Are you Otaku worthy ?

Awesome picture from Parka Blogs

Dear universe,

if you only grant me one wish, let it be this one:

In the afterlife, plz reincarnate me in the form of a Japanese.

Thanks

Now enough with the shtick, time to rock on. The ever-awesome Japanese have come up with endless cool shit, and the term OTAKU isn’t an exception.

O – T – A – K – U

Now, what is it ?

An Otaku is a bit more than a fan and a bit less than a fanatic:

HE READS EVERY POST + COMMENTS + RETWEETS YOUR STUFF+HE’D PAY FOR YOU even if you give it away for free + HE LOVES YOUR BRAND SOOO much he wants to let the whole world know about you

IF YOU CREATE A SERVICE – HE’LL BUY IT BEFORE IT COMES OUT + AND HE’LL BUY THE PREMIUM + He’ll be loyal when you screw up BUT HE’LL TELL YOU IF YOU DO IT TOO MANY TIMES !

Sure, we could just call him a true fan, but let’s not be that bland.

And if this scares you – plz – don’t read any further. You’re not Otaku-worthy.

Boooo !

There are only a couple of brands that own the privilege of calling their fans Otakus.

Zappos, Apple, Harley Davidson are like some super-major ones that come to my mind. They couldn’t be anymore different, but they share all the same core traits.

This is what makes them Otaku-worthy:

• They are on a crusade

Yes, I have talked about this before, MORE than once – but that’s because you keep forgetting it. Those brands always stand for something greater than themselves – an inspiring cause that touches and inspires our souls. It creates an emotional bond between the brand and the person, which makes it sooo much easier to justify the buy.

• They are edgy

You don’t find them churn out mass market products and services, oh no, they are living on the FRINGES my friend. Special products for special people.

The interesting thing here: They fail more often than “safe” brands. Apple screwed up many times on the path of innovation, because you can only come up with grrreat stuff if you’re willing to create crap first.

The overall goal: don’t worry about making the masses like your products, worry about making a tiny fraction LOVE your products.

With that strategy, you will probably never own the majority of the market – but who cares.

Those kind of brands aim for the good freaks instead – the Otakus. If the products are remarkable enough, they will spread the word – for free.

Maybe, and just maybe, they cause a viral wildfire.

• They piss people off

They have a cause, they create unique stuff – and they piss people off.

Their products and services are either hated or loved.

I hate to mention Apple here again, but they are a glorious example: They own tags like elite, think different, premium and intentionally deter those who don’t agree.

By pissing some people off, you make other stick even closer to you.

It’s a tribal thing, don’t ask me, thank your ape-like ancestors.

Let’s have an ultra-biased look at our digital playground

I talked a heck of a lot about big corporations, but what about our fellow digital crusaders. Who’s Otaku-worthy ?

Yaro Starak ? No ! Very nice guy, and genuine too, but the edges are missing – he’s aiming for the masses, and misses the Otakus.

Naomi Dunford ? Definitely. Foul-mouthed and uber-direct, she’s got enough ammo to divide the forces. Her blog and brand essence only appeal to a specific group.

Chris Garrett ? No. Judging from his internet presence, he’s a nice and a likeable guy. His blog is cool, but in a safe way. No fringes here.

Mars Dorian ? You decide.

Your turn.

Now you know what you have to do to become Otaku-worthy:

Be on a mission bigger than yourself

come up with edgy stuff by failing more than others

intentionally create a brand image that will piss some people off.

Enjoy the process.

What about you ? Are you Otaku-worthy ? And if not, what would you have to do ?

Please RETWEET and share !

Tagged as: Branding, business, marketing, online, otaku