DIY AT HOME - Telling The Story Is The Best Marketing Technique +++

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Most people in advertising and marketing would agree that telling a story is the best way to sell your product. A good story can literally grab people's attention.

The movies depend entirely on telling a story. The early movies did not have the sophisticated technology of today to create a big impact. They relied mainly on the actors and the script to tell the story.
Engaging quickly with the audience was key.

Take as an example, a movie from 1932 called, "Red-Headed Woman". It is a "romantic comedy" about a woman, played by Jean Harlow, who uses her sexual charms to ascend the social ladder from poor girl to rich married wife.

In the language of that period she was a "schemer". The opening scene of the movie ensures the audience knows this from the start.

In it Harlow is trying on a new dress. She stands framed in a window which throws sunlight all around here. She asks the dress fitter, "Can you see through this dress?" The dress fitter looks and she realizes that she can see right through the dress, and says so. "Perfect", says Harlow's character, "I'll take it."

In one line of only four words, the essence of the character is revealed.

The producer of this film was Irving G Thalberg. Thalberg was the "brain" and creative driving force behind both Universal Studios and then MGM. There is even a special Oscar named in his honor.

Thalberg's strength was that he had an instinctive knowledge of what worked and what did not. And "Red Headed Woman" is an example of how his agile mind worked.

When he reviewed the initial cut of "Red Headed Woman" he felt that it did not work. The problem was that it did not reveal the true character of Harlow's character till about one-third of the way through. By which point the audience would have lost interest.

He asked her screen writer, Anita Loos, to re-think the opening scenes. The result was that "see-through dress" scene which created and instant impact, and a successful movie.

By applying these principles to promoting products, then the need to engage is immediate. Hitting the potential buyer's emotions with your offer has to come from the get-go.

Thalberg used marketing techniques in developing films, much as are used to today.

• audience research through previews
• surveys

The principle is: Understand what your audience needs and create the message which will engage them.

The fact is that there are too many assumptions made. Therefore if the level of engagement fails to impress by simply assuming that the audience wants more of the same, then the promotion will fail.

The message: Think more "Red Headed Woman" and the emotions that engage the buyer. It may only be four words.

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