Branding can be more than a logo or tagline; it can transform perceptions. In 18th-century Prussia, King Frederick the Great encountered a branding problem. He wanted his subjects to consume more potatoes, but no one was interested. He believed the security of his kingdom depended on this crop, but he couldn’t get people to eat them nor farmers to grow them—even under the threat of execution.
The Royal Solution
Frederick faced a significant challenge: relying solely on wheat as the kingdom’s main carbohydrate left Prussia vulnerable to market volatility and famine. Diversifying with resilient and nutritional potatoes was crucial for his kingdom’s food security.
“The things have neither smell nor taste, not even the dogs will eat them, so what use are they to us?”, the people of Prussia protested.
Potatoes were perceived as food for the lower class and unworthy of the average Prussian. Frederick’s initial attempts to mandate potato cultivation through royal decrees and threats of punishment failed to sway public opinion.
Understanding that coercion wasn’t working, Frederick changed his strategy. He planted a royal field of potatoes and declared them a “royal vegetable,” reserved exclusively for the king’s table. Guards were stationed around the field. But Frederick’s intent wasn’t to protect his crop—it was to give it an allure of exclusivity and status.
Curiosity and the desire for what was seemingly forbidden led locals to sneak into the guarded fields and steal the potatoes. This clever tactic transformed the potato from a despised crop into a coveted delicacy. People began to grow and consume potatoes, seeing them as prestigious and desirable.
Application in Contemporary Marketing
Frederick’s rebranding of the potato offers timeless lessons for today’s marketers:
- Create exclusivity: Positioning a product as exclusive can increase its perceived value.
- Leverage curiosity: Engaging public curiosity can drive interest and adoption.
- Change perceptions: Rebranding can transform an item’s image, making it more appealing to the target audience.
This strategy of creating exclusivity and leveraging curiosity to drive demand remains powerful today. We often desire what seems out of reach or what influential figures endorse. Generating demand is about crafting compelling narratives that invite people to want to buy.
By analyzing Frederick’s approach, we can identify key strategies for effective market growth and audience engagement.
Adoption Life Cycle and Focused Market Segmentation
Frederick’s story of exclusivity initially attracted early adopters—opportunists and thieves—before spreading to farmers and eventually the wider populace. Similarly, in modern marketing, a well-positioned story can elevate a product from niche appeal to mainstream success.
Tailor your message according to your product’s position in the market. Early adopters need a different story than the late majority. Focus on creating initial demand among a specific group, then leverage that success to capture adjacent markets.
Conclusion
Businesses often struggle more with the positioning of their story than with the quality of their offerings. Competitors with inferior products can capture market share simply through better storytelling. Craft the right narrative for your product or service, inspired by the timeless lessons from Frederick the Great’s rebranding of the potato.
