I avoided watching Frozen. You know, the movie with the song Let It Go that you (I) can’t get out of your (my) head? It seems to be everywhere. However under the influence of my youngest son’s urging “when are you going to watch it?” I put it on my to-do list.
Well thanks need to go to Netflix too. They brought the movie to me so I didn’t have any more excuses. As soon as I started to get into it, wasn’t easy but I hung in there, I suddenly realised how loaded the movie is with messages. I appreciate how brilliantly the story weaves in these messages and how through the medium of a movie the creators could take that message to the masses.
Herein lays the beauty for marketers. We are in a time where there is an explosion of mediums at our disposal and we also have a say in how the message goes to the market as well as the message itself. With all the talk of the content revolution, it's just that, a revolution and a revelation. Marketers are in the hot seat ready to use those mediums, which ever ones suit, to get their message out. Don’t get weighed under by the amount of mediums available to choose from, rather focus on what they can do for you if you choose them correctly. Yes, a great strategy is essential.
I'm sure you already know it's good practice to match the message to the medium in terms of your social media. Not just blast one piece of content in multiple directions. Instead, re-purpose it for each medium to get the best traction. The business implication is that although we have numerous media options, we need to use the mediums appropriately. Just like the messages in Frozen, they're heavy and yet perfectly presented for a child’s palate. That’s what you need to keep in mind with the message-medium match up. Form follows function.
As more businesses become media companies in their own right, the opportunities to share your message via your marketing communications have exploded. The traditional brochures and a website have made way for new possibilities in the form of movies, games, experiences, music, and poetry - anything you want so long as you're clear on its relevance to your audience. After all, there’s no point getting into gamification if your market is the very elderly. Second thought, maybe a bridge app could work. In any case, match the medium to your market.
So whatever your medium and your message, marketers and marketing is the means for the business message to meet the medium and find the end customer. When everything is in sync your message has the stickiness of that Let It Go song and not even Taylor Swift can shake that off.
* This article originally appeared as a LinkedIn post on 26 May 2015.
