Hi friends,

I only came to know about a shoe brand recently…Umm, maybe in 2021. 

And it was…any guesses?

It’s New Balance. I wasn’t a sneakerhead back then but yeah, I’ve been rocking a pair of New Balance since 2021 and they are still solid.

It’s obvious why dads from Ohio love them so much.

Got the hint?

No? Then here you go.

Copywriting Example

New Balance

In the world of Nike and Adidas, who did have their iconic taglines, there was one more brand.

New Balance 

But for decades, they had a problem. Their chunky grey 990s were the definition of "dad shoes." 

Comfortable? Yes. 

Cool? Not exactly.

While Nike had Michael Jordan and Adidas had Kanye, New Balance had... umm, you know, middle-aged men in cargo shorts.

Most brands would run from this reality. Fight it. Pretend it doesn't exist.

New Balance did the opposite.

In 2019, they launched a campaign for the 990v5 with one simple tagline: 

"Worn by supermodels in London and dads in Ohio."

No fancy production. Just a clean shot of the shoe and those words.

But here's the genius part: they weren't lying.

Fashion Week models actually were wearing chunky "dad sneakers" on runways. The same shoes suburban fathers had been buying for years were suddenly high fashion.

Instead of fighting their dual identity, they celebrated it.

The message was clear: "We don't care if you're chasing your toddler at Target or walking down a runway in Milan. Same shoe. Same comfort. Same quality."

They turned their biggest weakness into their superpower.

The result? 

New Balance revenue doubled from $3.3 billion to $7+ billion within just a few years.

They became the third-largest performance footwear brand in America.

Sometimes the best positioning isn't about who you want to be. It's about owning who you already are.

Marketing Secret

The Robinhood Effect

What's more attractive? A $10,000 minimum investment or a $1 minimum?

Obviously the dollar.

But here's what's interesting. The $10,000 minimum used to be a feature, not a bug.

Banks loved high minimums. They kept the riffraff out. Only "serious" investors got access.

Then Robinhood came along and said, "What if anyone could invest with their spare change?"

They just lowered the barrier. Just like that. 

Suddenly, college kids were trading stocks from their dorm rooms. Baristas were buying fractional shares of Tesla during their lunch breaks.

This is the Robinhood Effect. Take something that was exclusive and make it accessible to everyone.

But here's the psychological part you want to understand. 

When you remove barriers that kept people out, they don't just become customers. They become grateful customers.

Think about it. 

Traditional brokers made you feel like you weren't qualified enough. Robinhood made you feel included.

That's not just customer acquisition. That's emotional loyalty.

Netflix did this with entertainment. "How about unlimited movies for $8 a month?"

Spotify did it with music. It gave you every song ever recorded for the price of a sandwich.

The pattern is always the same.

Find something exclusive, expensive, or complicated. Then make it simple, cheap, or free.

But here's the catch: you better have a plan for making money at scale.

Robinhood gives away free trades but makes money on payment for order flow. 

Netflix loses money on content but gains it through subscriber volume. 

Spotify pays royalties but captures user data.

The Robinhood Effect isn't just about being nice. It's about building moats through gratitude and scale.

Ask yourself: what in your industry requires a PhD, a fat wallet, or insider connections? That's your opportunity.

Because people don't forget who gave them access to things they thought they'd never have.

Talk soon,

Alen