The [Marketing] Gospel, According to Crumpler

Recently I was browsing the web for computer bags and I found myself staring at www.crumpler.ca - a website that's the antithesis of everything a marketing website should be.

There's obnoxious music and bizarre, eye-assaulting images, and it's surprisingly difficult to find your way to the product information. The utter randomness of the whole thing is a strange, if refreshing departure from other on-line catalogues.

And that's just the beginning. The marketing copy is rambling, nonsensical, and describes both the product, and the customer, in a negative light. ("You are more embarrassing than a lizard without a tongue," states the product information for the bag lovingly named "The Dreadful Embarrassment.")

It seems like they're doing everything wrong. And yet, Crumpler keeps raking in the sales.

Their messenger, computer and photography bags have acquired something of a cult following, and message board junkies love to spread the word on their superiority.

So what's the difference between Crumpler and all the other companies that want to sell you bags, or, for that matter, just about any other product over the internet? What bizarre marketing rules are they following?

Here are a few that might make it into Crumpler's anti-advertising handbook:

Know your customer. Clearly, Crumpler targets a very specific group of people (with a very weird sense of humour). The company started out catering to bike couriers; today the go as far as selling baby bags. But they're still after a distinct niche of people who crave a certain kind of 'being different.' Those who don't 'get' Crumpler can shop elsewhere.

Create a good product and let the customer figure out the rest. Concentrate on making a product that people really, really like. If they like what you offer, they'll find a way to buy it. And that means that, like Crumpler, you don't have to hold their hand through the purchasing process, nor do you need to convince them of the value you provide.

Don't remind your customer of all benefits of your product – just show them that you're different. Crumpler's customer has probably already heard about the brand and received authentic testimonials about their quality and durability. Rather than reiterating this, the website differentiates the brand and makes it memorable. Word of mouth brings would-be customers to the site; the quirky cool demonstrates the brand's uniqueness and clinches the sale.

If these are actually Crumpler's marketing rules, maybe the company isn't crazy after all. In fact, maybe it's time more of us to, dare I say it, "crumple up" our old marketing rules and start following the marketing gospel according to Crumpler.