Welcome back from another holiday break. What better way to kick off the new year than by legitimizing your holiday binge-watching? Let’s take a closer look at a few classic films and see how you can use some of the most memorable scenes to your advantage.
Home Alone
“This is my house. I have to defend it.”
Feeling a little small and lonely in a world of big brands and enormous budgets? Take a cue from Kevin McCallister and use your smaller size and agility to outsmart even the biggest, baddest brands. Take inventory: What can be repurposed or reimagined to become your secret weapon?
Elf
“The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.”
Sometimes even the big guy in red needs help from his followers. In this scene, thousands of New Yorkers give Santa and his reindeer enough Christmas spirit to power through the holidays. What messages would be better off in the hands of your followers? Find your influencers, give them a believable, repeatable message, and let them save the day. There are few things millennials love more than having a role in shaping a brand they believe in.
Miracle on 34th Street
“Macy’s Santa Claus sending customers to Gimbels—preposterous! But gentlemen, you cannot quarrel with success. Look at this: telegrams, messages, telephone calls… the governor’s wife, the mayor’s wife. Over 500 thankful parents expressing undying gratitude to Macy’s.”
It’s not Santa you’re up against, but Google. Be straightforward with your customers and they will respond. If you can’t provide what people are looking for, suggest somebody who can. You may lose the battle, but chances are you’ll win the war and create a fan for life.
Scrooged
“It’s Christmas Eve! It’s… it’s the one night of the year when we all act a little nicer, we… we… we smile a little easier, we… w-w-we… we… we cheer a little more. For a couple of hours out of the whole year, we are the people that we always hoped we would be!”
Is your brand living up to what you know it could be? Get reflective—what are those brand memories that make you warm and fuzzy, and which do you wish you’d get another chance to perfect? This is your year. Be the brand you always knew you could be. Not for just a couple of hours, but all year long.
The Star Wars Holiday Special
In 1978, the Star Wars empire cooked up a holiday special so bad that it never aired again. And yet here we are, 37 years later, still talking about it. Home recordings from the original airing have made the rounds and are readily available online. Dedicated fan sites chronicle every awful detail, and its YouTube video has almost a million views. We’ve all got a Star Wars Holiday Special in our past. Forge ahead, string on a couple successes, and it’s possible that prior failures will eventually earn cult fans.