Marketing Strategy Lessons from Koala

NTWRK
The Company
3 May 2019

More than a furry friend — Koala’s setting the standard with top quality marketing strategies

Today, a koala is more than just Australia’s most adorable marsupial. Koala is now also one of Australia’s highest-rated mattress brands, with a speciality in delivering not just Australian-made furniture, but clever advertising and marketing campaigns. So how does this startup deliver something to make them stand out from a crowd of hundreds? 

They get cheeky with it. It’s easy to say and harder to do, but here are some of the key tactics Koala’s team use to keep ahead of the game 

Getting their audience attention and keeping it

The thing Koala does best is understanding their audience. Their campaigns are all about having a conversation with their audience in ways they understand — namely humour. Koala keeps things relevant and tongue-in-cheek with their key target audience in Australia, by showcasing local culture and humour in their marketing campaigns. By endearing themselves to their audiences, they spark interest and loyalty. 

Keep it audience-driven. Make an investment in understanding the local idiosyncrasies and culture of any target audience to show them that you know just who you’re talking to. 

Koala’s spoof of local politician Clive Palmer’s “Make Australia Great” campaign caught the eye of many across the internet

Fearless in content and execution

As you can tell from the picture above, Koala isn’t afraid of taking risks. They deliver campaigns that they know will get a controversial mix of attention, but their audience engagement across their social media platforms is through the roof. Koala utilises traditional advertising tactics (billboard ads) to stir up digital marketing engagement on their social media accounts. A combination of digital and traditional strategies is always a risk to take in the modern world, but their combination of eye-catching and oftentimes controversial and irreverent campaigns with an easily accessible brand outreach has made Koala one of the top brands in Australia when it comes to delivering memorable and successful advertising campaigns. 

Yet another example of Koala’s incredibly controversial but ridiculously effective marketing.

In short — Koala’s marketing works because they’ve got balls and they’re not afraid to show it. 

Stay relevant — serve ads on the daily

One of the biggest reasons behind Koala’s staying power is their relevance. They’re not about that one-hit wonder life — they stay on top of the most recent news and trends in the local culture, and they capitalise on it. From taking a stab at their competitor brands in Australia to targeting political figures, Koala executes their campaigns without fear and without delay. 

Bottom line: engage with speed, relevance, and fearlessness

In essence, Koala is staying ahead of the curve by thoroughly understanding their target audience. They’re delivering their message across platforms to a specific niche of customers that they know will appreciate their humour — and even if they don’t, they’ll surely be talking about Koala one way or another. Koala’s marketing campaigns represent one of the ways that “any publicity is good publicity” pays off. 

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