Blockbuster Marketing

In anticipation of the summer blockbuster movie season, trailers have been playing for quite awhile now. The biggest stars, the biggest budgets, the most thrilling, action-packed, and special effects laden shows will all coalesce into a few short months vying for our dollars, our attention, and our word-of-mouth advertising.

I’ll freely admit, I love movies. I love going to the movies. And I especially love movie trailers. They are usually the best parts of the movie, carefully edited and packaged to create the most excitement and anticipation for the film. And, usually, it works.

I was thinking about the marketing we do for non profits, and how we could take a page from what Hollywood is doing.

1. Direct Appeal
Rarely do you watch a movie trailer and not get a pretty good idea as to what that movie is all about. It’s typically pretty clear if the movie is designed to scare you, make you laugh or cry, if it is going to be an action-packed romp, or a thriller that keeps you guessing till the last minute. And, typically, you as an audience member immediately know if that is something you want to see.

2. Emotionally Engaging
All movies trailers are designed to engage us emotionally. Execs know that emotions are at the heart of our purchase decisions and that our brains are wired to remember and recall things from an emotional perspective. Trailers engage us at the deepest core of who we are, what we believe, what our triggers are, and even how we want to feel about things.

3. Integrated Messaging
Movie trailers, posters, advertisements – online or offline – all use an integrated approach. First and foremost they try to keep the emotional connection built from the trailer in all their materials. Messaging is designed to tell a story and as you experience various mediums you get various parts of the same story. Typically there is no disconnect between any of the mediums used to promote a movie.

4. Adaptability
When a movie trailer is launched to the public, the messaging and promotional materials have usually been tested, either by using prior stats on similar successes, or by using focus groups and audience panel feedback. But after the launch, as a wider audience reacts to the upcoming movie, sometimes the message is modified to respond to critics or acclaim. The ability to quickly adapt to audience response is critical to the success of a movie launch.

5. Staged Roll Out
Movies are stories and as the time for the movie’s premiere date, more parts of the story are typically released to the target audience. This helps to maintain interest and momentum going into opening weekend as trailers can be in theaters as much as a year prior to the release of the film. Keeping audiences engaged for that time take a thoughtful roll out of the various story elements.

Okay, so as we think through our own marketing, one challenge for us is to think like a movie producer and find ways to tell an engaging story in stages. As we reveal threads of our story, we can do so by integrating different channels into the mix, and work to ensure our consistent message remains adaptable as we receive feedback. The whole goal here is to build anticipation, excitement, and word-of-mouth buzz for our premiere. And, as we get acclaim after the launch, we immediately tie that into our messaging.

I don’t think there’s any reason to wait for an event to start adding some of these elements into your marketing. So, why not try integrating these ideas into your existing marketing programs and see if you can’t create some blockbuster marketing of your own.

I’d love to hear how things work out if you try this approach. And, if you think I’ve missed an important element, let me know so others can consider adding it into their mix as well.

And, this summer, I'll see YOU at the movies!

-- David Kinard, PCM

Tough Times Marketing: 3 Things to Do Now

I ran across some notes from my interview with Martin Lindstrom, author of the fascinating book Buy*ology. Martin did some breakthrough work in studying how the brain reacts to marketing messages and how some messages bypass our filters and directly influence what we do, and what we believe. You can listen to the interview here.

I remember asking Martin what a marketer could do TODAY to get frugal buyers to let loose of their purse strings. Whether you’re a local supermarket, non profit shelter feeding the homeless, or a retail store in the mall, Martin’s advice applies.

Link to Something.

Our brains are desperate to make meaning out of the world. It’s hard to store independent information, and nearly everything our brain does has an emotional component to it. Thus, linking your message or marketing event to something already going on creates meaning to the recipient. The most common links are to holidays, anniversaries, or seasonal events. But you don’t have to be so obvious. The goal is to add a meaningful link to the marketing message, so while you’re being creative in your efforts, just keep in mind that obscure links won’t help.

Be provocative.

Let me be candid here. Way too much of what marketing produces is bland, vanilla, and wordsmithed so as not to offend anyone. If that describes you, then you’ve lost your ability to competitively position your product or service. Being provocative doesn’t mean you have to sell skin, sex, and the naughty – it does mean you have to take a stand and be willing to make a claim. In a study done by Doug Hall, he found that messages which were overt and obvious had a 75% increase in their success rate. So, what can you say or do that will make your message stand out (again, with meaning) and cause someone to undoubtedly know what your point is?

