Flipping
through channels this weekend, I caught the tail-end of Dr. Dolittle, which was
followed by Dr. Dolittle 2. My
wife joked that she couldn't believe this was the same dude that did Raw and
Delirious. Most husbands would say,
“I know,” and laugh it off. Not
me, instead I found myself applying a little Reasoning … thinking how Eddie was
the perfect case study on brand management for generational marketers.
Here's why... generational marketers are always faced with a strategic decision -- Do you grow and/or evolve with your consumers or do you stay with the same segment and wait for the next crop of consumers to grow into your segment? Teen marketers are faced with this question all the time. Eddie chose to grow up with his customer... realizing the same person watching his raunchy stand-up comedy would inevitably have a family and therefore need more family-friendly entertainment.
The questions for brand managers focused on Gen Y, X, tweens, etc. is: What do we do when our customers’ preferences and rituals change? The Eddie Murphy playbook says to think about creative ways to extend your brand into platforms and channels that make sense as they grow up. Case in point, I thought Hasbro parted ways with me back in elementary. Nope, they showed back up in my life in '07 by extending their Transformers property into entertainment.
How can your brand be extended as customer rituals change and evolve? Let's talk and we can take a look at The Reason’s playbook.
Comments