The DAD framework pairs differentiation with attraction: UGG founder Brian Smith tried generic models in ads, but sales took off when he featured semi-pro and professional surfers instead. Your offer needs to appeal to who your audience wants to become, not just stand out.
As I was doing my research for Get Different, I looked into what's called the attractor factor. Now there's 3 elements of Get Different. The framework is this, it's DAD. Differentiate to get noticed, attract to engage, and then direct to compel. Well, when it comes to your prospects, once you get noticed, it must be attractive. If it's something repulsive, they're gonna turn away. So you can do an ad, for example, that is just covered with F-bombs, that'll get noticed, perhaps, 'cause it's so extreme, but it may not resonate with your audience. Surely, some audiences that appreciate that, or that resonates with them, that's their lingo, that will resonate. But if it's not, it may repel. So, really understand what your audience is all about. I think the best example of this is when I was interviewing Brian Smith. He is the founder of UGG, and he was running advertisements to sell the UGG boots to surfers. That was the initial niche community he's going after. Well, he hired models to show off their surfboards wearing UGG boots, and no one was buying. The reason was the consumer was not attracted to that. When Brian Smith started to use semi-pro and professional surfers wearing UGGs, that's when the audience was compelled to start buying the product. You see, they were attracted to that because those are the people they aspired to be like. Aspiration to be like someone else is a very attractive component. So in your marketing, can you have aspirational components? Can you speak the language of your community? What can you do that attracts your audience? If you're not doing it, differentiation will get noticed, but those people will run away. You must differentiate and attract.
