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modestype

SUPER ULTRA NICHE MARKETING

If you think this is a common typewriter, we invite you to look closely. You’ll soon find out this is one like no other. It’s called Modestype, and part of a series of unique typewriters produced by SUN, a New Zealand Company specialized in Super-Ultra-Niche Marketing products. With the Modestype you can type a single sentence only: I’LL NEVER BE A WRITER LIKE ERNEST HEMINGWAY, which is great, because by typing this line, again and again, you’ll teach yourself a lesson on modesty. SUN is not targeting only wannabe-writers. More than a hundred models are on catalogue, at the moment. The founder of SUN, Bruce Ameilcool, initially contacted the Brandpowder Team asking for a logo. The chemistry between us (no drugs, this time) was so good that we ended up making every single piece of communication for his Company, from corporate identity to advertising.

Above: Bruce asked us for something different. We proposed him type ribbon ink-scented business cards. Each one comes with an envelope that preserves the fragrance of those vintage offices people miss so badly, today. Also a silver typing button is given as a gift to customers. Bruce loved the idea so much that he wanted real type buttons also on the catalogue’s cover (below).

SUN is, for sure, the most extreme example of niche marketing applied to a business. Bruce is convinced there is a market for everything out there. He said 7 billion people on this planet make for a fucking huge crowd. Super Ultra Niche Marketing concentrates, to say the least, on very peculiar products aimed to very narrow targets. “Today you can find clients with laser-focus precision, thanks to Google,” he told us. “You advertise the most stupid product and – Bang! – there’s a moron who’s ready to buy it!”. Bruce, so far, has produced a hundred different typewriters, recycled from old, discarded models. “Everybody is now typing on computers,” he says. “People use tablets and those dumb smartphones. Nobody likes typewriters anymore, so I can find them for cheap.” Every SUN typewriter is superbly handcrafted and modified to meet the most extravagant customer who, it must be said, must be ready to pay for it. The price range goes from U$2,000  for an Analfatype (a simple model devoted to analfabets, whose buttons write just a long line of “x”) to U$ 5,000 for a Romantic Type – pictured below – and addressed to touchy lovers.  There’s also the highly sophisticated Suitype (bottom) reserved to posh customers who don’t mind spending a hefty U$12,500 to write their very last letter.

Above: the Psychotype. Bruce told us this incredible product was bought for 10,000 dollars by a US Maximum Security Prison which prefered to stay anonimous to respect the client’s privacy.

Below: the first ad campaign, introducing SUN and its brilliant concept of Super Ultra Niche Marketing. The ad ran on a local newspaper for a week only, but Bruce received more than seven hundred phone calls (he’s got no email).

Above and below: successful ads taken from the “IF” campaign made by the Brandpowder Team. Bruce was gobsmacked by the end result: he sold an average of seven typewriters per day! A big hit, considering the super ultra niche marketing factor. “Ten typewriters” he said “are mass market for my standards.”

Above: one page from the 2013 SUN Trade Catalogue. Bruce wanted also this piece with a vintage flavor, so we printed the 5,000 copies with an old Bullock rotary printing machine.

Bruce Ameilcool is now a hippie millionaire but he can’t separate from his 1967 rusty Holden, yet. “Babes must be young, cars must be old,” that’s his philosophy. And we didn’t argue on that.

Below: the Zainatype, a typewriter specially designed by Bruce for one of our Brandpowder fans, Zaina (from Virginia) who just happens to love typewriters and whatever begins with the letter “Z”. This model might also help people to fall asleep while at their desk zzzzzzz……

zainatype

13 Comments

Join the discussion and tell us your opinion.

Kevin v Mongoliareply
October 25, 2012 at 7:41 AM

I can’t disagree with Bruce’s logic.

