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Ancient proverb: “Every generation of marketers must face the same trial — a CEO who has just discovered the Duolingo owl.”
To answer and explain, we first have to understand what the ask even is.
Duolingo marketing is synonymous with going viral. It’s known for having mass reach, engagement, and shareability. Any CEO with a brain will look and say “Yes, we want that too,” but they’re likely to be wrong.
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Duolingo marketing is more than a content strategy:
It’s an org chart that optimizes for quick decisions that enable reactive content.
It’s an approval process that isn’t all wrapped up in red tape.
It’s also, importantly, cohesive across the brand experience, from the in-app messaging, push notification copy, email campaigns, and social.
When reverse-engineering the strategy and approach, I think of it almost like Snakes and Ladders. There are actions and behaviors you can take on as a team (regardless of size) that let you make your way up the board.
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So your CEO has decided they want to be “more like Duolingo.” For the sake of looking at it from all sides, and not being labeled a stick in the mud, let’s see what bits could actually fit for you.
In explaining why Duolingo’s marketing might not work for your company, you might find that you can take some parts of it and make it work.
Maybe you can afford to test an experimental run of reactive content on your socials.
Or agree to a set budget for a specific campaign for a feature launch.
Perhaps you could start working more closely with the product team to bring the brand voice into the product a little more.
Maybe for you, “more like Duolingo” actually just means faster shipping and testing. The request might have nothing to do with tone of voice, but rather with your CEO wanting a culture of testing and trying with more channels.
Of course, Not Duolingo, you know your company best.
I will say that, having been in the position of wanting to both flex my marketing knowledge while also rolling my eyes at some bosses’ requests, I feel you.
Instead of being overwhelmed by the lack of insight that your CEO has and having it get you down, I’d recommend you use this as a thread to pull on to encourage more education and sharing within the team. “They have no idea how hard marketing is,” we read in countless marketing posts. Show them. Maybe you’ll surprise yourself with what you can accomplish.
Hope you win, Not Duolingo!
Renée
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