A Face in the Crowd is a 1957 film classic that strikes a chord with many in the entertainment, media and marketing professions. It is the story of a hobo who becomes a media icon with an inflated ego and a false sense of fame and power. It features an all-star cast, legendary director and captivating signature sequences. That’s Hollywood, always a signature sequence – think the Deer Hunter’s wedding scene, Gone with the Wind’s Atlanta Depot burning scene, The Godfather’s baptism scene. I cannot count how many times I’ve seen A Face in the Crowd, but watching it again was like being hit over the head with a silver stick. There it was: an “aha” moment and squad full of marketing insight from a four-minute baton twirling scene. Small businesses, too, can learn a lot from twirling a baton. Here are four signature lessons and references to maximize your marketing momentum.
1. Focus
Many business owners know what they want but do not have a plan, which is a recipe for disaster. A plan, whether or not it is in the form of a list or comprehensive document, holds you accountable and keeps you focused on using time wisely and spending marketing dollars most efficiently. Read LGK’s entire post on marketing focus, which includes five suggestions, here.
2. Agility
The digital era requires companies to move with quickness, fluidness and nimbleness, combining all facets of the operation (e.g., marketing, technology, sales, production, etc.) to meet customer expectations and the needs of the business. Being agile is also about being collaborative, customer-centric and responsive. We have to be able to chew gum and talk at the same time or in drill team terms, toss the stick in the air, turn and catch it without missing a beat. Here’s a post from CMO.com which profiles four brands’ use of agile marketing.
3. Precision
It is tempting to indulge in the smorgasbord of marketing channels and opportunities, but marketing with precision is a well-coordinated drill – a process – to connect customer insight with efforts and ultimately results. According to an excellent overview of precision marketing on marketingsherpa.com, a successful application includes sending the right message to the right person at the right time in the right channel. Read this overview to sharpen your strategy.
4. Timing
It is pretty obvious here. Try throwing a baton in the air with no sense of control – it drops. The same is true for marketing. Timing is everything, from plan development, implementation, execution and evaluation. It is central to your success and vital to optimizing exposure and customer engagement. Here are five tips to create a timely marketing strategy via marketingthink.com’s Gerry Moran.
So there you have it, a purely professional, yet somewhat self-serving and hopefully helpful post linking a silver stick to marketing insight – that is what happens over a long holiday weekend. In the spirit of full disclosure, I am an unabashed classic film buff and former “Twirl Girl” who served as captain of her high school squad.
Have any childhood confessions and marketing insight to share? Feel free to reveal your thoughts in the comments section of this post. In the meantime, here’s that mesmerizing signature sequence from A Face in the Crowd.
GB O’Brien
Principal, LGK
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