Marketing secrets from the King of Cool
Published: Tue, 03/09/21
In other words:
They mix and merge information with sales talk so masterfully, their ads are as interesting and useful as content-filled articles. But, they also have an agenda to sell and persuade. Think guys like “Email Players” subscribers Gary Bencivenga & Kim Krause Schwalm or the late, great Jim Rutz, for example.
Anyway, here’s why I bring it up:
There's a Steve McQueen documentary called...
“Steve McQueen: An American Icon”
It’s a documentary that will make any of McQueen's fanboys and fangirls happy… but, it also has a “sales pitch” for Christianity embedded throughout it at the same time.
Yes, I know there are a lot of heathens reading this.
And, also, some fire-breathing atheists, too.
But, heathen or saint, it’s a great example of how to mix information and sales pitch (and infotainment), without being “preachy” about whatever it is you’re selling. (Sidebar: I noticed there was a church in the town I moved away from a couple years ago that was advertising screening this documentary when it first came out. I couldn’t figure out why a church would screen a Steve McQueen documentary until watching it, now I see why…)
More:
I find documentaries as a whole to be great examples of persuasive communication because they always have an agenda. And, it’s always educational to watch them to see how they build credibility and belief in their agenda — especially the wackier ones I’ve seen.
Video is a powerful medium for persuasion when done right.
And, I’m thinking the documentary format could be one I test eventually.
When I do, I’ll tell you all about it, of course.
In the meantime?
Some fun facts about Steve McQueen from the documentary:
* He was supposed to have been killed by the Manson cult.
When they killed all those people that night, Steve was supposed to be there, but he ended up picking up a woman instead on the way there.
* He was the best in the business at positioning.
For example:
After his biggest payout from the Towering Inferno, where he achieved his goal of out-earning and out-starring Paul Newman (his big goal) he pulled away from Hollywood. And, the more he pulled away, the more Hollywood wanted him. He was even offered the parts of Rambo and Captain Willard from Apocalypse Now. But, he wanted nothing to do with Hollywood. He literally tore out his mailbox and threw it in the ocean because he got tired of getting scripts. Finally, he told his agent to tell the industry he wouldn’t even read a script without paying him $50k….
* Speaking of positioning…
He got famous not for what he said, but how he positioned himself. Not just professionally (stealing scenes, deliberately building his brand, etc) but because he learned movie making not just acting. He knew where to stand, how the lighting would affect his placement, all the little things, so he could throw out pages from a script and just look a certain way to communicate what he needed to. It’s the difference between a copywriter learning just copywriting or a marketer learning just marketing — and neither learning actual business building.
* He ended up getting Mesothelioma.
Not randomly, but because when he was in the military service, he got caught chasing girls or something one weekend and they put him on cleaning duty. His job was to clean up asbestos. It stayed in his body, festering, and finally turning to cancer in his late 40’s (he died at 50). What you do now, can come back to haunt you years from now…
* He didn’t die from the cancer, he had technically beat it after opting for experimental medicine in Mexico the US won’t allow. They removed the tumor from his body successfully. But he died when his blood pressure dropped, and he had a heart attack in his sleep after the surgery.
* For Billy Graham fanboys…
When Steve was first diagnosed with cancer, he found a way to meet with Billy Graham. When they finally met, Steve had forgotten his Bible. Billy gave Steve his personal Bible that he preached with, and had years of notes written inside for sermons, etc.
Steve ended up dying holding that Bible.
Anyway, that concludes movie night with Email Players.
Let’s move on to business.
If using videos to sell is the plumb you’re after picking, mobile apps is where it’s at.
Not just for customer consumption & engagement.
(Which is off-the-wall compared to desktop or a browser on your phone.)
But for persuasion & influence, too.
You can see a demonstration of this here:
https://www.EmailPlayers.com/learnistic
Ben Settle