when McCormick & Co. (Old Bay’s parent company) announced a limited-edition version of Old Bay Hot Sauce, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a bottle.
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one: the hot sauce sold out online in less than an hour, and the volume of customer interest crashed the website (and sadly I missed out).
Now THAT is customer demand.
Sure, the fundamentals of the product launch were great: it was the first hot sauce in the storied Old Bay brand’s 81-year old history. Additionally, McCormick & Co. announced the product on a Tuesday and launched it on a Wednesday, so it had the immediate buzz of a “pop-up” product.
But that wasn’t why this product launch was such a success. It actually was a success that was 81 years in the making.
The interest in this product wasn’t a fad. It was propelled by a community of loyal consumers who love everything “Old Bay.” McCormick & Co. didn’t need a long teaser campaign. They didn’t need a Super Bowl ad. Heck, those loyal consumers didn’t even need anything more than a URL and a way to pay for the product they knew they would love. Their brand loyalty was hotter than any sauce could ever be, and when they had the chance to buy what they already knew they would love, well, they basically broke the internet.
That’s what committed communities do – they have a deep sense of loyalty to the products and the experiences they love. They trust that their loyalty will be rewarded with quality. And they line up to get what they want…not missing a chance to have something they sometimes didn’t even realize they needed. And if it is “limited”? Well, then they want it even more.
Committed communities aren’t an accident, and they don’t happen overnight. They grow as companies and organizations create quality products and experiences that customers seek out and value. Customer communities don’t just “buy” products. They use them, experiment with them, and ultimately, they become passionate about them. That’s the kind of loyalty you can’t buy; you need to earn it. You cultivate it. You respect it.
Old Bay, for example, didn’t need a bunch of social media “influencers” to hype their hot sauce. They didn’t need to do a bunch of celebrity-studded marketing campaigns. They just needed to get the word out that the product was going to “drop” and then let their community of fans do the rest. Sure, the media got into it, but the reason they did is because they recognized the legions of Old Bay fans were a story themselves. No, this wasn’t just the uncorking of a genie in a bottle. It was unleashing a bay-full of allies to help propel a product launch (double pun intended).
Old Bay did it right, because they have been doing it right…for generations.
We all like to talk about how to hit the “product launch cycle” or create the buzzworthy brands. And we all dream that we will create those loyal bases of customers, guests, fans, and alumni who will develop a passion for our products, properties, services, and programs. We imagine them constantly asking for more and, in turn, we dream of providing more.
But what the recent Old Bay experience teaches us is that the best kind of committed communities can’t be found overnight – they grow over time. They embrace the power of nostalgia, but they are also enthralled by the lure of the new.
Sure they might crash your site and grumble when you sell out (so make sure you have a plenty of inventory… do you hear me McCormick & Co.?). But make no mistake, when everything has been restocked, your committed communities will be there just like they have been for Old Bay…
81 years and counting.