Theater uses irate customers in branding

I don't normally advocate using an f-bomb in an ad, but in this case, I'll make an exception.

When you go to a movie, don't be surprised if you get kicked out for texting. If you call to voice your displeasure at being kicked out, don't be surprised if your ire is met with little sympathy. If it happens to be at the Alamo Drafthouse, don't be surprised if your message ends up on the pre-movie PSAs. And the Drafthouse website. And a marketing website. Oh, and YouTube.

So what does a profanity-laced tirade from an irate customer say about Alamo Drafthouse's branding?

Tons.

First of all, the theater is unapologetic about what a movie-goer will see at its theater. It appeals to the audience they expect to draw to its lineup of indie flicks.

More importantly, the viral PSA lets the customer know that Alamo Drafthouse values the user experience. It's a small house, and one idiot using a cell phone during a movie can wreck it for practically everyone in the theater. From a branding perspective, you can't do better than to show the customer you appreciate the business and that you will go to great lengths to make sure that customer gets his money's worth.

Does the PSA go overboard? I don't think so. Does it make an impact? You bet it does. With the customer and potential talkers and texters who wander into the Alamo.

Kudos for taking the customer experience seriously.

Found in Translation

The simple phrase, "How did you come up with that?" said in two different ways, can mean two completely different things. It's all a matter of inflection. If you hear a client say: "HOW DID you come up with that?"

it means: "It's GOLD! I love it and I can't wait to run the ad!"

But if you hear him say: "How did you come up WITH THAT?"

it means: "It's CRAP! I hate it. Get the hell out of my office until you learn how to write a damn ad!"

What you should hear is: "I don't think this is your best work. Why don’t you have another go and we’ll meet tomorrow."

Your reply should be: "I respect your point of view. I'll take another shot at it and I'll have some more ideas first thing in the morning."

But what you really mean is: "YOU wouldn't know a GOOD AD if it slid up your leg and grabbed you by the BALLS!"

What a One-Hit Wonder Taught Me About Advertising

Setting: A London Pub in the punk rock riddled days of the early to mid-1980s. We enter in the middle of a conversation...

"... oboe, cello, keyboard and kettle drums. We'll have ourselves a smash hit!"

For some reason, Life in a Northern Town has stuck with me through the years. I liked the song when it came out back when MTV was concerned mostly with music and showed videos. I was in college, in the middle of my REM/Police/U2/cheap beer phase.

So how did it cut through the Weideman-soaked haze to stick with me as my choice for greatest one-hit wonder ever?

I think mostly it has to do with the combination of sounds that make the song perfect. It was about doing something so different that people had to notice. The Dream Academy came together and produced one song that, to me, is very memorable.

I still like this song. A lot. A lot more than anyone who in his Rory Gallagher/microbrew/get the kids to baseball practice phase should. So, what did it teach me about strategy?

1. Cut through the clutter of sameness.
   If you're doing the same thing as your competitors, you won't be noticed by consumers.
2. Provide something of unsurpassed quality.
   If you're doing it half-assed, not only are you missing an opportunity, you kinda suck.
   
3. Believe in what you're doing.
   If you don't, you'll never convince your client he should be doing what you're advising him to do.
   
4. Tell a good story.
   'Nuff said.

So that's what I learned, although I probably didn't know it at the time. (I blame the Weidemann.) But at least now, working for a Kansas City website design company, I can recall why I like it use it as an analogy for the business.

Or metaphor. Whatever. It's a good song.