Over the Holiday, I saw the new Star Wars film. I enjoyed it. I was never a huge fan of the originals (and I did not see the prequels), but it was a ripping good yarn and I had a good time.
However, as I reflected upon it, I tried to find connections to what we do as marketers. (I’m always searching for topical subject matter). I am happy to report that my ruminations bore fruit, and I have concluded that this film speaks volumes to marketers.
I know … what an incredible grasp of the obvious. However, I’m not talking about the marketing and advertising of the actual film itself; far be it from me to wade in on that topic … as of this writing, the film has passed the $1B gross sales mark, and they haven’t even started showing it in China—the world’s second largest movie market. I don‘t have a single thing of value to say about that, except … well done.
What I’m talking about is the actual STORY of the film. I can hear you scratching your heads … where is he going with this? Well, if you’ve seen the movie (and if you haven’t, don’t worry … there are no spoilers ahead), you must admit that the cast of characters predictably represents all target-audience segments … with one important difference, and this difference that speaks to the point of this blog.
Consider these characters:
- Rey: The young millennial who lives a Spartan life, searches for meaning, and strives to do good. Her work does not define her, and she covets her individuality
- Finn: Another millennial, but more self-involved and reluctant to move outside of his comfort zone. He is, however, also driven by a desire to contribute something to the world.
- Kylo Ren: The GenXer. Troubled, aware of the world’s faults (and his own), and does NOT want to make the same mistakes his parents made. Disillusioned to the point of self-destruction. To bring him over to the your side (?) is a tough, tough, sell.
- Poe Dameron: Another GenXer. Driven by his job, but less jaded and driven to do good. He is, however, nobody’s fool and is as tough on himself as he is on others.
- Hans Solo & Princess Leia: The Boomers. They’re in charge; they’ve seen it all and are completely focused on their own agendas. Their work defines them, BUT, like the Millennials, they are driven to do good.
Do they all sound familiar? Of course they do … they all fit comfortably into our well-defined audience categories. And of course, this was no accident; the film’s creators know what they’re doing.
However, this film also includes a whole group of characters that help make my point; the Star Wars world, like our own, is filled to overflowing with wildcards … individuals of unknown origins, hidden agendas, and different cultures who do NOT conveniently fit into the Millennial / GenX / Boomer pigeonholes.
Who are they? What do they want? What makes them tick? What are their cultural differences? What are they drinking in that bar? How will this affect how we communicate with them? I wrote about this in a previous blog.
And so, when watching Star Wars, I was reminded that we, as marketers, often fall into the trap of reducing our target audience to a group of archetypes, or worse, stereotypes, and then mount equally predictable interactive marketing campaigns to win them over.
But it isn’t that easy. When it comes to crafting your brand message and creating and implementing your event marketing tactics, our collective target audiences are not so deftly quantified and categorized, and it’s a grave mistake to allow our thinking to get stuck in these new, yet well-worn, ruts.
It’s a diverse world (galaxy?) out there, and it’s important that we remember that our engagement tactics (traditional, digital, interactive, technological, whimsical, etc.) MUST reflect this diversity and take the wildcards into account.
To do otherwise will cause a disruption in the Force.
And of course, when I say “Force,” I mean, profits.