At first blush, it would appear that brand-building and filmmaking have little in common. Brand-building is rooted in reality, providing consumers with emotional and rational benefits for using a product or service. Hollywood blockbusters are rooted in fantasy, providing people with an avenue for escape from the doldrums of everyday life.
Yet, at their core, both brand-building and movie-making are about crafting powerful images that strongly engage consumers. Perhaps we can learn something useful from Hollywood after all, especially where the medium meets the message.
Indeed, the post-recession rebound of television, coupled with rapidly maturing digital and mobile segments, present brand marketers with a wealth of media opportunities. Unfortunately, too many brands put the cart before the horse: In their desire to seize all avenues of connecting with consumers, they’re frequently more focused on the communication channel at the expense of the message.
This is exactly what happened in Hollywood right after the 3D movie craze started. When James Cameron’s fantasy epic Avatar landed in movie theaters in December of 2009, it heralded not just a new benchmark for blockbuster films but also a new era of three-dimensional filmmaking. The runaway success of Avatar prompted studios to develop and promote 3D movies agressively. And why not? The 3D movies gave consumers a compelling new reason to leave their home theaters and make a trip to the mall. The experience attributed to 3D movies also allowed theaters to charge more for tickets.
Movie-making in three dimensions represented the harnessing of a disruptive technology to create something new for both filmmakers and audience members. After the success of Avatar, it seemed like 3D represented the future of filmmaking — the next evolution for Hollywood — and that most, if not all, major films would be released in 3D.
This perception lasted about four months — until the April, 2010 release of the re-make of Clash of the Titans. On one level, the Clash of the Titans was a hit, if not a critical success. But it was a failure in one very important regard: as a 3D movie event. Unlike Avatar, which was fully filmed in 3D, Clash of the Titans was shot in a traditional manner and then converted to 3D to capitalize on the trend. Consumers (without necessarily grasping the technical reasons) immediately realized that something was wrong — that Avatar’s 3D was different and better than Clash’s muddled picture.
Avatar succeeded because at its core it was a good movie. The story, acting, direction and visual aesthetic were all strong and appealed to a wide audience. Filming it in 3D certainly enhanced the experience of Avatar, but it was a successful movie in its own right. In other words, the core communication message took precedence over the communication tool.
Clash of the Titans, on the other hand, was a mediocre movie that hastily adopted 3D with the hope that consumer excitement over 3D films would obscure the fact that it was fundamentally a flawed product. In this case, the communication tool took precedence over the core communication message.
The repercussions were immediate. Consumers became slightly more cognizant of the fact that not all 3D is created equal. Movie studios realized that 3D, while always tempting from a revenue stand-point, was best served as a tool to be used judiciously — at least if they wanted to maintain a good relationship with their audiences.
Tools Versus Messages
As marketers, we’ve also experienced the effects of disruptive technology over the last 15 years, to put it mildly. In less than two decades, the internet has gone from novelty to ubiquity. It has completely changed the relationship between content creators and distributors, between marketing agencies and their clients, and between brands and consumers.
Initially, the internet was approached with trepidation by marketers, as the old models of reach and frequency, return-on-investment and impressions was ill-suited for the new digital frontier. Now, the internet is revered by marketers, with social media providing an “unfiltered” channel for brands to connect with consumers, even if the return-on-investment models aren’t yet completely ironed out. But the risk we face is that brand marketers, like the movie studios, will confuse the tools of marketing (for example, social media) with the communication itself.
In other words, social media can be a wonderful communication tool if brands actually have something to say (and are interested in listening to consumers). Furthermore, just because social media is the newest communications tool doesn’t mean it’s the right tool for your brand’s message, nor does it invalidate the benefits of other tools. Just as radio learned to coexist with television and print with radio, social media, mobile, digital and all forms of interactive marketing (including those we don’t even know about yet) will find their rightful place in the overall communications mix. After the initial excitement wears down, a proper balance will be found. In any case, who would want to limit themselves to engaging with consumers in one dimension when they can be grabbed in three?
As Avatar proved, even today’s jaded and cynical consumer can still be surprised and engaged — it just takes something innovative and compelling to capture their imagination. Its success also suggests that marketers have a real opportunity to build brand equity by harnessing all three dimensions of communications. Specifically:
One-to-one communications include live media (events), direct, and various forms of digital marketing. The greatest benefit of one-to-one communications is the ability to tailor your brand’s message to the intended target. Rather than sending a general message to everyone, you can increase relevance (and ultimately impact) by telling consumers exactly how your brand is meaningful in their daily lives.
The only downside of one-to-one communications is that it requires a deep understanding of the individual consumer, and that can be expensive. Brands also need to ensure that individual messages are harmonious with all aspects of the brand’s overall personality and positioning. The key is to identify which of your brand’s equities are most pertinent to the person you’re connecting with at that moment.
One-to-many communications are typified by traditional channels like television, radio, print and out-of-home. The benefit of one-to-many communications is the ability to reach a large number of people with a consistent brand message. Since a large number of people are exposed to the same message, there is a greater chance that a compelling message/creative execution can enter the cultural conversation and gain prominence far beyond the intended target audience, while also increasing the brand’s relevance and likability.
We can all recall the classic advertising campaigns that seem to transcend advertising and become cultural reference points. Even today, people still reference “Where’s the Beef?” or “Whassup?” as those iconic campaigns struck a nerve and became part of our common language and culture.
Two-way communications, also known as social media, is the current belle of the ball, and for good reason. Social media gives brands and consumers an opportunity to interact with each other in a direct and transparent way. Of course, for the two-way communication to become a true conversation, both parties have to listen as well as talk. We are still inventing new and innovative uses for social media, but one thing is clear: it is an amazing platform for customer service.
While it may be painful for brands to hear negative feedback from consumers, smart brands are demonstrating how listening and addressing consumer issues is a powerful way for them to win brand advocates and demonstrate their brand values. Additionally, social media provide an excellent opportunity for brands to engage those brand advocates in fun and rewarding ways.
Four Steps to Success
Communicating in three dimensions is all about leveraging every available communications channel in an integrated and consistent manner. Follow these four steps and you’ll be on your way to multidimensional sucess: 1) Develop a clear and concise communications platform for your brand; 2) Determine how your brand is most relevant to your consumers’ lives; 3) Identify communications channels that allow your brand to connect one-to-one, one-to-many and two-way; and 4) Customize your message so there is true integration between the message and the medium.
There’s an old saying in the business that there are no new ideas. That might be true, but there are always new ways of looking at old ideas, and new solutions for old problems. Continuing advancements in communications have given us more avenues for connecting with consumers, but also more complexity and more chances to take a wrong turn.
Ultimately, our job is to share with consumers a brand image that is relevant, engaging and motivating enough for them to welcome us into their lives and foster an ongoing relationship. The best way for us to accomplish this goal is through consistency (of message) and integration (of communications platforms).
There are times when consumers will benefit from a broadly delivered message that reinforces their place in our shared culture. There are times when consumers will desire to be spoken to directly, in a way that addresses their specific needs. And there are times when consumers will want to have a real conversation with the brand.
The key is that these are not mutually-exclusive concepts. We’ve just got to make sure that we have a great story to tell — and keep the “special-effects” budget under control. 
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