When a Cute Idea Becomes a Brand Miss: A Tale About The Olympics

Welcome back to Proof it's Possible! In this episode, Dayle and Jamie discuss the importance of knowing your audience. They explore the value of choosing freebies and gifts that align with your audience's needs, and the impact of misaligned gifts like the stuffies given at the 2026 Olympics. They also explore how audience-informed marketing can pull consumers in and completely shift your audience's opinion of you if done correctly. Dayle touches on how your client niche may be defined by your client's needs rather than their other traits. The episode highlights the value of understanding and aligning with your audience's needs, as well as the importance of using audience feedback to realign if you miss the mark. Tune in to discover: 

• Why the Olympics' 2026 gift is a great example of not knowing your audience
• Why it's essential to understand what your clients have in common and what you can connect with them on 
• Dayle and Jamie's favorite freebies and why they are impactful 
• Why understanding your clients' needs is the most important part of knowing your audience

What has your experience been with getting to know your audience? Share your thoughts with us — we’d love to hear! DM us on Instagram @dayle_sheehan_designs & @jamiedfrancis! See you next time!

This episode is sponsored by our Ultimate Girls Trip! Be sure to go to www.proofitspossible.com for more info.

For More Information:
• Proof It's Possible Website
• The Ultimate Girls Trip Instagram

Dayle:
• Instagram
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Website
• Interior Design

Jamie:
• Instagram
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Website 

Transcript

Dayle Sheehan (00:02.478)
Hi guys, welcome back. We are so grateful that you're here. Today we are talking about something that we think is super important, which in your business is, and in life, is knowing your audience. Knowing how to like read the room and get a feel for who are you talking to? Who are you providing for? Who are you selling to? Jamie, give me your recent example. Yeah.

Jamie (00:29.687)
Okay, so I was watching the Olympics and of course the Canadian versus American hockey game was on every TV in Canada. I don't know about the United States, but definitely every TV in Canada. And as they were handing out the medals to the athletes, they handed grown men a stuffy, like a small...

Dayle Sheehan (00:57.719)
What?

Jamie (00:58.871)
I couldn't even really tell what it is. I think it's like a rabbit or something. So I don't know if it's some kind of, there's some kind of connection to Italy or something like that. But I started looking like into why everyone was holding, why these grown men were all holding selfies. And turns out every athlete, like that was their parting gift from the Olympics. So.

Dayle Sheehan (01:04.971)
Yeah.

Dayle Sheehan (01:08.514)
Right.

Dayle Sheehan (01:15.246)
Yeah.

Jamie (01:25.245)
Some things that I read are that like when Vancouver had the Olympics, I don't know, decade or so ago, they got yellow roses. Like, we're sorry you didn't win, here's your yellow roses. Every athlete that was there got the same set of yellow roses. Well, this last Olympics, they decided to do like a beanie bear sized stuffy. And watching these like grown men rough and tumble like hockey players accept their stuffy and with absolute disgust and like...

Dayle Sheehan (01:38.839)
Okay.

Jamie (01:54.617)
what am I doing with this? I'm like, what? Who chose this? Who chose this? I mean, this isn't the kids Olympics. And I don't know many adults that have a deep connection to any stuffies at all. So.

Dayle Sheehan (01:54.956)
Yeah. Yeah.

Dayle Sheehan (02:00.876)
Yeah.

No, exactly.

Dayle Sheehan (02:09.132)
No, no, and like it's an amazing keepsake if you do, if you're an athlete with kids, I guess, but a lot of them are not.

Jamie (02:16.29)
But your kids don't even get to play with it if it's a keepsake. Like you get to put it on your mantle, your stuffy. Like, I don't know. It felt just so wrong to me. And I had this like deep evening of thought where I'm like, how did they miss the mark so bad that they thought adults would enjoy a white mini stuffy that looks like a McDonald's toy? Like, I just can't comprehend.

Dayle Sheehan (02:20.376)
for sure.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Dayle Sheehan (02:35.148)
Yeah.

A stuffy.

