The Mario Marketing Framework

The Mario Marketing Framework, coined by Shaan Puri, is a simple way to think about marketing. It helps you focus on what really matters — your customer's transformation.

Your Customer = Little Mario, one bad move away from failure.

Your Product = An Item Mario can use

The Result = Big Mario, shooting fireballs and beating everyone.

Most businesses make the mistake of talking too much about their product. Instead, focus on how your product improves your customer’s life.

Show them the version of themselves they can become after using your product.

As Kathy Sierra wisely said, "Upgrade your user, not your product."

Examples of "The Mario Marketing Framework"

Let’s look at some real-world examples of how this framework applies to different businesses.

1. Jasper AI (AI Copywriting Platform)

Jasper AI helps users create ads, copy, captions, and more with ease.

• Little Mario: A content creator stuck trying to write ad copy.

• Big Mario: A content creator who produces high-quality ad copy in seconds, tests multiple versions quickly, and increases revenue effortlessly.

2. Speak (Language Learning App)

Speak is a language learning app that gets you talking by using AI Voice Tutor.

• Little Mario: Someone nervous about learning a new language like Korean.

• Big Mario: Someone who confidently speaks Korean with native speakers and enjoys movies or shows without needing subtitles.

3. Headspace (Meditation and Mindfulness App)

Headspace helps users reduce stress, improve focus, and sleep better through guided meditation.

• Little Mario: A stressed person feeling overwhelmed and unable to focus.

• Big Mario: A calm, focused individual who handles stress easily, sleeps better, and stays present every day.

4. Uber (Ride-Hailing Platform)

Uber makes getting from point A to point B fast and convenient with just a tap on your phone.

• Little Mario: Someone stuck without reliable transportation, feeling frustrated by delays or inconvenience.

• Big Mario: A rider who gets where they need to go quickly and hassle-free with just one tap on their phone.

5. Windsurf (AI-Powered Coding Assistant)

Windsurf is the first AI agent-powered IDE that helps developers code faster and seem more smarter than they actually are.

• Little Mario: A developer wasting time writing repetitive code or fixing bugs under tight deadlines.

• Big Mario: A developer who ships a fully functional SaaS product in 1 day, earning $9k in just 7 hours while spending only $7 on tools.

These examples highlight the transformation from "Little Mario" (a struggling state) to "Big Mario" (an empowered outcome) helping make the customer's life better.

It shifts the focus from your product to your customer’s transformation.

Use Big Mario in your copy, positioning, and messaging and see your conversion rates skyrocket.

Top Tweets of the day

1/

Copywriting with AI is so good if you nail down the formula for it.

Hampton's AI Report had a case where someone published 75 newsletters per week with 4 people instead of 30+ people.

It took me way too long to figure out "how they did it?" but I've finally found the tricks. Will do a mega case study soon.

2/

This is why I find the argument of "22-year old VCs are dumb" weird.

Pattern recognition from seeing thousands of pitches creates practical wisdom that beats theoretical knowledge. Young VCs aren't necessarily inexperienced - they're pattern-matching machines who see more deals in 1 year than most entrepreneurs see in a lifetime. Their value comes from exposure to massive data sets, not just individual brilliance.

You can be any age but if you get 10k+ datapoints on 1 topic, then you are bound to be good. Nobody is so dumb that if you feed them enough data, they won't learn. Just like a child learns a new language in 2-3 years.

VCs get the most data points from different startups so their brain makes easy connections. Just like how Elon transfers his best people from 1 company (Tesla) to another (X AI) due to their practical skills, VCs have a massive advantage due to data points.

Case in point: Ex-VCs launched Copy AI and the same thing happened with Sam Altman, who went from a failed startup founder to a successful VC to a successful founder with OpenAI.

3/

Hot girls marketing strikes again.

Use women in your social channels, customer support, cold calls, outreach, or any customer-facing solution. Its a hack that works.

Heck, even Telegram founder Pavel Durov was honey-trapped by a mystery woman.

Rabbit Holes

1. How I Built It: $12K/Month Micro SaaS by Starter Story

2. How Super Mario Run Onboards New Users by UserOnboard

3. How Super Mario Run Onboards New Users, Part Deux by UserOnboard

What’d ya think of today’s masterpiece? Hit ‘reply’ and let me know—don’t hold back, I can take it (probably). 😜

First time here? Join the cool kids’ club.

Also, I’m on X so follow me to boost my ego.

More Startup Spells 🪄

1. Julia Pintar's Viral Short-Form Strategy (LINK)

2. $1.5m Text-To-Music AI SaaS Growth Playbook (LINK)

3. Volume x Time = Quality (LINK)