If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed or you can leave me a message HERE. Don't forget to leave a comment. I allow Do Follow so you get a link back. Thanks for visiting!

This is the twenty-third day of a 30-day trial. Follow the link to Marketing Ideas En Masse to find out more.

Dick Beardsley’s Running Store in Fargo, ND is succeeding very well at building a tribe of loyal followers that all share the passion of running. They have assembled a great and knowledgeable group of runners that like to run and work around running-related people. I have been in the store myself and was very impressed at their knowledge of the mechanics of the foot and how they offered some good advice.

This marketing idea is about enabling people to share a passion with each other around your brand. Best of all, it’s FREE for anyone to participate, and people can win free stuff.

Lindsay of That Mutt a Dog Blog forwarded me Dick Beardsley’s newsletter so I can share it with you.

ENJOY RUNNING? ENJOY RUNNING MORE IN A GROUP?
The Dick Beardsley Running Company is forming a free Thursday morning running group for everyone looking for those early morning running partners!

Come and join us any Thursday morning at 5:30 AM at the Dick Beardsley Running Company for an enjoyable morning run — the absolute best way to start your day.

All ages, abilities and paces are more than welcome and routes are available from 3 to 9 miles.  You choose the distance you would like to run.

NEED MORE INCENTIVE TO GET OUT BED THAT EARLY?

It will definitely be worth it with the DBRC 300, sponsored by Mizuno.  It’s an easy way to earn great gear by doing what you love — running.  It’s simple to get started.  Just show up on Thursday mornings, sign in, and run!  We’ll keep track of all the miles you run with us, and this is what you can earn:

20 miles - Mizuno Breath Thermo Socks
100 miles - Mizuno Short or Long Sleeve Tech Shirt
200 miles - Mizuno Breath Thermo Top
300 miles - One pair of Mizuno shoes (yes, free shoes!!)

You’re going to run anyhow, why not join us for a great time and earn free stuff!!

See you Thursday.

” It is fun to be with a group of people that all like to run in every kind of weather, even at 5 am when it is really cold out.” -Lindsay

For those of you who don’t know, Fargo, ND, is very cold during the winter. Currently it is -4 (without wind). The thing that leads Dick Beardsley’s Running Store success is the quality of people employed there and their love for running. I mean really, how else can you explain the desire of people to gather together on an ice cold winter morning to go out and run with a bunch of other crazies just like them?

What kind of tribe have you created around your business that has proved to be not only fun but a great marketing ideas?

Chances are if you live in a big city you are no stranger to high-speed police chases followed by a news helicopter and live commentary. Is it sad that the whole time I watched a chase on TV yesterday I was thinking I wish my website logo was on the roof?

I am not sure that I would necessarily want to be associated with a fleeing criminal, but it makes me think about different marketing strategies, hopefully without anyone going to jail for a long time. Not to mention that one time I was almost killed by some 16-year-old in minivan running from the cops. Thankfully I looked up and saw what was about to happen to the rear of my car. But I digress. There are legal and illegal ways to spread a message. I hope most go for the legal.

I don’t think anyone could ever condone running from the police unless you are part of the Gumball 3000. This is a cross country free-for-all that takes place once a year somewhere around the world. It happens about once every other year in the USA.

The Gumball 3000 is a combination of too many people with too much money Baha’in across the country as quick as they can in their upper-end sports cars. They also have a huge following (a Tribe). If you have ever seen them you would know because all 160 or so cars would be zooming by you at 100+ MPH on the interstate. Here is a clip of the 2006 Gumball.

The Gumball 3000 is an extreme example of a Tribe of people taking part in something they love, fast cars and parties. This originally started out as a recreation from the movie Cannonball Run where Burt Reynolds races an assortment of muscle cars across the country on the silver screen. Now the Gumball has taken on a life of its own with documentary crews and celebrities going along for the ride.

In order to participate in a Gumball rally you will need a fast car and lots of money (the car in the video was $60,000), not to mention gas and food (AAA extra).

The question I ask myself is how can I create a group of people like those Gumballers? Seems like the answer to that would be pretty simple:

• Focus on the thing everybody in that group loves (like fast cars and parties)
• Organize / lead the group into an idea (like starting a rally including the above)
• Have a way of separating them from others (the high cost of entry)
• Allow the merchandise to spread (stickers, shirts, videos, etc.)
• Rise and repeat

If you are running a business that has a core group of people who center around one thing, your goal should be is to enable those particular people to talk about and share that thing with others. Become a leader and an enabler. If people are buying your products, you already have the core thing needed to build a Tribe. Now it’s a matter of finding what they need, not what you want.

Andrew from Mixery.com was kind enough to share a video of Seth Godin Tribes he (his friend) was able to record. It is a bit on the longer side of 70+ minutes, but I would highly recommend watching and analyzing what Seth is trying to describe in creating a tribe of people and ideas. Powerful message especially from a marketing point of view.

Mixergy has more videos and MP3s for startups.