I was asked this question on Twitter this morning: “If your brand was a person, who would it be?”, to which my response was Bruce Campbell.
(For anyone who doesn’t know who Bruce Campbell is, he’s a legendary B-movie actor).
Originally my answer was from a fun point of view, because I love the guy – his expressions in his movies crack me up; I’ve just finished reading Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way and it’s a hoot; and the guy is simply part of the teenage years that helped make me who I am today. So, he’s a big influence, if you like.
Yet then I started thinking more about why Bruce stuck out for me, out of all the cheesy actors that I grew up with – and there were many! And that got me to thinking that maybe he had a subconscious part to play in me choosing? marketing as my vocation…
Define the Brand
For any Bruce Campbell fans, you know what you’re going to get. Wisecracks, slapstick humour, cheesy lines, a huge dose of belly laughs and the feeling that the guy he plays will just never get the breaks he deserves. He has a certain style and that’s in every movie he does (even the more serious ones).
If you confuse your customers, you can put them off your product and send them to your competitors. Video game company Sega used to be one of the most successful around – the Genesis is still one of the most successful platforms ever. Then they tried to offer too much.
Add-on platforms like the Sega Mega-CD and 32X, combined with non-clear plans about the future direction of the company, eventually saw them pull out of hardware development and simply become a publisher. Their name was tarnished and they’ve struggled to regain the success they once enjoyed.
Takeaway: Choice is good, but confusion is dangerous. Be innovative but be smart.
Offer Value
If there’s one thing that Bruce Campbell excels at, it’s the after-the-event approach he takes. When a movie’s made, studios usually have the final word on what makes the cut. They also butcher scenes that leaves the viewer asking what the heck was going on there.
When that movie makes its way to DVD, Bruce has shown himself to be more than happy to provide a huge amount of commentary and extras. Check out the DVD versions of the Evil Dead movies, or My Name is Bruce, or The Man with the Screaming Brain, or Bubba Ho-Tep as just some great examples.
Customers (and I’m one too) love value. We don’t mind paying extra if we can see that it’s offering extra value and benefits to us. Or cross market us – that works too. Restaurants offer a movie-and-a-meal deal, for instance, where you pay a set amount, you get a starter and an entree and a free movie ticket. You finish your meal, you go see a movie. Perfect mix for a night out, no?
Takeaway: Cheap can get you fire-sales, but value-added can get you loyalty and repeat business.
Be Your Fans
Maybe it’s because of his B-movie sensibilities, or maybe it’s just because he’s a genuinely nice guy, but Bruce Campbell seems to take extra effort in looking after his fans.
From DVD extras, to the fun he has with them on the road during convention season, to the shout-outs he gives to them in his writing – Bruce is the man when it comes to remembering who put him where he is. The reason? He’s a fan himself – he genuinely loves the B-movie craft and ingenuity and the fans that mix in that genre, and treats fans the way he wants to be treated as a fan too.
If you’re not a fan of either your business or your customers, you may as well pack it in and go work a normal 9-5 job for a non-descript boss somewhere. This is your dream; your baby; the justification of long nights, of hard times and Hamburger Helper meals. But it’s not just you.
Your employees make your success every day. Your customers continue that success. Make them fans too. Make them love your company and product as if it’s one of their own. Involve them; let them help you nurture your baby; offer ideas and feedback. Fans can be fickle, but they can also be incredibly loyal – make sure you’re not the collector of the former.
Takeaway: You can buy success, but earned success will pay back in a hundred-fold.
Marketing can be a funny game. Often you come up with a great idea only to realize it’s not actually all that great after all. The key is adaptability coupled with innovation, yet also tried and trusted methods.
B-movies are very much like this, and the key players involved some of the most creative around because of it. Bruce Campbell epitomizes how lasting appeal can come from the least likely of sources. One of his most popular catchphrases is “Groovy”.
Are you keeping things groovy?
photo credit: blakespot
photo credit: Thorsten Becker