Podcast
Freakonomics Radio
It was written by a former advertising executive who worked at Trader Joe's, and focuses on the company's unique approach to branding and customer experience, especially their unorthodox approach to advertising and marketing.
I just had this thought, like, you know, what if I just went and worked there? What would I learn about this company?
— Episode: 359. Should America Be Run by … Trader J...
Episode: 359. Should America Be Run by … Trader Joe’s?
It was written by a former advertising executive who worked at Trader Joe's, and focuses on the company's unique approach to branding and customer experience, especially their unorthodox approach to advertising and marketing.
I just had this thought, like, you know, what if I just went and worked there? What would I learn about this company?
What Gardner learned about the company is that just about everything Trader Joe's does outside of exchanging food for money is unorthodox for a modern grocery store.
I think the number one thing that struck me about Trader Joe's is that they almost don't advertise at all. They don't market. They have a pretty good website now, but for years, they had a rudimentary website. They had almost no social media presence. They had almost no kind of public relations. They didn't do a whole bunch of the things that I had spent my entire working life thinking, well, these are the things that you do when you build a brand.
Well, as you know, they're very, very secretive company. So they responded exactly the way I expected, which was with utter silence.