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John Tantillo's Brand Winner... And Loser: Arizona and Disney & Toy Story
Posted by The Marketing Doctor at 5/4/2010 3:43 PM 
Categories: Marketing, Branding
Tags: Disney Target Market media Tantillo INS federal law illegals racial profiling cliffhanger border immigration Arizona Texas marketing branding Andyites tactic strategy Toy Story
Categories: Marketing, Branding
Tags: Disney Target Market media Tantillo INS federal law illegals racial profiling cliffhanger border immigration Arizona Texas marketing branding Andyites tactic strategy Toy Story
| Brand Winner... | And Loser... |
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John Tantillo’s Winner and Loser of The Week:
Winner: Arizona
Loser: Disney and Toy Story
Winner
I’ve got to ask the question: Is Arizona the new Texas? Has Texas passed the torch to another border state?
After all, wasn’t it the state of Texas that long stood for fierce independence, a fighting spirit and a frontiersman’s sense of keeping borders and communities secure from all threats, foreign and domestic?
This past week, we’ve seen Arizona take powerful action to address what many of its citizens believe is a monumental immigration crisis.
Arizona wins for two reasons: 1) the politicians responded forcefully to the needs of their electorate; and 2) by taking a strong and unambiguous position, the state has actually advanced the national debate on immigration by leaps and bounds, while promoting itself as the vanguard of a historic movement. This is real marketing: identifying your Target Market’s needs and then taking the kind of action that brings national attention to these needs. .
The national media reaction has been as predictable as it has been disappointing. After all, most of the state law is nothing new and merely echoes what’s already on the Federal books (i.e., legal immigrants having to carry papers). The media by and large also misses the significance of the fact that Arizonans identified a problem and then took action to work toward solving it. It might not be the best law, and it might have to be modified even more, but the important thing was taking action.
Just because Arizona is getting pilloried in the press doesn’t mean that it has failed. In fact, this time mainstream media outrage really is a public relations victory. Such a knee-jerk reaction by the media no doubt galvanizes most Arizonans into believing that those who are not on the front-line of the immigration border war really don’t get it.
And that’s why I ask: Is Arizona the new Texas?
The Federal government might have had a comfortable and diplomatic way of dealing with South-of-the-Border illegals, but the problem is clearly massive and requires dramatic action. The needs of American citizens are not being met. Arizona has shown that it cares about its citizens’ needs and, by extension, the needs of the citizens of the U.S. of A.
Taking a stand for something that clearly benefits your Target Market is the hallmark of a great brand.
Hats off.
The Loser
When it began the rollout of Toy Story 3 last week, Disney showed that it understands the critical importance of Target Markets. The company also reminded us that in today’s world of scattered audiences and web-based competition, you need to be relentlessly creative to reach your Target Market.
But all marketers must draw a distinction between strategy and tactics. In Disney’s case, they knew that they wanted word of Toy Story 3 to reach the 18- to 24-year-olds who grew up on the first two movies. That was a key part of their marketing strategy.
Disney has decided to launch the movie early with a questionable promotional tactic that it hopes will invigorate the Target Market. The tactic? Free screenings of the movie in 40 cities. The catch? It’s a cliffhanger. The movie screening cuts out before the end, leaving everyone in suspense.
There is nothing as effective as sampling to have people buy your product. But does that really apply in this case, where basically the entire movie is given away for free and it’s only the end that’s not shown? After all, let’s think Target Market. Are most of these 18- to 24-year-olds going to be so motivated by a cliffhanger two months before the actual release of the movie to line up again when it’s actually in the theaters? I really don’t think so. Moreover, if they’re really interested, this crowd will probably find a way to watch the ending for free on the Internet.
The bigger point is that this tactic has gimmick written all over it. Not only that, but the reaction from the audience has also been negative. When the lights go up after these partial free screenings, the audience groans (even though they knew a cliffhanger was part of the deal). For me, this type of promotional tactic gives marketing a bad name. It gives customers a reason to resent both the product and the corporate brands —not a good thing.
Disney must also be hoping to get some publicity value and social media punch from this approach. But even though desperate times demand desperate measures, I’ve got to think that this particular tactic is just a little too desperate. A creative try, Disney —but not a well thought-out marketing strategy.
Stay tuned.
And, remember, things are always easier when you keep marketing and branding in mind.
TODAY'S TANTILLO TAKEAWAY -
The last thing you want to do is earn buzz at the expense of a negative experience for your Target Market.
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