15 Aug The Jason Bourne of marketing
Huge budget, magnetic leading man, visionary director, action a plenty and seamless special effects. All the makings of a brilliant action movie. So why is the latest Jason Bourne movie so brain numbingly dull?
If you haven’t seen the movie, it basically starts with an action sequence, finishes with an action sequence and is threaded together with err.. action sequences. Sounds edge of your seat exciting right? Wrong. It was more like Jason Yawn.
No amount of action and CGI could make this latest instalment riveting. I’m no film critic, but I found the movie lacked a clear narrative, was predictable and most importantly, was devoid of any emotional connection with the characters. Zero. So nothing to invest you in their journey. Just a lot of noise.
Marketing campaigns run the same risk if they don’t have one crucial ingredient. You may have a brilliant idea with a healthy budget, well known agencies, visionary creators, plenty of reach, loads of frequency and impressions, but if the customer’s emotional investment isn’t there, it can all fall flat.
An emotional connection isn’t about laugh-out-loud/bawl-your-eyes-out sort of emotions. It’s about a person feeling something positive about your brand. Generally, this response creates a conscious experience. An experience that can be created simple by providing a generous value exchange.
I was once blown away by a brand experience. It was a sunny Saturday morning, I’m in the queue at my favourite local café and I notice there are some promotional people standing right at the counter, interacting with customers. At first I’m seeing red. The last thing I feel like on a relaxing Saturday morning is dealing with people trying to sell me something. And then it got worse. They were from a bank. I nearly walked out.
But the caffeine addiction kept me in the line. When I reached the register I ordered my drinks and went to pay, which is when the promotion person made their move and said, “Excuse me, I’ve got this, we’re shouting breakfast this morning.”
Woah! “What’s the catch?”, I ask.
Nothing at all? OK, you got me, I’m impressed.
And I’m still emotionally invested in this brand. When I see their advertising, I’m not judging the message for the value exchange. I’m automatically reminded of the incredible experience I had at that café on a Saturday morning a few years ago. Their advertising could be the cheapest, nastiest direct response communication and yet I’ll still feel good about it because of that emotional connection they created.
So before you spend big on an advertising campaign, check that you have created sufficient positive experiences with your customers. That way your advertising will work exponentially harder, as you’ll remind them of why they’re emotionally invested in you.
Oh, and if you want to be the iconic Jason Bourne of marketing: avoid making Ultimatums, focus on your brand’s Identity and your brand will have Supremacy. Then you’ll create a Legacy for yourself.