Snoloha is Weird

After my blog post the other day, ‘Corona goes Snoloha’, I was a bit disappointed with myself when I stepped back and thought about it and re-read it.

I said it felt like they ‘beat me to the punch’. That’s what bums me out. I’m not the type to sit back and wait, or over-analyze something. It’s usually the opposite. When I have an idea, I run with it and launch it. Sometimes it works and other times it falls flat on its face. And I don’t mind the failures because at least I acted…and usually learned something in the process.

There are a handful of ideas that I will be moving forward with that have been on the “To-Do” list for way too long now, and I’ll put ’em out here for everyone to see:

• “Where’s your somewhere” campaign.
• A Snoloha video (as Russ said on Facebook “So make a video with an iPhone or something. You got to start somewhere”.
• Customer generated Snoloha designs.
• The Snoloha Sidekick.
• A potential Snoloha retail store (yes, I’m still considering this).
• Incorporate giving back.
• Celeb packages (ie Jimmy Buffett).
• Guest blog posts

When I first launched the brand, I took pride in doing things differently. Much of that was in the concept of the brand itself…in order to, in Seth’s words, be remarkable, a Purple Cow, to form a Tribe…and now ‘weird’.

I just finished reading Seth’s latest book, “We Are All Weird” (yes, I still buy books…and CDs). “I’m not talking about weird by birth, I’m talking about people who are making an affirmative choice to be weird. Most people who make that choice are paradoxically looking to be accepted. Not by everyone, of course, but by their tribe, by people they admire and hope to be respected.”

Snoloha, the concept, is in itself “weird”. Not everybody ‘gets it’…and that a good thing. It’s different. It’s unique. It’s original. When a retailer once said about the brand that I had to either choose snow or surf and stick with one or the other…I knew I was on the right track. It’s ‘weird’.

But just having a brand with a unique concept isn’t enough. And just being on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and LinkedIn doesn’t mean anything. These tools are as normal now as the yellow pages use to be. It’s ‘expected’ that you’re there. Hmmm…makes me wonder if I should not use any of ’em if it’s so normal…but that’s another blog post.

So although Snoloha is weird, there are still some elements that need some work in order to make it ‘weirder’…like Toms Shoes.

The elements are there…I now need to take things to the next level and continue to stay focused on the concept and the growing customer base (aka ‘tribe’).

This blog post could go on and on and on…because I’ve got quite a bit to say about this topic, but I’ll cut it short because you are probably getting bored at this point. If you are interested in learning how you can help make Snoloha weirder, send me an email.