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Chubbies is a clothing retailer for men that sells the brightly colored short shorts you’d see dudes wearing at frat parties, on boats, and at the beach. They also call themselves “The Quad Liberation Depot,” since they’re on a mission to “liberate” guys from pants and cargo shorts. But the story behind how they made short shorts cool again is bigger than that.
Here are three word of mouth lessons from Chubbies:
1. Recruit talkers with built-in networks
2. Make people feel like they belong
3. Make something worth talking about
1. Recruit talkers with built-in networks
Chubbies has a College Ambassador program where fans can apply to become an official ambassador for the company at their college. The ambassadors promote the shorts by hosting activities and spreading the word about Chubbies on their campus, and the company rewards them with discounts and access to new product launches. On their site, Chubbies showcases their ambassadors and gives them each a nickname, like Samuel “Seabass” Spencer. They also target guys who are already a part of other groups like fraternities or intramural sports to reach the people in their networks.
2. Make people feel like they belong
Chubbies has a very mission-driven vibe to their brand. They ask their fans to help cargo-short-wearing friends “see the light” and join the rallying cry against pants. They bring a sense of belonging and community to the mission by sharing their fans’ photos wearing their shorts and other ways they live the “no pants” attitude. People like feeling like they belong to a group. That sense of community is something they’ll tell other people about and something they’ll want to recruit their friends into.
3. Make something worth talking about
Chubbies doesn’t just make thigh-baring shorts for men. They’ve also made tux shorts, sherpa shorts, and shorts with the American flag on them. But it’s not just the novelty stuff, they make sure a bunch of details are a little bit more remarkable than normal retail. For example, their product names include stuff like “The Carp Eh Diems,” “The Razzle Dazzles,” and “The Conch Fritters.” And instead of having a sale page on their site, they have “Warehouse Finds.” It’s not just about having a unique product, it’s also about weaving that uniqueness into as many details as possible.
