Genius or scandalous?
Marc Benioff seems to fall on one side of the scale or the other. But regardless of how you feel about his marketing tactics, his B2B company, Salesforce, has grown to be one of the biggest and most successful companies in the world in less than a decade, greatly due to Benioff’s controversial methods.
In the early 2000s, virality wasn’t easily achieved. You needed media attention. Benioff proved to be a mastermind in crafting unconventional marketing strategies that the press couldn’t resist.
These were Marc Benioff’s 4 craziest stunts and what you can steal from his strategies to succeed in the digital age (without the lying or scandal).
Stunt #1: A staged protest
Whether or not you agree, you’ve heard it time and time again: any press is good press.
Marc capitalized on this, hiring a crowd to protest at a massive conference run by one of Salesforce’s biggest competitors at the time, Siebel Systems.
The actors marched around with picket signs yelling, “The internet is really neat. Software is obsolete!” The frenzy was captured by a fake news crew, also hired by Benioff.
Not only did this capture the attention of conference-goers and the big wigs of Siebel, but it also attracted real media attention when the police were called. While virality can now spawn from any bozo with a smartphone, the early 2000s required news coverage to garner mass attention — and Benioff was a pro at getting people to look his way.
The results of this stunt:
- Birth of the Ghostbuster’s style ‘No Software’ logo
- Siebel attempted to hide the protesters by parking semis in front of them, covering their own signage in the process
- Campaign launch to steal attention from competitors and leverage their own events
What can you steal?
Put down the phone — it’s not quite time to hire a flashmob or call up your old college theater pals.
What worked in 2000 won’t reap the same rewards today. In fact, staging a protest would most likely damage your reputation more than elevate it.
What you can steal from this stunt are the tactics.
Tactic 1: Understand your audience
Another mantra repeated in marketing so often it almost feels cliché.
Still, Salesforce understood exactly where its audience would be. By showing up, getting creative and stirring the pot, they gained the attention of thousands (including huge media brands like Forbes and the New York Times) and their competitors.
When Siebel phoned the police and parked semis in front of the protesters, they communicated one thing: we see you.
Tactic 2: Inject humor
The protest, according to onlookers, was genuinely funny.
There wasn’t an air of threat or violence. The shouts of “Red rover, red rover, software is over” spurred chuckles and deep thinking.
Too often, B2B is riddled with stuffy rhetoric. Don’t be afraid to let your personality shine, even if that means dropping a few terrible jokes.
Stunt #2: Commandeering taxis
The staged protest marked only the beginning of the Siebel vs. Salesforce faceoff. Benioff’s next stunt targeted a Siebel event taking place in Cannes, France
Most conference attendees would fly into Nice where they would need to travel 45 minutes by cab to their destination.
Salesforce embraced this opportunity by hiring every airport cab and giving creative pitches during the 45-minute drive.
When Siebel found no other transportation was available, they again called the police, attracting more media attention and further solidifying Benioff’s David vs Goliath positioning.
What can you steal?
The taxi stunt in Cannes wasn’t the only time Salesforce sponsored transportation to competitor’s events — they constantly utilized competitors’ audiences to build their own.
Tactic 1: Leverage competition
You don’t have to invest thousands into taxi rides, free branded coffee and Krispy Creme donuts to win over your competition’s audience.
But it is smart to leverage their events.
You can target audiences by interacting online with virtual events, sending targeted messaging to event RSVPs or storming a conference with a tank (don’t do that — even Benioff isn’t that much of a marketing maniac).
Tactic 2: Be the David to someone’s Goliath
Everyone loves an underdog. And being David doesn’t mean you’re less capable.
In his book Beyond the Cloud, Benioff cites the positioning of Salesforce as the gritty start-up opposing a mega-corporation.
If you can’t position your company as the industry leader, then position yourself as the scrappy up-and-comer taking on the antiquated industry leader with something faster, stronger, better.
Stunt #3:
In 2011, Benioff was slated to give a keynote speech at the Oracle OpenWorld Conference. When his speech was moved to another day, Benioff alerted the internet, claiming he was removed from the roster — information then publicized by various news sources.
While twisting the truth about the status of his speech was less than morally sound, Benioff drew a huge crowd to a local restaurant where he gave his speech instead. With over 1,000 people turned away from the restaurant due to lack of space, his restaurant speech was far more impactful than anything he would have presented in conference.
What can you steal?
We never condone lying — karma always comes back for ya. But there are a few things we can learn from Benioff’s cheeky communication.
Tactic 1: Do the unconventional
Differentiate yourself with aggressive marketing targets. If you’re turned away from one opportunity, there’s always another, even if you have to make it yourself.
Tactic 2: Break the rules
The software industry typically isn’t sprinkled with risk-takers and public faces. Benioff stepped away from the traditional conference speech and again engineered a David vs Goliath showdown.
Breaking the rules and doing something loud can add rocket fuel to your fire — and if done with careful calculation and precise execution, the only thing exploding will be your business’s reach and popularity.
Stunt #4: Uno Reverse on Microsoft
Borrowing from Benioff himself, Microsoft entered the game of guerilla marketing tactics by hiring people to ride Segways outside a Salesforce conference in 2010.
Each segway featured an ad of a gray-haired man to represent the ideal buyer in corporate technology, with the slogan “I didn’t get forced.”
Instead of attempting to hide the blue suit-clad segway drivers behind semis, Benioff set out to find the man featured in the ad. And find him, he did.
Welcoming the man on stage, Benioff publicly convinced him to use Salesforce, sparking the celebratory uproar of the crowd.
What can you steal?
Even without careful planning and preparation, Benioff flipped the script and used Microsoft’s efforts against them. While this undoubtedly took team effort, there are a few things we can apply to modern B2B marketing.
Tactic 1: Be ready for a crisis
Things go wrong. Big and small, internally and externally.
Make sure you're ready for a crisis by aligning your team on mission, vision and goals. Once you’ve achieved alignment, plan, practice and prepare for every potential crisis.
Tactic 2: Respond with calculated candor, not emotional response
The major difference between Benioff’s reaction to the segway lobbyists and Seibel’s reaction to the staged protest: Seibel called the cops, Benioff called his team.
Seibel responded rashly without thought to the blowback, while Benioff removed emotion from the equation and made a calculated response, ultimately robbing Microsoft of any advantage they had in this guerilla marketing battle.
