What do high quality movies and business brands have in common?
This is a great question. I’ve actually been thinking about it a lot lately. Especially because my lovely wife, Jenni, and I recently saw the “Secret Life of Walter Mitty.”
While we both loved the movie, it unfortunately didn’t receive great reviews across the board. I believe this is because unlike horror films or superhero extravaganzas, the “Secret Life of Walter Mitty” has a quiet strength for hope and life. Stiller is telling you a meaningful story instead of shouting it at you.
Walter was an average guy working an unremarkable job, living, but not really living fully. The story of Walter breaking out of his “negative assets” managing delivers an important message about dealing with life. Rather than being dictated by circumstances, we can choose how to react and move forward.
As consumers, it seems all too often we expect to be entertained by hyperbolic plotlines or massively complex action sequences. We’re quick to expect horrific scene. And, we accept lose-lose-lose as the only outcomes.
The result is a lesser focus on quality in favor of reaction garnering scenes. While this is certainly an effective tactic to get attention, it’s not what earns Oscars or a loyal following.
You may be thinking, “The ‘Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ isn’t winning any Oscars.” You may well be right. But it does prove one very important point – you don’t have to provide your audience with an attention grabbing extravaganza to get them to root for you.
It’s all too easy to get stuck in a rut as you try and compete with the over the top Hollywood hoopla. This doesn’t benefit your brand in the long run. The key to success is delivering quality, consistently over time.
To do so, you need to not settle or become stagnant. You need to constantly re-evaluating your brand’s presence, tweaking and improving it as your business grows.
How do you re-evaluate your brand’s presence? Begin by asking yourself: What value does my product (or service) give my customers and how does my brand communicate this?
