Ah, Black Friday. From the early-morning chaos at brick-and-mortar stores to the server-busting online deal, Black Friday is an opportunity for millions of people to get their hands on the perfect gift for their loved ones – and save a few bucks in the process. For some, it represents the moral decay of society. For others, it represents a damn good deal. Either way, Black Friday has become a holiday unto itself.

Enter Cards Against Humanity.

Now, for the uninitiated, Cards Against Humanity is billed as “a party game for horrible people,” which, quite frankly, is probably the most accurate and succinct description possible. It’s like Apples to Apples, but with the most taboo, politically incorrect, and/or morally reprehensible answers possible. In short, it’s a whole lot of fun.
Despite being a multi-million dollar company, Cards Against Humanity is, for all intents and purposes, the anti-company. For starters, you can download the original CAH card pack in PDF form on its website for free and the company has experimented with a “Pay What You Want” model on its physical card packs. Its “12 Days of Holiday Bull$#*t” promotion, saw 100,000 people pay $12 for 12 random gifts and sold out within six hours (one of the gifts was a $100,000 donation to funding 299 public school projects on DonorsChoose.org). And on Black Friday last year, it raised prices on its card packs by $5 – and still saw a sales volume increase over the day after Thanksgiving 2012.
And it has millions of zealously loyal customers – myself included – because of it.
So, to celebrate this year’s consumer holiday, Cards Against Humanity decided to sell no cards for no amount of money to no one.
Instead, its site posted the message: “To help you experience the ultimate savings on Cards Against Humanity this Black Friday, we’ve removed the game from our store, making it impossible to purchase,” and linked to its online store – which contained one item only: a $6 shiny, black box of cow poop.
… And it sold out of the 30,000 units of bull$#*t almost immediately.
 

Now, what’s the lesson here?

Your most valuable customers are the ones who preach the gospel of your product – these are the brand disciples. Their words are your best marketing. Their fervor are your best reviews. But disciples don’t work alone; they tend to flock to one another and form tribes built on a shared zeal. These tribes are the core of your business.
As Seth Godin says in his fabulous TED Talk, “You don’t need everyone…. You just need, I don’t know, a thousand true fans – a thousand people who care enough that they will get you the next round and the next round and the next round. And that means that the idea you create, the product you create, the movement you create isn’t for everyone, it’s not a mass thing. That’s not what this is about. What it’s about instead is finding the true believers.”
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a Cards Against Humanity zealot.
It’s why I and millions of others willingly fork over money for card packs, rather than download the free version.
It’s why we scramble to scoop up the latest and limited edition CAH releases.
It’s why we proudly tote our Bigger, Blacker Boxes to parties and family gatherings.
And it’s why we’ll gladly laugh off paying for poop.
Because we’re a tribe of really awful individuals that have gathered around a card game for horrible people – and we’re happy to be part of it. It’s become part of our identity and a litmus test for our relationships.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering if any buyers regretted their crappy purchase, they did. And the CAH staff has so kindly curated its best emails on its Tumblr site.

While Aimee has admitted her membership to a tribe of really awful (and really funny) people, think about your favorite products or services. Are there any that you show such extreme loyalty that its essentially become your identity? I’m looking at you, Harley Davidson guys… 
Like what Aimee has to say? Comment below or email her directly!