5 Levels of Awareness - Hostage Tape

All Case Studies 🔍 Learn About Sponsorships

Last week I met with 5+ founders building 7-8 figure brands and here’s what shook me up…all of them plateaued. And none of them understood how they needed the proper infrastructure to scale. And through any plateau. So, one of the biggest learnings I hammered home to each founder was building funnels based on each level of awareness.

So, that’s what I’m breaking down today.

And as always, thank you to our partners Mind Studio and Solwey Consulting.

Get your brand in front of 200,000+ marketers & founders.

 In partnership with Mind Studio

Build AI Applications In 2 Hours Without Any Code

So, I’m an AI novice (with no coding knowledge) and I took this course two weeks ago to build our internal content pipeline.

It took me three hours to build.

And will save our team countless hours of back in forth in Slack…

So, if you take it - you’ll learn how to:

• Build out complete apps

• Add and query your own data sources

• Invite your teammates to an organization

• Integrate your AI apps into your current tool stack

So, take the free course and start building time-saving apps in the same day.

Hostage Tape took a stale commoditized product - nose strips and breathing tape - and modernized it. And now they're going mainstream with partnerships with Joe Rogan and the UFC.

So, how did they do it?

Two things:

• Growth infrastructure to scale

• Funnels based on every level of awareness

So, they built a customer acquisition engine on the backend of the five levels of awareness. Which starts with an unaware consumer. And ends with a consumer who's aware of your product.

So this means building funnels to move people from one stage to the next: Discovery > Education > Consideration > Conversion.

So the brand doing a great job of this? Hostage Tape.

Because each funnel is crafted to speak to customers at every level of awareness.

So, here's how they do it:

Unaware Of A Need Or A Desire - "That Sounds Like Me."

At this stage, people who are mouth breathers are unaware that it's the root cause of their fatigue and dental issues like cavities.

The key is to educate through storytelling.

Hostage Tape tells stories from multiple angles:

• The founder's journey of discovering the mouth-breathing-health link.

• Influencers share their relatable struggles and transformations.

The audience thinks, "That sounds like me."

At this stage, it's not about promoting a product. It's about planting a seed, making them aware of a problem they didn't even know they had.

Problem Aware - "I Need To Try Mouth Taping,”

People are aware mouth breathing is a problem, but unaware of suitable solutions.

Hostage tape introduces mouth and nose tapes as a solution without making their brand the focal point.

The goal is to suggest these solutions and make the consumer think, "I need to try mouth taping.”

Highlight the benefits of mouth taping:

• Better sleep quality

• More energy during the day

• Fewer dental issues

Hint at the ideal solution people should look for:

• Comfortable to wear

• Stretchy and flexible

• Breathable material

By focusing on the solution rather than the brand, you build trust and credibility, priming them for the next stage of the funnel.

Solution Aware - “I Need To Look Into Hostage Tape.”

People know that mouth taping and nose taping can fix their problem, but they're not aware of your specific brand.

Now's the time to introduce your products and make your brand the focal point.

Hostage Tape used different category voices like Huberman as social proof to cement it as a solution. Use trustworthy figures for your audience to provide proof that your brand is worth looking into as a solution.

Highlight the specific benefits of your brand, like “longer-lasting adhesive” and ease of use.

Product Aware - “I Might Try Hostage Tape.”

At this stage, people are aware of your brand but aren't sure if your product is right for them.

It's time to emphasize your Unique Selling Points (USPs) and reinforce the benefits of choosing your product over competitors.

Use comparison charts to showcase how your product stacks up: strong-hold, comfortable, flexible, etc.

Double down on social proof like endorsements from trusted experts - “Strongest mouth tape on the planet.”

Most Aware - “I Feel Confident To Buy From Hostage Tape.”

People are convinced that your product is the right solution and are ready to make a purchase. They just need a final nudge.

This is where you provide irresistible offers and remove any last barriers to conversion.

Give it an irresistible offer: Buy 3 Get 2 Free

Present the offer in ways users can easily understand: $0.55 per day

Provide a risk-free guarantee: 30-day money-back guarantee

So before you launch FB ads, make sure you have funnels developed to target each level of awareness:

• Unaware: Make them think, “that sounds like me.”

• Problem aware: “I’ve gotta try something like that.”

• Solution aware: “I need to find a solution.”

• Product aware: “I have to try [brand].”

• Most Aware: “I’m going to buy [brand].”

In partnership with Solwey Consulting

Most Marketers Have 8-10 Tools In Their Tech Stack…

Costs us thousands and still isn’t enough.

I need someone to provide design and dev services, while letting me walk with them through every stage.

AKA my friends at Solwey:

• UX/UI Design/Optimization

• Web & Mobile App Development

• E-commerce & Blockchain

• 80+ projects and 7+ years of work experience

• 80% customer return rate

Don't deal with the limitations of your current tech stack..

Test Solwey out for two weeks and if you're not happy you don't pay.

• Behind the scenes: The Man Who Killed Google Search (LINK)

• How to 10x your event sign-ups: Change one word (LINK)

• Creative we love: minimize your most monumental zits by ELF beauty (LINK)

• Quick wins: How to make an impact in your first 90 days (LINK) 

• The new clubhouse: Airchat Is Silicon Valley’s Latest Obsession (LINK)

• Design: This is how AI is fundamentally changing creative production and strategy. (LINK)