It is not joke when your business creates a product or service that proves difficulty to market. You sift thorugh dozens of different marketing strategies until you find the right one. You find that there doesn’t seem to be a right one. There are no easy catch phrases, slogans, or pieces of information that will attract your targeted consumer.
There are times when the subject of the product or service is such that it is difficult to create a viral element. It is tough to create a desire or to market in such a way your targeted consumers perceive the need. If you delay your marketing campaign you may let your window of opportunity slip out of sight. If you market incorrectly, you may create the kind of disaster that costs ten times the initial campaign amount to recover, if you can recover at all.
The entertainment industry has for years been faced with this problem. There is a standard saying within show business that “they just didn’t know how to market it.” People may agree the film or show was a good one, top quality, even, but they couldn’t figure the marketing line that would generate public appeal.
According to an article in Ad Age, United Artists has that problem with Tom Cruise’s new movie, “Valkyrie.” The film depicts the failed attempt of German officers to assassinate Adolph Hitler, before he could bring Germany to its knees. The film is generally problematic because many viewers suffer from “Nazi Ennui.” For many, the younger audience that actually goes to films, it is a tired subject. Then there is Cruise’s controversial behavior that didn’t exactly enthrall a fair number of older viewers. And then there is the subject, intrepid but disillusioned Nazis, or German Officers, fail to kill Hitler. Hardly romantic.
The movie’s release has been postponed. The film has become known as the “Eye-Patch” Movie, for the eye-patch Tom Cruise wears in portraying one German officer. So, as with all movies that seem to be problematic, there are whispers in Hollywood that don’t help any. The film now awaits test screening.
The executives have decided to position the film as more of an ensemble piece. Less Tom, more other actors. They focus on the true story elements, the conspiracy elements, which they believe people like. We shall see.
Meanwhile, the entertainment industry is not the only industry that finds obstacles in marketing certain products and services. Every industry has its marketing challenges. In these tough economic times the challenges are ven greater. People do not want to spend their money. You have to get them to spend your money. Not easy.
Before your marketing campagin becomes a partial Waterloo, evaluate not only your campaign but the team creating the marketing campaign. Do you have the right mix of people? If you are marketing in a cross platform platform do you have the people who know what they are doing? It is improtant to have the experienced adults but just as important to have the creative types and the younger, usually younger, techie wizards who can bring you online. They have to be able to work together, create together. For the benefit of future projects, they have to be able to grow together.
So look over your marketing staff, carefully. You may need to make changes. You may need to bring new people aboard. There are plenty out there, what with all the layoffs. But not all are as sharp as you may desire. Some are hacks, quite frankly, or so compartmentalized in their skill sets they lack the versatility you need on a modern day team.
Run preemployment screening on your candidates. Run background checks that include the type of professional reference checks that can evaluate skill sets. Be sure they are merely victims of the downturn and not the deadwood that your competitors had at last had the opportunity to get rid of. Take nobody’s word for nothing. Colleagues like to do their friends a favor and praise them in hopes that these same people will do the same for them when they, too, are job hunting. So be thorough.
Check them out before you hire.
