Snakes on a Plane
Posted By Rob Millard - 1 Comments -
Seth Godin has a post titled Thinking About Snakes on a Plane that makes a very important point:
Having everybody know who you are is something very different to having everybody want to buy what you're selling.
For those that missed the hype surrounding the movie, the makers used the internet to get feedback on some scenes and invited those that provided input to a highly publicized pre-release premier. A new, innovative and interesting idea. But the result? Disappointment at the box office. Not much likelihood of an Oscar nomination either.
Maybe it will become a hit when it is released as a DVD. Crappy movies sometimes do.
The same cannot be said of professional services, of course. Crappy service seldom gets a 'second chance.' So much for spending huge effort on name recognition, either. Far better to devote that effort to identifying your key clients and treating them like royalty.
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The classic argument... are $$$ best spent on branding (so people know who you are) or product/business development (so you identify and respect new and existing clients)?
As Rob alluded to, the problem with SOAP is that the emphasis was too heavily on brand development. The film lacks substance. Eveyone knows about the film, but if it's barely worth watching has the hype been worth it? No way.
Before engaging in monstrous marketing campaigns we need to develop and perfect our product and services offerings, and only then can we go to market.
On the other hand though, SOAP did an incredible job of creating a cult following before the first screening ;)