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Fifteen Hundred and Fifty-Nine Words on Branding
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While we’re here I’d like to take a moment to state how much I think that the terms “disruptive” and “startup” have been over used, beaten to death to the point where they no longer have signal strength. They have become just so much a part of the noise and, as such, no longer deliver the message they once offered. Aside from that, the term “disruptive” also carries a negative connotation, i.e. “disruptive children”, while “startup” has become shorthand for: “We have a baller idea, no assets, and are looking for funding.” A company would be better served, startup or otherwise, if their messaging tended more towards the positive and proactive with a resolute focus that inspires the recipient to dreams of “What Ifs” and “Why Nots”. I suggest we write new code or mine from ancient code to create our own brand of meme that immediately sets us apart from the rabble. Using terms like “innovative” or “evolutionary” and “genesis” or “igniter”, while conveying the same information, has an immediate positive affect and better cuts through the noise to deliver your signal to audience. It also shows that you are not part of the herd of disruptive startups – that you strive to deliver something unique, additive, a distinctive product that really is the genesis of an innovative evolutionary igniter.
The Value of Words – From Hieroglyphs to Emoticons
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When Gutenberg invented the printing press he revolutionized the written word by democratizing the medium. To understand the magnitude of what he did, try to imagine something like a worldwide network of information that anyone could access – oh wait, that would be the Internet. Of course when Gutenberg invented his press there was ninety-five percent illiteracy in the world so it really didn’t open up the markets he had hoped for, but it did set the stage for the eventual devaluation of words. Now before the Gutester came along books were only afforded to the realm of the very wealthy – it took rooms full of monkish scribes daily toiling to craft the tomes of the times by hand. So, as an author, if you had a printing run of, say, seven you were on the best sellers list.
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How to Create Brand Loyalty
How can we create Brand Loyalty?
Let’s take a page from a company that I believe most people have a passing acquaintance, Starbucks. The success that Starbucks has achieved: Coming straight out of Seattle and growing to ubiquitous world domination that will most likely see its morphing into a chain of upscale sit-down Bistros that no longer serve coffee, is truly amazing. Yet their success is based upon simple brain hacks that led to the creation of what could be termed “The Cult of Starbucks”. (And, along the way, ruined a perfectly good 25¢ cup of “Joe”, free refills, with a $2.00 cup – sans refills) This was accomplished by using a term substitution reprograming method – Tall, Grande, or Venti anyone? You ever notice how they patiently, and subtly correct anyone who ordered small, medium, or large – as if we were all children? All by design. Once you know the language you are already part of the culture - you're vested. But, there is more to it than just that. Your Call is Important to Us –
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How do you build a better filmmaker?
In this age of "The Digital Revolution", where a film school degree has become the most over saturated under performing scholastic ROI since the English Lit major and anyone with a smartphone is the next burgeoning Besson, one needs to develop and hone a larger sense of craft in order to rise above the hoi polloi and execute at the level of art. To achieve this stage of artistic functionality one needs to evolve their understanding of the form by gaining a more than workable understanding of the many elements that make up the medium, to be a master interpreter of the language of film.
In other words: To be a filmmaker in this age one needs to be a jack of all trades and a master of some. Yet, more than that, one needs to be a teller of tales, the village shaman around the digital fire of mass media, weaving intricate patterns of content and context into the modern day myths that resolve into the touchstones of humanity's subconscious emotional network. One needs to orchestrate the convergence of light and shadow, sight and sound, action and emotion into a cohesive matrix of compelling narrative that at once satisfies while also leaving the audience wanting for more. It's either that or finding someone who shows up to set on time, somewhat sober, and who can put together at least three coherent words in a sentence. Hollywood is DEAD!
Break out the chalk lines and body bags we got another creative industry biting the dust. Oh sure, you can still find it walking around, talking and doing business just like it always has but that’s because, like a punch drunk stumble bum who’s just taken the last one of too many shots to the cranium and lurches blindly towards his corner not realizing that the tingly feeling in his head and the triple vision is from bursting blood vessels that will soon rend him from non compos mentis to the big sleep, it just doesn’t know it yet. I’m not talking about the recent labor troubles here, although they could be construed as the first of an alarming increase in bloody phlegm on the handkerchief for what one had believed to be just a cold, but now is giving worrisome signs of being something a tad bit more insidious. Don’t get me wrong, I love Hollywood, always have. It has been the dream factory world champ for a hundred years give or take. No one could touch it and for good reason. It had two formidable weapons that secured its place in the pantheon and guaranteed that if you wanted to make a movie you had to do it in or through Hollywood. Don't worry I'm not going to use the old left right combo metaphor here.
If we define Hollywood by these two aspects we come up with something like: Blowing Up Your Brand
What’s it take to create Brand in the realm of popular culture?
Cementing a brand into the zeitgeist of a culture is not that easy yet, not an insurmountable task either – it just takes a little science and magic. There are some key ingredients that, although they will not alone guarantee success, will set a sturdy foundation with which to build success from. The first, and most important, (taking a page from “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”) Making Videos Viral
How can we make a “Viral Video”?
You can’t. Anyone who tells you they can create a viral video should have a great deal of distance put between them and you. They may make a video that goes viral, but… you get the idea. There are some guidelines that can be used in creating compelling content that will, if not make a video viral, produce messaging to engage and compel your audience in ways that really matter – actionable results and brand development. THE NUMBERS GAME
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