Jamie (02:44.502)
how this happened and it got me thinking about like, know your audience. Is this something these athletes will love, cherish, use, on display proudly? Probably not. And I encourage you to go Google some of the guys' faces when they receive it. It is hilarious. It's hilarious, because it's so completely offside. Some are like angry by it. They're like, what am I going to do with this? And then some are like, what?

Dayle Sheehan (02:53.719)
Yeah.

Totally. Well.

Dayle Sheehan (03:03.436)
Yeah, exactly.

Jamie (03:14.296)
Okay, like it's hilarious to me, but I just feel like it's the perfect example of like, that's not the right fit for this audience and the audience being the athletes and it didn't check any of the markers, I would have assumed they would have thought of, would you put it on display? Are you proud of it? Is it something you'll use? You know, like all the things that.

Dayle Sheehan (03:15.926)
Interesting.

Dayle Sheehan (03:33.74)
Yeah. Is it a keepsake? Will it stay with you the rest of your life? All the things like, well, and that's just it. And I think it's like a really interesting topic or like example, because you know, they spent millions of dollars researching what they should do to give something away to all athletes. And you know that they spent millions of dollars trying to, or paying for the actual item. And in our businesses, I think we do

Jamie (03:49.567)
Mm-hmm.

Dayle Sheehan (04:02.786)
You know, there's giveaways, there's like ways to drum up business and attract people and get followers on your socials and contests and things like that that you spend money on that are advertising tools. And it's like, if you are not giving away in your contest to, you know, follow, follow, follow you on Instagram and share your post, something that your audience wants, if you're offering them a stuffy, they're gonna be like,

Jamie (04:31.481)
Yeah.

Dayle Sheehan (04:32.174)
No, I'm not going to share this post. don't want anyone thinking I want a stuffy, you know, because our audience doesn't. would maybe take a gift card for a great store or a great restaurant or you know what I mean? Or they might take a free spot at our Ultimate Girls trip as a reason to incentive to do something. But that's the kind of thing that motivates your customers to

Jamie (04:44.855)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Jamie (04:51.065)
Mm-hmm.

Dayle Sheehan (05:00.76)
fill out your form is that they're entering the contest to win something they want or they're buying something they actually, you know, aligns with them. Because if our ultimate girls trip who are major players in their industries and like business women that are brilliant, we were like, guys, we've got stuffies to give away to you. They'd be like, okay, we're not in alignment. These people aren't for us.

Jamie (05:05.177)
I'm going to go.

Jamie (05:29.283)
No.

Dayle Sheehan (05:29.42)
I didn't know until now, but now I know.

Jamie (05:32.398)
Yeah, 100%. I also feel like it's just a good reminder that even if you have spent the money, even if you've planned and you thought it was going to be a good idea and you get the first round of feedback and it's not great, it's not too late to course crack. Like when they got the prototype for the little mini white bunny, somebody should have spoken up and said like, yeah, you know, I know we've put a lot of time and energy and effort into this so far, but I don't know that we've got the right fit here.

Dayle Sheehan (05:42.166)
Yeah. Yeah, exactly.

Dayle Sheehan (05:48.088)
Totally.

Dayle Sheehan (05:52.545)
Yeah.

Dayle Sheehan (05:59.768)
Mm-hmm.

Jamie (06:02.2)
You know?

Dayle Sheehan (06:02.67)
Well, and the Olympics is tough because their athletes are everybody from teenagers to like, think the oldest, I read something about, I don't know which team it was, but they had like a 40-ish year old man on their hockey team. And so it's like, have potentially like a 16 or 17 year old girl in gymnastics or something, you know, or in skiing.

Jamie (06:25.785)
I'm here to tell you most 17 year olds aren't interested in this stuff either.

Dayle Sheehan (06:30.627)
for sure. But at least there's a chance they might keep it in their room for two years. Whereas like, the middle aged man is going to just be like, what do I do it? Do I even bring this home? Or do I leave it in the hotel? You know, so I think that the the concept of like, knowing your audience is, and I know this niche down, you know, you hear from all the experts.

