True branding can be a bewildering challenge for many managers: either they don’t completely understand the strategic benefits of authentic branding, and/or they assume that branding simply consists of a name, logo and proprietary graphics. And most certainly don’t realize the full potential for applying relevant branding principles to improve their marketing and communication practices, especially when faced with new competition, changing customer preferences or other market-based trends.
We’ve all heard the stories of people dropping out of college to work on their startups, living on their friends’ couches, or eating ramen every day for a month. Some ambitious entrepreneurs take this to the next level, going the extra mile to make their businesses successful and brand themselves well in order to reap the benefits later in the game.
We have brought to you 9 such crazy things that founders have done to brand their startups. So, read on:
1. The founder of Instacart used a six-pack of beer to get the attention of an accelerator partner
2. The founder of The Muse was banned from Gmail for spamming potential customers
3. The founders of Reddit created tons of fake accounts
4. The founders of AirBnB got their initial funding by selling their own brand of cereal
5. The founders of Warby Parker bought an old yellow school bus and traveled across the country
6. The founders of PayPal gave out free money
7. The founder of Salesforce went to extremes with his marketing stunts
8. Watsi’s marketing chief enlisted a bouncer to ask everyone at the bar to vote for her non-profit in a competition
9. The founder of Pinterest personally wrote to thousands of users
Source : Knowstartup.com