BULLSEYE: When the Going Gets Tough

When Canada's Finance Minister recently dodged the dreaded 'R' word, the same 'ol marketing debate raged:  "Should I cut my marketing budget?" and "Should I move from brandsell to hardsell".  Time to change the channel on that discussion.

BULLSEYE: The power of leveraging equity

Anyone Remember Equity?

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There was a time when ad campaigns were designed to last for years.  It was a time that begat Tony the Tiger, the lonely Maytag repairman, and that little Ty-D-Bowl fella patrolling your toilet tank in his rowboat.

In time, these campaigns, their characters, ideas and attitudes work their way into the deeper, more meaningful spaces in the consumer's brain.  Relationships are formed.  Familiarity breeds comfort (and sometimes contempt).  But at least the advertiser reaches that coveted 'memorable' plateau.


Hollywood Gets It

Consider this:  below is a list of the top grossing Hollywood films of all time.  The yellow highlights (added by me) indicate films based on things already familiar to audiences:  established characters or stories, films based on books.  Sequels, remakes and reboots.

The films not highlighted are completely new to audiences. But even they tend to carry the comfort of some familiarity.  It can be argued that James Cameron's reputation helped sell Avatar, as Spielberg's reputation boosted E.T., etc.

HIGHEST GROSSING FILMS
Rank	Title	Worldwide gross	Year
1	Avatar	$2,787,965,087	2009
2	Titanic	$2,186,772,302	1997
3	The Avengers	$1,518,594,910	2012
4	Furious 7	$1,489,386,455	2015
5	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2	$1,341,511,219	2011
6	Frozen	$1,279,852,693	2013
7	Iron Man 3	$1,215,439,994	2013
8	Avengers: Age of Ultron	$1,148,986,835	2015
9	Transformers: Dark of the Moon	$1,123,794,079	2011
10	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	$1,119,929,521	2003
11	Skyfall	$1,108,561,013	2012
12	Transformers: Age of Extinction	$1,104,039,076	2014
13	The Dark Knight Rises	$1,084,439,099	2012
14	Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest	$1,066,179,725	2006
15	Toy Story 3	$1,063,171,911	2010
16	Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides	$1,045,713,802	2011
17	Jurassic Park	$1,029,939,903	1993
18	Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace	$1,027,044,677	1999
19	Alice in Wonderland	$1,025,467,110	2010
20	The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey	$1,017,003,568	2012
21	The Dark Knight	$1,004,558,444	2008
22	The Lion King	$987,483,777	1994
23	Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone	$974,755,371	2001
24	Despicable Me 2	$970,761,885	2013
25	Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End	$963,420,425	2007
26	The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug	$960,366,855	2013
27	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1	$960,283,305	2010
28	The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies	$955,119,788	2014
29	Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix	$939,885,929	2007
30	Finding Nemo	$936,743,261	2003
31	Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince	$934,416,487	2009
32	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers	$926,047,111	2002
33	Shrek 2	$919,838,758	2004
34	Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire	$896,911,078	2005
35	Spider-Man 3	$890,871,626	2007
36	Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs	$886,686,817	2009
37	Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets	$878,979,634	2002
38	Ice Age: Continental Drift	$877,244,782	2012
39	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	$871,530,324	2001
40	The Hunger Games: Catching Fire	$864,912,963	2013
41	Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith	$848,754,768	2005
42	Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen	$836,303,693	2009
43	The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2	$829,685,377	2012
44	Inception	$825,532,764	2010
45	Spider-Man	$821,708,551	2002
46	Independence Day	$817,400,891	1996
47	Shrek the Third	$798,958,162	2007
48	Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban	$796,688,549	2004
49	E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial	$792,910,554	1982
50	2012	$791,217,826	2009

Yes, it's the age of short attention spans and disposable relationships.  In this climate, 'faith' and 'patience' are virtues few marketers- and fewer clients- are willing to cultivate.

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