FRA-GEE-LAY…THAT MUST BE ITALIAN
Posted by [email protected] on Jan. 6, 2015 / Subscribe 0
Anyone who knows me well knows that if we sit down and chat long enough, something that we have talked about will lead the conversation back to marketing. For me, all things lead back to marketing. It isn’t that I’m super crazy about marketing (although I am); it’s just that it seems so unavoidable to me. Even on my Christmas vacation two weeks ago – a time of year in which I strive to logoff from work for nine whole days – my marketing tunnel vision managed to take hold. Interestingly, it was brought on by an unlikely trigger; one of my favorite holiday movies, A Christmas Story.
On Christmas Day, my hubby and I adhere to a strict morning tradition: coffee first thing, of course, followed by eggs benedict for breakfast and then the unwrapping of presents while A Christmas Story plays on television (repeatedly on TNT). Not that I watch A Christmas Story all day long; I tend to mix in SNL’s Christmas DVD followed by some classic Jingle Bell Rock. And if I’m feeling especially nostalgic, a viewing of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (you know, the claymation movie narrated by Burl Ives that features the elf who wants to be a dentist). So even if I’m not watching A Christmas Story all day long, I do manage to watch just enough of it to see my favorite scenes throughout the day (and usually entirely out of order).
If you’re starting to wonder, as I detail my holiday tradition to you, what my point is and whether or not I’ve inadvertently deviated off course; if you’re pondering what any of this has to do with marketing right about now; then here it goes… stay with me…
As I sat on my couch watching the “lamp scene” for the second time that day, something occurred to me. This scene, this movie, had somehow become a part of my family’s holiday ritual over the years. I can’t tell you exactly when or how it happened, but I could see the influences all around our home, now so festively decorated for the season. We had several A Christmas Story ornaments hanging on the tree (my personal favorite is the miniature of Ralphie dressed in a bunny suit) and a medium sized leg lamp on display near our pre-lit artificial Christmas tree (don’t worry, we had a pine scented candle burning nearby for authenticity). It seemed to me that these trinkets alone might suggest categorical marketing success as far as general marketing and movie merchandizing might go.
As I surveyed the movie’s sway on our home, I remembered a television special that I watched last season called The Untold Christmas Story; a documentary about the making of this Bob Clark film. I was reminded that I was not alone in my love of this quirky flick after all. The documentary itself was filled with lots of interesting tidbits - some about the actors, some about the evolution of the characters - but what I remember most was how it chronicled the film’s journey from “Hollywood sleeper” to “holiday mainstay.” I also remember being somewhat stupefied by the revelation that this film was once considered a “sleeper.” I mean, I HAVE the leg lamp!
For those of you similarly inclined, you might be surprised to find out that A Christmas Story enjoyed only modest viewings when it was first released around Thanksgiving of 1983; it was subsequently shelved by most theaters come Christmas that very same year. Though it did end up grossing just over $19M through January of 1984, you movie buffs will recognize that this film was by no means considered a box office hit; actually, it was more of a marketing “fail.” So how did it become part of Christmas “Americana,” especially after Hollywood, with all its glamour and considerable bankroll, had failed to successfully launch this award-winning picture (yes, it won two Genie Awards)?
In short, the film got picked up by several television networks in the late 80’s and rapidly started gaining momentum throughout the 90’s as a predictable holiday TV staple and, dare I say, nostalgic cult classic (check out “Evolution of a Cult Classic”). The culmination of all this momentum can now annually be enjoyed up to TWELVE TIMES in a row by anyone interested enough (or bored enough) to take on the 24 Hours of A Christmas Story marathon. As comforting as a cup of hot cocoa on a cold winter’s day (or a 60-degree day, if you live in Arizona like I do), you can now count on this bit of cinema to be queued up at any point during Christmas Day when you finally decide you “need a fix.”