Great post. I’ve never typed more than a few pages with a typewriter but as a man of machines and tactility I can appreciate their feel and mechanical beauty.

carloreply
October 26, 2012 at 9:16 AM
– In reply to: Kevin v Mongolia

Thank you Kevin,

Bruce’s business is swell. More and more people share your point of view. And buy that stuff. The mechanical beauty and tactility you talk about are getting the right point. Digital gadgets are going to transform us into a planet of lonely nerds. The poetry of old objects, the adoption of things we discarded or lost while rushing towards a promising, empty future, the time will take to savour the simple pleasure of handling useless things and thoughts will probably save us from complete disintegration.

The Brandpowder Team

The Rreply
October 26, 2012 at 7:10 AM

This is absolutely brilliant. Marketing of one is not hype but reality. You should look for possible synergies between Inottum and your new typewriters. 3 machine with ‘feed’ ‘fear’ and ‘fuck ‘ could be a
nice combo for him. Another one is one with ‘media dope’ for lioncraut and finally a model to help the very few willing to type Helvetica minimal. don’t forget one for you with ‘brandpowder’. It would be always a safe heaven when running out of topics. R

carloreply
October 26, 2012 at 8:37 AM

Dear R,

thank you for your kind remark. As a matter of fact, IBM is running a campaign about the Chief Executive Customer, showing how crucial the strategies of Mkt-to-One will be in the near future. KLM, on the other hand, didn’t apply such strategy in the past and went bankrupt and was later bought for peanuts by an airline company which is known for serving foie gras and champagne to economy class clients. From these two case histories Brandpowder came up with a rule of thumb insight: Companies whose logo ends up with the same letter, not necessarily end up with the same destiny.

Best Regards,

The BT

The Rreply
October 26, 2012 at 3:39 PM

The result is that we have on one side passangers being served Foie Gras and looking for holes thinking they eat Emmenthal ,and on the other side passengers being served Emmenthal and becoming an instant hit, new entry and N.1 choice from the traditional and always produdly displayed national french cheese ist. In your typewriter terms both passangers could be a target for a one word machine ” S # % T”.

carloreply
October 26, 2012 at 3:54 PM
– In reply to: The R

Dear R,

would you like to work for us? No need to send a CV. We have already a 2CV (talking about French good stuff).
Thank you for sending your witty comments.

the BT

The Rreply
October 27, 2012 at 11:50 AM

Dear BT your inquisitive mind and provoking spirit are special and I can’t think of anyone else, but BT, to be the opinionist of choice in creating content , triggering comments and my role remains to serve reactively your inspiring topics. On my knees I humbly bow to the master who remains for me, and as already said, my daily fresh water to drink, but that I will never dare to distill in first place. As I write this I am sitting on a chair staring at a nice 000080 sky and sipping a Campbell Soup . Your servant and fan reader. The R

laranasserreply
December 15, 2012 at 12:35 PM

this is AMAZING, and hilarious, and works, because guess what i want one.

the tourretype would be ideal.

carloreply
December 16, 2012 at 9:54 AM
– In reply to: laranasser

Hi Lara,

the Tourretype is not available at the moment. Bruce Ameilcool didn’t keep up with a long list of orders lately but, being a hippie, he decided he couldn’t care less about customer service and business and money. He’s now off to Hawaii surfing and getting stoned. He sends you his best Regards,

The BT

laranasserreply
January 12, 2013 at 1:54 PM
– In reply to: carlo

Lucky guy.

carloreply
January 12, 2013 at 4:15 PM

Hallo Lara,
thank you for posting a comment. Always a pleasure to hear from you.
The Brandpowder Team

Propagandumreply
April 6, 2013 at 9:28 PM

Is it true that the first product sold on E-bay was a broken laser pointer, to a broken laser pointer collector? Everything after that went horribly wrong, of course, but I hope we can all feel inspired by those first SUN non-beams.

carloreply
April 8, 2013 at 9:22 AM
– In reply to: Propagandum

Thank you Propagandum,

the SUN is always shining. Thanks a lot for your comment.

The Brandpowder Team

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