When the beer brand Modelo launched “Mark of a WarriorThe March 2023 marketing campaign was not only an intriguing concept that appealed to America's poor, but it was also an indication that this beer brand had a tough, competitive spirit — something much needed if you're going to take on Anheuser. -Busch, the brewer behind Bud Light and the “King of Beers,” Budweiser.

In fact, Bud Light reigned as the No. 1 beer. 1 in America for over two decades (since 2001). It seemed Bud Light was as American as the Fourth of July. Meanwhile, Modelo wasn't even in the top 10 beers a decade ago. according to reports.

But Modelo fought her way to the top and now she is the most popular beer instead.

You might be even more surprised by Modelo's secret weapon: marketing. Here are three lessons we can all learn from Modelo's marketing strategy that will help you reach the top of your industry list.

Related: 5 marketing strategies from leading brands: what you can learn from their mistakes and successes

Lesson 1: Spend crazy amounts on your marketing – way more than your competition.

If the Modelo was “made with a fighting spirit,” it definitely shows. They fought so hard to get to the top that they spent insane amounts of money on advertising. In fact, they had the biggest TV ad bill since the second quarter of 2020. research shows.

Last year, Modelo spent $155 million on TV ads, and they say they plan to spend even more in 2024. Since July, they've invested $65 million in TV ads — that's about 75% more than has spent Bud Light this year, and 35% more than Michelob Ultra, which just dethroned Bud Light in July as America's second favorite beer.

You may notice a trend here: The more you spend, the more business you generate.

This is actually my most effective — and most hated — marketing tip for business owners: Spend more on your marketing than you think is rational or reasonable. This is the hardest thing for me to communicate with my clients.

Here's a story that sums up what I mean: I have a very successful friend. In his entire career, he has never needed marketing because he is a money manager and this is growth through word of mouth in his circles. He recently decided to try his hand at real estate development and built eight gorgeous townhomes in Hiawassee, GA, right on the water, and he became a realtor. Simple real estate investment, right?

Unfortunately, no! None of his townhouses have yet sold, and only one is in contract. He honestly thought, “If I build them, they will come.” But it doesn't work like that! He finally realized he needs to market these homes and is going to do a big integrated campaign with direct mail and internet advertising.

The point is this: A very smart, very successful man had no idea! He wanted to do a little campaign and I had to really spend time educating him on this principle – you should trade more than you think is reasonable or rational!

This applies to all types of businesses, but here are three great examples of companies which was boosted by the increase in their marketing budgets:

• US manufacturer Proctor & Gamble's marketing budget of 9.84% of revenue led to 5.9% revenue growth in fiscal 2023

• SaaS company Atlassian's marketing budget of 15-16% of revenue led to 26% revenue growth in FY2023

• Another SaaS company Asana's marketing budget of 78.3% of revenue led to 45% year-over-year revenue growth in 2023

Related: The Growth Hack My Clients Hate Most Is The One That Promises The Biggest Financial Rewards – Here's What You Need To Know

Lesson 2: Challenge trendy and popular marketing tactics to truly dominate

The fight against competitors is not always a frontline battle. Sometimes a smarter approach will help you win. It may seem counterintuitive, but it's the hidden spaces that can help you get ahead, just like taking a shortcut ahead that no one else is paying attention to.

For example, between 2019 and 2023, total linear TV advertising spending fell by 20%, dropping more than $183 million. Going with the flow, competitors Budweiser and Bud Light pulled back on their television budgets. Research shows that, between 2018 and 2023, Budweiser cut their TV ad spending by 77%, and Bud Light cut their spending by 38%. Meanwhile, Modelo continued to spend them – a lot.

Despite the decline in popularity of linear TV, Modelo invested heavily and this helped them take over this area of ​​advertising when other brands like Bud Light were spending more on social media and influencers.

Similarly, my company PostcardMania has taken a road less traveled. Direct mail, once the most common form of advertising, has also declined. Marketing mail decreased by 26% between 2014 and 2023.

But not us – we've grown and now send out 232,000 postcards every week advertising our services.

Postcard marketing takes the biggest chunk of our budget and it pays off. As of 2023, mail delivers six times more revenue per direction than digital advertising. We figured this out by analyzing 114,373 leads that turned into sales in 2023 and found that we made $229.41 per postcard lead versus $37.09 per pay-per-click lead.

Meanwhile, digital and social media remain a hot space for advertising dollars spending on digital platforms both Meta and TikTok continue to grow steadily. In fact: More than half of US advertising dollars will be spent on digital platforms like Google and Facebook for the first time ever. reports show.

So would you rather be a big fish in a smaller pond, or fight for space in an overcrowded ocean? I know which one I would choose.

Related: Do not copy. Be Different. And your marketing will win.

Lesson 3: Fine tune your strategy by tracking your marketing

Failure it is often the best teacher and can set us up for future success. By tracking all of your marketing, you can see which avenues are missing and which are succeeding. Like a boxer in the ring, you can use hard blows as a learning experience and come back stronger and stronger.

In Modelo's case, they noticed that traditional TV advertising was working for them and continued to invest in it. Of course, don't throw all your money into one tactic; diversify your marketing budget too. But let the data determine the percentage of money that goes to one particular form of marketing or another. We spend a pretty penny on digital advertising too!

One of my clients, a dentist in Charlotte, NCat one point, equated spending money on direct mail to a “money pit.” But his marketing manager insisted on a direct mail campaign, and once his practice started seeing an 87.5% increase in new patients thanks to those postcards, he had to admit he was wrong—and his practice was even more good for that!

And of course, never give up the fight. The hard times and losses I've experienced have only fueled my fire to succeed even more. Let it do the same for you!