AG1 by Athletic Greens. If you have listened to any podcasts in the last couple of years, then you probably have heard of them—a greens supplement in Pulver form that claims to cover your fundamental nutritional needs. I am not here to argue their claims but to break down how a greens supplement became more successful than broccoli. You don’t believe me? According to Statista.de, the worldwide broccoli market lies at around 1.07 billion US dollars. Athletic Greens is valued at 1.2 billion at the moment. And yes, I know that this comparison is economically not perfect, but anyway, let's look at it.
As with most companies, there is not just one reason for their marketing success, and I won’t be able to list all the reasons. However, Athletic Greens takes some approaches that differentiate them from other supplement firms.
Reason 1: Pricing
This one might be surprising, but AG1 benefits from its pricing because it is way more expensive than most other supplements. A single pack of AG1 currently costs $99, and a subscription costs $79 per month. That is way more than most people typically pay for a supplement. You might think to yourself: That is ridiculous. I would never spend that much. By the way, same. But this is a reason for their success. They claim to be a high-value product. A product that has been tested and improved countless times, that only has the best ingredients, and so on. Again, I am not here to argue their claims. But how would you feel if they claim this and their product costs 5$ a month? That wouldn’t be very believable, right? Purposefully choosing a high price makes the product seem more valuable, making their claims more believable. Of course, some people won’t buy it because they can not afford it. But they make more profit with fewer customers at a higher price than with more at a lower cost. The price is so high because it is part of the branding.
Reason 2: Only one product
Athletic Greens only offers one product at the moment: AG1. No different flavors, no different sized packages, no other options. You can either buy a package, make a subscription or fuck off. The last part is not on their website; I made that up. But still, they only offer one product. Even though they offer many extras, they technically do not count because you can't choose to have them; you'll get them anyway. This avoids decision fatigue. Decision fatigue is the mental exhaustion people feel after making many decisions. You probably have already noticed that before. If I come home after a long day, I will have no nerve to scroll around on Netflix. There are just too many movies that sound great, and I can not decide so easily anymore. Or when I want to buy protein powder, 5 of the flavors sound great. Which one will I buy? Athletic Greens takes that off of you—just two decisions to make: buying or not, and subscription or single package. It's as simple as that.
Reason 3: Podcast Marketing
I’ll be honest with you. I know Athletic Greens and AG1 from Podcasts, and you probably do, too. They sponsor some of the biggest podcasts in the scientific/ self-improvement community, such as The Tim Ferriss Show, Huberman Lab, Modern Wisdom, or Joe Rogan Experience. In each of those, Athletic Greens makes the host read their ad script instead of putting their ads into the podcast. This approach proves to be effective. But why? First of all, it gives social proof. People tend to follow the actions of people they admire or trust; both applies here. Another one is the parasocial relationship between the listeners and the podcast hosts. This type of relationship creates a sense of trust and reduces the critical evaluation of the promotional message. Aside from the product's functional benefits, like the health benefits, it taps into the emotional benefits, like the feeling of being part of the health-conscious community. At last, each podcast has its own promotional code and landing page. This direct link between the product and the host gives a sense of exclusivity to the listeners. Enough of the scientific talk now. The podcast hosts' ad reads are more effective than traditional ads because they are more authentic and trustworthy. It leverages the personal connection between the podcast host and the listener. 43% of US podcast listeners stated that they are more likely to buy a product after hearing a podcast promote it. It makes sense. Don’t we all want to be as smart as Huberman, as interesting as Tim Ferriss, and … as …. famous as Rogan?! We are led to think that maybe AG1 is the first step if they take it themselves.
Honestly, I could go on for hours with Athletic Greens. Talking about their advertisements, athlete partnerships, or how they use bundles and guarantees. Sadly, that would be too much for now, but maybe I’ll look at it closer another time.
But yeah, I hear you asking. What am I supposed to learn from that? Let’s get to that before the people think I promote AG1 myself.
Lessons from AG1
The first lesson is simple: Pricing is part of your branding. If you want customers to think you have a high-value product, you should charge a price that indicates it. Your price is a value indicator for the customer. So, your price should be based on the value you deliver, not the cost of the product or service.
The next lesson is that less can sometimes be more. Instead of offering a thousand different products, focus on one product at the beginning. If your customers ask for additional products, you can start to introduce them. However, all marketing efforts are easier if they center on one core product. Get perfect on that and then use the trust of your existing customers as leverage for new products.
And the last one: Podcasts are a very effective niche of influencer marketing. It will not be a perfect fit for every product, but it can work if you choose the right niche. As usual in advertising, you must work backwards from your ideal customer. What is your perfect customer probably listening to? Most of us will not have the budget to do advertisements for Huberman, but we can target small and upcoming creators who will not charge much. Or even simpler: send them your product to try or review. If they like it, maybe they will talk about it for free. Get creative on your solutions. However, leveraging someone else's audience can make it easy to sell before building up your audience.
That’s it for this week. I am now going to blend up my broccoli shake because I am damn sure to broke to afford AG1. I would appreciate if you subscribe, and see you next time!