Jamie (06:43.234)
Mm-hmm.

Dayle Sheehan (06:56.236)
You have to niche, you have to niche, you have to make sure you know who you're talking to. And as much as I like fight it in my own businesses, I'm like, well, I'll make a website for almost any business. There's a lot of businesses. But mine isn't necessarily like a specific person. It is a specific set of problems though. It is people who don't know how to make it themselves. They don't like what they've made already.

They want it to be high end, but they can't get there, you know, blah, blah, blah. So I have like, I do have a very clear list of things that all my clients have in common and why they choose me. And so this idea that like getting to be like, sell to everyone. And so that could mean somebody that's a child who wants to stuff to animal, or that could mean somebody who, you know, whatever.

But for the most part, my people are business people. Obviously, they need a website.

Jamie (07:58.33)
Here's an example of brilliant marketing for the same thing. McDonald's has cornered the market on giving free stuffies or free toys that are literally penny junk away. And they've cornered the market so well that they are the biggest toy distributor in the world. They are not a toy company. They don't even charge for the toys. Yet they're the biggest distributor in the entire world. So they have taken

Dayle Sheehan (08:05.23)
Mm-hmm.

Dayle Sheehan (08:10.232)
Yes.

Dayle Sheehan (08:20.248)
Exactly.

Dayle Sheehan (08:24.034)
Yes.

Jamie (08:28.237)
this concept and done it perfectly because they know their audience. So I think it's also really important that we acknowledge that there's a right and a wrong way to do it. And when you do know your audience and you do cater towards their needs, how powerful that can be. Cause I don't know a child on the planet that would turn down like a happy meal.

Dayle Sheehan (08:32.206)
Mm-hmm.

Dayle Sheehan (08:41.827)
Yes!

for sure.

Dayle Sheehan (08:48.898)
Well, and they pick it because of the Happy Meal. know, if you're like, would you like to go to this fast food or McDonald's? They pick McDonald's because they know they're getting the little box with the fancy little handles with the M's and then they're inside, there's the special surprise and they don't know what one they're gonna get. And they've also cornered the like mystery box. They were the original mystery mini, you know, concept because it was like, am I gonna get the same?

Jamie (08:51.489)
Of course.

Jamie (09:06.809)
Mm-hmm.

Jamie (09:12.779)
Yeah. Collect them all. You don't know what you're gonna get.

Dayle Sheehan (09:17.772)
Yeah, the same guy I already got or I'm gonna get the new one that I want. So you keep going back till I get the new one you want. Yeah, it is brilliant. And honestly, I encourage everybody to go away from this podcast today and make sure you have a very, very clear list of who is your client, who is your ideal client and what else appeals to them that you could connect with them on because

Jamie (09:24.089)
Mm-hmm.

Jamie (09:41.401)
Mm-hmm.

Dayle Sheehan (09:47.252)
If you're thinking it's going to be stuffed animals and you're in the luxury, you know, whatever business. Yeah, it's probably not stuffed animals. It's something else. You know, it's it's beautiful restaurants. It's high end travel. It's fancy clothes and purses and accessories and jewelry and watches. Those are their other common interests. And those are the things that you can

Jamie (09:54.851)
Not business.

Dayle Sheehan (10:16.874)
share with them, you know, or do your marketing around.

Jamie (10:18.871)
Yeah.

Absolutely. I was just gonna say, when I do get a freebie though, that hits. I love it. For instance, I was at a golf tournament and I was given a little mini clip-on sunscreen that snaps onto your golf bag. And I was like, oh my God, that is so good. I'm just trying to think of other freebies where I was like, wow, that really...

Dayle Sheehan (10:29.132)
Yes. Yes.

Jamie (10:48.697)
Like for such a small amount of money that it might have cost the business, it has turned my whole perception of the experience around. Like here's a great example. A couple of weekends ago I was traveling and a friend of mine gave me an Air Canada pass. So basically they put onto my itinerary their travel status. I don't often fly Air Canada and we got to go to this little like grab and go section of the airport. So like not the standard Air Canada lounge, but just a grab and go.