Create a semantic marker.

Linking the prior two items together, semantic markers indicate the relationship between statements. Think of it as a mental pivot point: in contrast, thus, because, however, as a result, and furthermore are all common examples of semantic markers. So, in your messaging semantic markers force you to not only make your statement, but think of the outcome or result. I like to think of this as asking what is the outcome of the outcome. Sure your product does X, but what does X get me? If your product saves time, then what can I do with that extra time? Just make sure your semantic markers are about me, not you or your product. I don’t care that your service is faster than the competition – I care about what your fast service means to me AND AS A RESULT what that outcome is.

Again, whether you’re for profit, non profit, B:B, B:C, or anywhere in between, these three simple steps are going to help you increase the power and potency of your messaging. For more information, be sure to listen to my free podcast interview with Martin.

-- David Kinard, PCM

(image credit: National Archives and Records Administration)

Who Wins in a Tough Economy?

J. Walker Smith, president of the Yankelovich MONITOR, recently wrote in an article for Marketing Management, that “[T]he sure winners in any recession are companies that invent more efficient ways to deliver benefits to customers. These companies win because what they pioneer becomes the new way things are done.” Although Smith may have some logic to this statement, I think he’s way off base. The truest winners in a tough economy are those companies who ALL ALONG provided superior value to the customer. Not those who innovated efficiencies.

It may be an issue of the chicken and the egg – which comes first. For Smith, he says that in good times “a rising tide lifts all boats.” While I certainly agree with that, and have for years said that money covers a multitude of mistakes, I don’t agree that it is innovation during a recession that separates out the efficient from the rest of the pack. Take for example the good people at your local grocery store or the corner breakfast café that is always packed. These people are not huge innovators or efficiency mongers. On the contrary, there is likely a lot they could be doing better according to Smith’s model. But what separates them out is the intimate value they bring to their customers and relationships.

Perhaps if you’re big and bloated, then innovation and efficiency certainly helps to cut costs and find savings while consumers pull back on their spending. But that’s isn’t true success – it’s only refining your business in the areas that should have been addressed while you were on your way up. I call that “paving as you go.” But those companies that have taken the time to develop deep insight into their customers’ core desires, and know how to link and deliver meaningful value to those desires – those are the companies that thrive in a down economy.

During this recession, I still see people at restaurants, the movie theaters, plays, bars, sports events, and in hotels. It’s not that we’ve stopped spending, but we’re only spending on those companies that make us feel good, tap into our hopes and dreams, and deliver consistent value for our scarce dollars. So, I’d say to Smith that if your company is focusing on innovation and efficiency, you’re still going to be behind the true leaders – those whose focus has always been on value delivery.

-- David Kinard, PCM

Lessons Learned are Not Rocket Science

I was reading through the April 15 edition of the American Marketing Association’s magazine Marketing News; sifting through their coverage of the Mplanet marketing conference held in January of this year. Luminaries of all types were present as speakers. I didn’t attend, but the special section listed four key lessons marketers need to learn for 2009 and beyond.

1. In a tough economy, innovation is king.
2. Effective marketing must begin with customer engagement
3. Nurture and build your brand
4. For B:B, engagement and retention are key

I’ll admit, I was surprised that this was the list of key takeaways. I mean, duh! Any marketer who has been paying attention for the last 2-3 years could have pulled these themes out as important. In fact, I would guess that about 50 books have been written on these four subjects in the past five years, so none of these lessons should be a surprise.

However, what strikes me as notable is that these key lessons CONTINUE to be key lessons; which means either marketers are not getting it, or the playing field keeps changing and we are having to reboot back to the basics. Or, it’s a bit of both.

I am reminded of a book title by Harvey McKay, Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty. In his book he is primarily referring to building your network prior to needing it, but in many ways that thought is the umbrella lesson for the four noted above. This tough economy is NOT the best time to begin working on these issues. If you’re just now starting on innovation, customer engagement, brand building, or retention strategies, you’ll be pushing rope uphill and against the tide. Those companies and marketers who did this important work before the economy tanked are much better suited to the situation and may just be the ones to knock you out of the game.

You can click here for more Mplanet wrap up coverage.

-- David Kinard, PCM

[photo: screen shot of Mplanet 2009 Web site.]