🥵 sheesh
Iconic retailer Radioshack is making one hell of a comeback.
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The Big Story
Remember RadioShack?
Well, you probably don't, but your grandpa and your dad surely do. After all, it was their go-to outlet for buying those old ham radio spare parts.
But what if I told you that a century later, you'd see the same company tweet something like this:
"That's gotta be photoshopped?" No.
"Then their account must’ve been hacked?" Nah.
"Or an intern probably messed up?" Still nope.
It was intentional.
"What!? why the hell would it tweet something like that?" Well, because it decided to pivot to crypto.
How it all began
Since its inception in 1921, RadioShack was a fixture in American shopping malls and remained a popular hotspot among kids and hobbyists who wanted to shop or repair their old radios and walkie-talkies. It had everything, from eight-track players to portable CD players, and kept up with the latest tech.
That was until the year 2000, after which, a series of bad business decisions, intense competition from big players like Walmart and Target, and the rise of e-commerce behemoths like Amazon pushed it on the brink of collapse. That came true some years later, as since then, the chain has filed for bankruptcy twice and went from having around 5,200 in 2014 stores to about 400 in 2020.
It was then that RadioShack got acquired by Miami-based Retail Ecommerce Ventures (REV), who were buying struggling retail brands in hopes of turning them into thriving online businesses. The company was founded in 2019 by Alex Mehr, the co-founder of the online dating site Zoosk.com, and Tai Lopez, an online influencer infamous for his get-rich-quick schemes.
A struggle for brand identity
With RadioShack’s acquisition, REV had the ultimate challenge: how do you make a century-old brand relevant again? Well, obviously, the answer seemed to be a crypto pivot. And so, the pair launched RadioShack Swap—a decentralized crypto exchange platform that lets users swap coins or tokens. It also has a native token, $RADIO, which is basically worthless.
But still, it wasn't enough.
While the company's launch had been successful, with daily trading volumes averaging from $500,000 to $2 million, it had no social media traction. So, to spice things up, the company hired Ábel Czupor as its chief marketing officer in April. It is Czupor who's responsible for the unhinged, sex-crazed shitposting that gave us tweets like these:
While he says he’s still trying to find the brand's voice, he remains firm on one thing: the brand shouldn’t appear dull or boring.
“We are just basically posting the kinds of things that some people will be talking about in private with their friends,” Czupor told Input.
Although it’s a controversial strategy, it has been quite successful so far. Since last week, RadioShack’s tweets have gained 100 million impressions. That first tweet alone got the company over 114,000 new followers. Currently, RadioShack has 381,000 followers.
Nah, this ain't it
While some liked this cool, edgy, and mostly horny approach, others took to Twitter to express the sheer discomfort and cringe they were experiencing.
One Twitter user called the company's marketing strategy an “ad campaign to court public favor for their crypto scheme.” Others like Morning Brew creator Jack Appleby commented on the falling price of $RADIO, saying that “engagement doesn’t matter if it doesn’t translate to sales.”
But Radioshack said that all such rumours are false.
“Sales have actually grown since we started upping our Twitter game over the past several weeks.” the company said in an email.
Crypto 🤝 Slang
Every industry has its lingo—words and phrases commonly used by folks familiar with how it works. That's also the case for crypto.
When the pandemic-fuelled trading boom pushed Bitcoin and other digital currencies into mainstream popularity, sites like Reddit and Twitter were full of a baffling thicket of acronyms, memes, and misspelt words. And as the industry evolves, newer words and acronyms are being added to help those wanting to enter the crypto market.
RadioShack intends to do the same with its new marketing strategy; it wants to capitalise on the internet's meme culture and establish itself as a brand willing to do what it takes—even if it means risking the image of an iconic franchise.
Regardless of how you see RadioShack's marketing strategy, it does make for an interesting case study of how brands are pushing for relevance at a time when the need to stand out is stronger than ever.
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That’s all for today.
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