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Using Enemy Marketing To Drive 2M+ Users

the story of dupe.com

“Big furniture is the enemy and they’re scamming you.”

That narrative broke the internet.

It came from a raw founder video that struck a cultural nerve and laid the foundation for one of the most viral brands in home design.

This week, we’re breaking down how @dupe turned outrage into a movement and built a content engine that exposes Big Furniture, drives user growth, & saves people money.

📖 What’s the story?

Most people assume expensive = better.
Dupe flipped that script with a single, undeniable insight:

You’re getting ripped off.

After getting scammed himself, one founder turned frustration into fuel.
The result? A platform that made stylish living affordable, transparent and fun to share.

Dupe didn’t just build a business.
They rallied people around a truth they already felt and offered themselves as the solution.

🧭 What’s the brand narrative?

Narrative: You’re Getting Scammed.

That’s not just a hook — it’s the emotional backbone of Dupe’s brand.

Every post, video, and update stems from this simple truth:

The furniture industry is ripping you off.
They got me too, but I decided to fight back

It’s an Us vs Them rebellion wrapped in internet-native content.

Dupe isn’t trying to compete on features.
They’re building a movement around calling bullsh*t and helping people save money.

⚡ Inflection Point: From Hack to Platform

The brand launched with a bang:

  • A single video exposing a $3,000+ furniture markup

  • Thousands of comments, shares, and “WTF” reactions

  • The founder turning viral momentum into a mission:
    “I fell for their scram. So I built Dupe to fight back.”

From there, the format stayed simple:
→ Call out the outrage
→ Offer the fix
→ Show and tell the solution
→ Become the leader of the rebellion

📌 How do the content pillars feed this?

💥 Enemy Marketing & Myth Busting

  • “Big Furniture is stealing from you”

  • “The entire internet fell for this price scam”
    → Truth bombs designed for rage, relatability, and re-sharing

🎥 Relatable UGC & Creator POV

  • “If you’re furnishing your apartment, you need this”

  • “My interior designer showed me this insane trick”
    → Feels like FaceTime. Converts like a CTA.

🧠 Founder POV with Memeability

  • “Don’t mess with nerds”

  • “I built this because I got scammed first”
    → Not just a company, but a mission people want to support

🎬 How the formats support it

🟪 UGC & Creator POVs
Low fi videos: text overlays & post-it notes
→ Designed for shareability

🟧 Narrative-Led Content
Green screens & talking to camera.
→ Problem → Realization → Fix → Hero (Dupe)
→ It’s a built-in virality loop: educate, entertain, empower
→ Founder is a character in the universe

🟦 Screenshare Tutorials
“Don’t buy a single piece of furniture before you watch this”
→ Seamless product demo inside the story

🔁 The Growth Flywheel

Outrage drives:
Relatability + Shares
Traffic
New Users
Savings for Users
More Share-ability

Every product use case is content.
Every shared story fuels the next customer.
And every friend helped strengthens the movement.

📊 Proof It’s Working

Dupe now has:
✅ Nearly 500,000 followers
✅ Over 2 million users
✅ Countless “WTF I didn’t know this” comments from people who now do

💡 What You Can Steal

✅ Start with a truth your customer already suspects
→ “You’re being scammed” > “We’re affordable”

✅ Turn the founder story into the emotional wedge
→ People buy mission, not just product

✅ Build an enemy into your brand
→ Conflict = attention. Alignment = trust.

✅ Use UGC to speak to multiple personas
→ Same story, different POVs = more reach

Dupe didn’t go viral by shouting.
They went viral by telling a story and rallying people around a central idea.

So I’ll leave you with this:

Does your business have an enemy?
And if so, are you calling it out clearly enough to rally people around it?

Because once you do...
Your content writes itself.
Your community finds each other.
And your brand becomes a movement.

💬 I’m workshopping the format for these weekly breakdowns. If there’s something you wish I covered or a brand you want featured, hit reply and drop me a note.

Cheers,

Eric

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