Was all this just luck of the draw as the preceding article suggests? Something that “just sort of happens…like tornadoes…and pop stars”? Or was it the television networks themselves that rescued A Christmas Story from the dusty shelves of obscurity? Perhaps both played an equal role in the movie’s now enduring popularity. Although the film is chock-full of scenes that instinctively cry out “cult classic,” I have no doubt, despite all its charms and fervor, that the film would now be long forgotten if it hadn’t been aired so incessantly over the last several decades. In fact, I have a hard time even imagining myself watching it on the big screen today and speculate whether I’d spend the money on it if I had been in a position to do so back in 1983.
This brings me to my theory about the original launch of A Christmas Story as a classic example of a consumer-brand disconnect. For whatever reason, Hollywood could not connect with their target audience on this one. Maybe the trailer completely and utterly stunk, or maybe the date of release was all wrong and conflicted with shopping days leading up to Christmas that year or maybe...well, you get the point. In any case, people weren’t able to see the value, despite what Hollywood probably through at it monetarily. But that didn’t mean that the product itself wasn’t viable! It just had to be marketed in the right way and to the right audience.
Some thirty-plus years later, we have the advantage of retrospect. We can all now clearly see the value of A Christmas Story thanks to the repackaging and re-launching of the film by the TV networks. And why shouldn’t we? Christmas Day is one of the only days of the year when not even the grocery stores stay open; entire cities shut down as people gather together with those nearest and dearest. And although family reunions can be chaotic, it is on this quiet consumer day that we as an audience might be the most receptive to a quiet little film like this, filled with subtleties and subtext. People from all walks of life are basically a captive audience with very few entertainment options. Even if you aren’t a huge fan of the film, you might still get stuck watching it because someone that you’re with IS a fan and the movie just so happens to be on TV.
It could be argued that the networks themselves created the market surrounding A Christmas Story that Time Warner (current owner to the rights for the film) now profits from, thanks to lucrative retailing in the form of home videos, movie memorabilia and the sale of merchandise that has slowly but surely permeated the interiors of homes and the fabric of family traditions all over the U.S. After all, I am positive that mine is not the only home to have felt the effects of this affable motion picture. And let’s not forget that the network’s staff has probably thanked them heartily for their effortless play-and-repeat Christmas Day assignment (probably just one guy whose turn it is to be on-call just in case something goes wrong). As a general observation, this seems like a pretty savvy bit of marketing; a complete “180” from the 1983 release; a campaign in which a win-win-win has been created for all those involved.
As I grappled with putting these thoughts to rest this past Christmas Day, I came to a few simple conclusions:
- Something CAN be inherently awesome, but as a marketer you MUST keep your target audience in mind. If you fail to identify and connect with them, then the greatness of that something will cease to matter universally.
- A large budget does not necessarily mean that campaign success will follow suit. Conversely, a modest budget does not necessarily doom your campaign to fail. Budgets ARE important, but they aren’t everything. Inventive marketing can take you far.
- Finally and perhaps most importantly, if something has been tried and failed in the past, don’t be afraid to rethink your strategy. Repackaging or re-launching under a different light could yield far better results than previous efforts.
As I review my list, I accept that nothing in it is ground-breaking; these are all things that marketers already know, but can easily be forgotten in the midst of the daily grind. Perhaps my resolutions for this year should include a few professional ones in addition to those more personal, like maybe I should keep the above in mind. But will the lessons learned from A Christmas Story stay with me throughout the year? Can I actually revolutionize my attitude? How tailored will my messages really be to my intended target audiences when I’m knee deep in proposals and want nothing more than to throw in boilerplate and get them out the door? Will I be able to grin and bear it AND stay nimble when I am inevitably told that items planned for in the annual budget must be eliminated in the name of monthly cash flow? And what will my level of crankiness be when a marketing idea that I have launched falls flat on its proverbial face and I feel the need to scrap it? Only time will tell, of course, but until then I remain hopeful that Ralphie and the leg lamp are enough to stoke the fires of my New Year’s marketing resolve.
About the Blogger: Amy Villasana-Moore, CPSM is SMPS Arizona's 2015 Blog Chair, is a marketer and business developer, art and music enthusiast, fan of all animals, darkroom-trained photographer, recovering “workaholic” and movie buff. She can meet you at the intersection of “strange” and “brew” and if the need arises, can have an entire conversation with you using only movie quotes.
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