Dayle Sheehan (11:08.078)
Okay.

Jamie (11:17.879)
and they have like a little bag for you to fill with all of the grab and go stuff that they have there. So they had chips and nuts and like Vietnamese salad rolls and salads and breakfast sandwiches, bagels, muffins, cookies, like literally anything you wanted, it was all ready to grab and go. And they encourage you to fill up like a little tiny grocery bag full of all the snacks you want to have on the plane. I literally...

Dayle Sheehan (11:32.93)
It's everything, yeah.

Dayle Sheehan (11:41.518)
which is so against the lounge culture in all airports. They're like, nothing is to go. You have to consume it inside. You get a glass, you know, like, which is nice if you're ready to sit down for a while, but sometimes you just have to quickly get something and get moving. So it's like you take like a little handful of like pretzels, cause nothing's in a bag. Nothing has a to go cup, nothing. Good for them.

Jamie (11:44.675)
Totally.

Jamie (11:51.118)
Yes.

Jamie (12:03.096)
Yes.

But I'm telling you, it left that experience, like the flight was fine, it was a 35 minute flight, it was the same flight I could have taken on any other airline. But because I got to go to the grab and go and get all of this stuff, I left like a believer. Like I was like, okay, you know what? I probably need to get like a Air Canada visa or a MasterCard or, you know, I gotta get a travel rewards credit card that's linked to Air Canada. All of a sudden, my thoughts about Air Canada had just...

Dayle Sheehan (12:11.758)
Yeah.

Dayle Sheehan (12:16.918)
Yeah. Yep.

Yes.

Jamie (12:34.425)
flipped on their head, like I was immediately wanting to be their customer. And isn't that amazing how marketing can just pull you in, you know? So, yeah.

Dayle Sheehan (12:42.198)
Yeah, for sure, for sure. I don't have a ton of like freebies that I've thought, wow, what a great giveaway, unless they are super useful to me. Because I don't care about, like if I love your concealer and then I get a hundred little creams and night creams, I don't want it. I don't want the clutter in my drawer. I don't want.

Jamie (13:05.616)
yeah, I know I remember that.

Dayle Sheehan (13:10.636)
And I know there's people who are like, I won't leave Sephora without every sample that they offer. And I'm like, please don't give me the samples. I'll waste them. Like I'm just gonna give them away or throw them in the garbage. I always have like good intentions when I do take them that I'm like, I'm gonna use the side cream. And I don't. I know it's one of those things I probably should, but I'm not. don't, you know, I'm like, the little packet ends up in the corner of my drawer and...

Jamie (13:14.713)
It's not you.

Dayle Sheehan (13:39.084)
Then when I go to clean out the drawer, I'm like, God, get rid of this stuff. I don't even know what it is. So, and I know they spend lots of money on those.

Jamie (13:42.425)
Mm-hmm.

Here's an example of things that like I don't like clutter and I like the brands that I like and all of that but I went to my dentist and had some work done in my mouth and so your mouth is open and your lips get chapped and all the things and then he when I left he gave me a chapstick like a brand new chapstick to take and I was like wow unbelievable service. It's so useful in the moment and he knows that his ideal customer

Dayle Sheehan (14:05.42)
Yeah, because it's so useful in the moment. Yeah. Yes.

Jamie (14:13.113)
is someone who's coming to get work done on their mouth and they're leaving with chapped lips from having their mouth open and vacuumed and sucked and all, you know, all the things. So I wouldn't accept the free lipstick from Sephora, but I will accept the chapstick from my dentist. So like the same product, I could be a no and a yes for, it depends on my needs and where I am, what I'm doing, you know? So I just think that...

Dayle Sheehan (14:15.96)
Okay.

Dayle Sheehan (14:19.936)
Yeah, exactly.

Dayle Sheehan (14:27.068)
No, I know.

Dayle Sheehan (14:34.038)
Exactly.

Dayle Sheehan (14:38.062)
Exactly.

