People always say you can learn a lesson from everything – relationships, failure, and other life experiences. That much is true. In fact, you can even learn a thing or two from classic horror films that you’ve probably already seen. Despite being looked down as a movie genre because of the low-budget outputs and storylines that are unlikely to happen, horror proves itself to be a good source of marketing wisdom.
Authenticity goes a long way
With its release, “Paranormal Activity” (2007) became an immediate hit. Instead of the usual horror movie with gore, blood, or demonic possession, it focused on making being as ordinary as possible to incite fear to the audience. It had a different approach to horror, and that made it stand out. Similar to writing content, it has been proven that content must sound as natural as possible. The target market will better appreciate content that speaks to them from experience. Adding decorative words to sound better can do the opposite. Much like the film, have a different approach to writing content. Be genuine, and that will help you stand out.
Build on existing ideas
It is a well-known fact that “The Ring” (2002) is just an American remake of the popular Japanese film, “Ringu.” While most remakes aren’t generally good, the remake became a success because it retained the effective elements of the film and then made it fresh for a newer audience. The lesson to be learned is that existing ideas can give birth to new executions that may be just as successful as the initial one. This applies to marketing strategies as well as content. If you have quality content, find out what makes it successful and then consider updating it or re-purposing it for a different kind of text.
Take some time to study your competitors
Despite being released more than two decades ago, “Scream” (1996) remains to be one of the most iconic horror films out there because they referenced lines and scenes from classic horror movies. People always find the characters laughable due to their questionable decision-making skills, and the film banked on that, showing the audience that they did their research. In any field, you can learn a lot from your competitors. Study what makes them effective. Analyze the ideas they have as well as the market’s reception to those. Like “Scream” (1996), be aware of what makes your competitors succeed, take notes, and then execute your own strategy.
Utilize different platforms to execute a good campaign
“Cloverfield” (2008) urged the audience to watch the film by keeping them on their feet. They had an untitled teaser trailer, a series of fake websites, and even a phone number with a recorded message. They left a trail of clues, which kept the audience’s interest at a high. They showed that promotions aren’t boxed to social media and classic strategies. Create hype when launching a product and engage with your target audience and you’ll execute an impressive campaign.
There are so many marketing nuggets of wisdom that can be found in almost everything in pop culture. Horror films are just one of the ways in which marketers, and indeed start entrepreneurs, can study what entices people and how they can use it to engage their target market.
At AScaleX, we’re looking at trends, studying what our marketers can use to boost a brand’s visibility and credibility both online and offline. Want to try it out? Just drop us a message and let’s discuss!