Scarcity and Urgency in Marketing: A Frog’s Tale

Core Article: Scarcity and Urgency in Marketing: A Frog’s Tale

Paragraph I’m Pondering: “People pay for intangible value…”

Powerful Affirmations to Inspire: “I manage my finances with…”

Quick Update: Fire relief, heavy sigh.

Cool Stuff: This is def cool – check out the inside of a Condor egg!

AI Info & Resources: Interested in learning more about different AI’s – this tool can help.

Scarcity and Urgency in Marketing: A Frog’s Tale

I’m gonna tell you a bit of a wacky tale that has some valuable marketing lessons, albeit a bit out there.

What you need to know upfront is that this was actually an animated short film: One Froggy Evening, from 1955. (It was inspired by a 1944 Cary Grant film, Once Upon a Time.)

This is the story of the singing and dancing frog. Have you ever heard of it?

It’s definitely a classic. Picture this: A man, down on his luck, stumbles upon a frog. But not just any frog—a frog that can sing and dance! He immediately sees his ticket to riches. He rents out a theater and puts up a sign: “SINGING FROG!”

But nobody shows up.

So, he tries again with a new sign: “FREE ADMISSION!” Still, no takers.

Finally, he puts up a sign saying, “FREE BEER!” The crowd pours in, knocking him over in their rush.

Here’s the kicker: His amazing frog has performance anxiety and only performs when it’s alone. The crowd sees an ordinary frog, and our man is left defeated.

So, what are the big takeaways from this whacky quirky tale?

Understanding Your Audience: Beyond the Basics
Having a terrific product or service is just the beginning. You need to get it in front of people who care about it. Offering something for free can be powerful—yet, only if it’s something your dream clients actually want and it has real value. If you offer something that’s supposed to be a teaser of your brilliance and it turns out to be fluff, you will lose trust.
Crafting Authentic Value Propositions
A value proposition must resonate deeply with your audience’s desires and needs. Signs saying “SINGING FROG!” and “FREE ADMISSION!” failed because they didn’t connect with the audience’s deeper desires. Craft messages that matter to your audience.
Authentic Engagement and Trust-Building
The audience felt deceived because the frog didn’t perform as promised. In marketing, trust is everything. Authenticity and transparency should be at the core of your strategy. Be honest about what your product can do and address limitations upfront. This builds a strong foundation of trust and keeps your dream clients engaged.
The Power of Emotional Connections
Marketing is about building emotional connections, not just making money. The frog could have been a symbol of wonder and excitement, and yet with it’s performance anxiety and the man’s promotions that missed the mark, it failed to connect emotionally with the audience.

Your marketing should aim to forge deep bonds with your dream clients, turning them into loyal advocates. Share your journey, your values, and your passion—these elements resonate on a deeper level and create lasting bonds.
Tapping into Scarcity and Urgency
Scarcity can drive action, and it must be used authentically. The “FREE BEER!” was a tactic of urgency that was misaligned with the actual value of his offer. Use scarcity and urgency authentically to enhance the perceived value, not just as a gimmick to drive numbers.

So, as you plan for your next launch or promotion, these five principles will guide you to greater success.

After all, what’s the point of having a singing frog if nobody ever hears it sing? 😉

Quick Update

Whoa, it’s already August. How did that happen?! The good news is that the Park Fire seems to be getting better under control, so I’m a lot calmer, and we don’t need to pack up for an evacuation any time soon. Whew.

Yet, still no AC, ugh. I’m thinking by the time winter comes, we might get it in! Apparently, this triple-digit heat has fried a lot of ACs in this town. Oh well, the portable ACs are doing the trick for now, thank goodness. So we’re staying cool. Hope you’re doing something fun to end the summer. We may be heading out to Astoria, OR, next weekend. It’s where they filmed the movie, The Goonies. It’s a beautiful coastal town north of Portland.

Paragraph I’m Pondering

“Customers don’t often pay for the actual value the product delivers. If they did, $4 cups of coffee wouldn’t exist, and people wouldn’t buy Macs even though they cost more than PCs. People pay for the intangible value, for what they experience and what they care about. If you can’t finish this sentence, then it might be time for a rethink:

Our customers love how it feels when they _________ our product or service because________. Your Competitive Advantage is what your customers believe…”
~ Bernadette Jiwa, Marketing a Love Story: How to Matter to Your Customers

Powerful Affirmations to Inspire

“I am a confident and inspiring leader, positively impacting everyone around me.”
“I manage my finances with wisdom, and my wealth continues to grow and multiply.”
“I attract opportunities for financial growth and seize them with confidence and gratitude.”

Book Review

Interested in learning more about the quote from “Paragraph I’m Pondering section above?”
Check out my review of Marketing a Love Story: How to Matter to Your Customers by Bernadette Jiwa.

Cool Stuff

If you geek out on science stuff, then check out this CT scan that looks inside a California condor egg.
Interesting – this makes so much sense—work rituals that bring teams together and create more meaning. I personally love rituals and have many, especially for writing.
I think research is pretty cool, especially when it’s about topics I’m interested in. Get this—rating systems are actually shaping user behavior in the gig economy.

AI Info and Resources

How to optimize every type of content to boost engagement with this AI tool.
Wondering which AI model is right for you, this site lets you directly compare how different models respond to certain queries. Not all tools are created equal…
If you want to save some time from watching videos on Google Chrome – this free tool is pretty stellar. I tried it out a few days ago. It will summarize the video and give you highlights. And it will also write emails about the topic for you. Try it out – (Note: I haven’t used it to write any of my content, just summarizing. It also has plenty more features. 🙂

Weekly Photos

Fun trip to Whiskey Town Lake where Emma got to go swimming. She’s such a water dawg. Yet, I still kept her on the flexi leash cuz I really didn’t want to have to jump in after her if she tried to escape!
Some beautiful sunrises lately. You know me. I love to share. 🙂
There’s Alice and myself with the spectacular lake in the background.
My timing was perfect for this pic; got Emma in mid-lick there.
Emma’s not satisfied with always being in the backseat. My lap does the trick. She loves looking out the front windshield up close.
This dog loves sunrises almost as much as we do. I also think she’s looking for stray rabbits, lizards, and maybe even a bird or deer sighting.
This is Emma truly in her element, on my lap with heading hanging out the window. See those ears flying, pure joy right there.