Jamie (14:40.833)
If you saw a business and you're like, wow, that's brilliant. You know, the Olympics saw what McDonald's did there and they thought we're going to take that. It's a great idea. And it's not a great idea for them.

Dayle Sheehan (14:46.36)
Yeah. It's not, it's just not a one size fits all solution for anything. Yes.

Jamie (14:52.779)
It's not a one size fits And when you're looking at your own business, just because you saw that it works so well for somebody else, doesn't mean that it's going to work so well for you. You really have to look at who your ideal audience is and what their wants and needs are in that moment. So.

Dayle Sheehan (15:10.296)
For sure. You know who's a great example of this? So Browse by Kira, Unity Collective, whole entity, her whole business that she has, a long time ago, she did this huge giveaway and it was like amazing. The things she gave away were like incredible. But they all tied back to who she is of things that she loves that obviously resonated with her audience because

She shares, even though she's an esthetician and does microblading and things like that and owns this beautiful spa, she was giving away her favorite cookware because she's always showing what she's making for her kids' lunch, what she's making for dinner. That's a daily thing that she shares with us that is brilliant because we want to know.

Jamie (15:54.84)
you

Dayle Sheehan (16:06.304)
even if we didn't think we wanted to know, and I've literally never made any of her recipes, I've written her and been like, give me the recipe. And then she gives it to me. And I've never made one, because I never make special suffers, because I hate that, it's not fun for me. But these beautiful like cookware sets and all the stuff that she genuinely loves, the people that follow her,

Jamie (16:13.729)
I'm with you.

Dayle Sheehan (16:30.572)
are like, well, I do need new pots and pans and or new, you know, cookware or whatever it was. And that's the most adorable color with the gold handles and blah, blah, blah, you know, really nice stuff. And I get why you'd be like, I got to enter into this contest, know, not only get the free browse, not only get the because the grand prize had like a whole bunch of amazing things that might have had an iPad, like there was all this great stuff.

Jamie (16:51.021)
Yes.

Dayle Sheehan (16:59.462)
And I'm like, that's how you do it. That's how you grow an audience or get people on your mailing list or market to people outside of just selling them something directly that you sell. But if I were to out of the blue be like, I've got this cookware. I guess it's good. I don't cook. Or like I make like the most simple things that with cookware that's whatever. Like I have nice cookware, but it's just not.

Jamie (17:04.995)
You hear me?

Jamie (17:12.803)
Mm-hmm.

Dayle Sheehan (17:28.878)
important to me. It's not and it's not even part of my personal identity. you know, it's you know what it is. It's part of my like house's identity. It looks great on the stove because it matches everything and it's nice but like I would never think to tell anybody if it works well. I have no idea if it works better or worse than somebody else but it looks cute and like that's important to me because I like aesthetics and interior design obviously.

Jamie (17:29.005)
No, that's not part of your brand identity.

Jamie (17:33.889)
No. No.

Jamie (17:55.841)
if you came into my cooker, you'd be like, wow, that's well used. Not really that nice, but...

Dayle Sheehan (17:59.758)
Yeah, and that's part of your personal bread.

That's part of your personal brand, just like five meals a day and really scratched up pots and pans. Yeah.

Jamie (18:08.537)
my god. Yep. Yep, it is. Okay, well, this has been fun and...

Dayle Sheehan (18:15.66)
Yeah, and I honestly want to hear from you guys if you know your audience and if you've ever missed the mark on who you thought your audience was and then we're like, no, they didn't buy that at all. They didn't think that was a great idea at all. You know, or this totally hit and this is what we have in common and this is our like side gig together. We all love travel or we all love cooking or whatever.

Jamie (18:32.631)
Yeah.

Jamie (18:40.419)
Yeah.

Jamie (18:46.743)
Yeah, so if you want, I'll just finish her thoughts and she left it hanging there. So if you have a story that you would like to share with us about something that worked or didn't work in your business, we want to hear it. Like we want to hear all of the fails and of course all of the wins too. Until next time guys, bye.

Dayle Sheehan (18:50.35)
I know.

Dayle Sheehan (19:07.787)
Have a great week, bye bye.