Zazou Marketing

Do you ever dream about the time in your future when all of your marketing pursuits will have paid off and you’ll be able to take a marketing break? Ah, yes, it does sound divine. But here’s the reality check: Even when things are clicking along and you have more work than you can handle, you can not take a break from marketing. Want proof? Even “Harry Potter” needs to do marketing. Yes, that’s right. Even the boy wizard who is known worldwide has to do marketing.

Even "Harry Potter" needs to do marketing

What’s next on the “Harry Potter” marketing initiative? Getting people to the 6th movie this summer. What are they up against? By some accounts, the “Twilight” franchise, whose vampires have a major cross-over audience.

According to the Wall Street Journal:

Hollywood marketing executives say that these days the “Twilight” franchise has influenced almost every studio marketing campaign that targets teenage girls. Some posters for the upcoming “Potter” film echo “Twilight”’s emphasis on romance. One features Harry and his crush, Ginny, gazing longingly into each others’ eyes, in a pose reminiscent of “Twilight”’s now-iconic image of its star-crossed lovers, Bella and Edward. Another shows Harry’s friend Ron with his girlfriend Lavender, while a jealous Hermione scowls in the background.

Still, the “Harry Potter” marketing team says that they didn’t consider “Twilight” when creating their marketing campaign. More from the article:

Warner Bros. and the team behind “Potter” say they didn’t take the “Twilight” franchise into account when designing their marketing materials for “The Half-Blood Prince.” Instead, they crafted a campaign aimed to resonate with previous “Potter” films, the executives and filmmakers say, dismissing the notion that there is a rivalry between the franchises among fans.

“With all due respect to “Twilight,” the longevity and world-wide success of the Harry Potter franchise speaks for itself,” a studio representative said.

Whether they considered “Twilight” or not when creating a marketing campaign, you will notice that they are doing marketing. They are not saying, “We’re so famous, we don’t need marketing.”

So, sorry to burst your marketing-break bubble. But if “Harry Potter” needs to continue to market even with the success he has had, so do you.

If you’re trying to build up your business, you should always focus on your target market. No question. But do you have a segment of your target market that doesn’t make up the bulk of your business (that also generally gets ignored when you do a marketing push)? It may be time to spend a little energy focusing on them.

And if Boomer Men is an aspect of your target market that you generally ignore, then the Natural Marketing Institute is definitely recommending that you put a little bit of marketing effort their way. According to a story in MediaPost’s Marketing Daily:

“Even though men may amount to a minimum of purchases for a product or service, they should not be forgotten,” says Steve French, executive vice president and managing partner at the Natural Marketing Institute, which recently conducted a survey of more than 3,000 adults about the economy. “If you’re never targeting them, you’re never going to get the purchase.”

According to the NMI survey, 40% of men over the age of 50 said they are not feeling increased stress because of the economy, compared with 30% of women in the same age group. In addition, Baby Boomer men are taking on more family shopping roles and are more likely to buy brand-name products. The survey found that about one-third of Baby Boomer males are the main household grocery shopper, up from 20% ten years ago. While in the store, about half (46%) of these men are willing to purchase brand names over store brands, compared with about 26% of women.

While this study was specific to Boomer Men, it is a good reminder that the aspects of your target market that get ignored aren’t going to find out about your product or service until you do put a little of your marketing efforts their way.