What can you learn from Pixar?

You’ve probably heard ‘Content is King’ at some point and time. It’s just as relevant today as it was when the internet, and blogs started taking off.

The same is true when it comes to your advertising. Your message / story (aka content) is key. Who are you? What do you do? And why is it important to ME (the consumer).

Most advertising works this way: here’s my product, here are some features, buy it. It’s safe, lazy and ineffective, but everyone does it, so you follow the leader and do the same.

Think about how you buy for a second? Why did you buy the vehicle you did? Why did you purchase Doritos over the No Name brand? You may not know it, but you did it because you bought the story of the brand. You felt connected in some way to it, so you support it. You FEEL something for the brand, and you connect with what it says about YOU.

You purchased a Mercedes because it says you can afford it, you enjoy comfort, and you’re not afraid to show off. You purchased Doritos because you’re hip, you’re young, and you’re not cheap. Even though you may not be all these things, you associate yourself with these attributes. You are who you think you are. You are apart of that TRIBE.

Your business / personal brand

I really got to thinking about the message / story last night while I was watching a collection of Pixar short films. Yes, they were doing amazing things with animation (feature) but it was the STORY (benefit) that connected to the audience. It was the STORY that made people BUY Pixar and what they were doing.

You can follow Pixar’s lead by telling your story in your advertising. This is sooo important if you’re a new business (or if you just switched jobs and you care about your personal brand. ps. YOU SHOULD CARE ABOUT YOUR PERSONAL BRAND).

Who are you? What do you stand for? Why do you exist? Why is that important? By telling your story you will connect with the people who will eventually become your customers. It may not happen right away, but over time it will.

No one cares about your product, it’s features or why they should buy it. They care about you, your story, and how it benefits them. The local businesses who are uber successful know this and they tell you about it in their advertising. It’s how they compete with the large international businesses. They connect, and make fans. And fans will pay a lot more to YOU because of YOUR story.

It’s how Pixar got the ear of Disney, and it’s how they made numerous successful shorts and feature films (including the best animated – maybe even feature film – of all time, Toy Story). The lesson is in the name. Stop shoving your product down my throat. Tell me a story, and if I connect with that story…I will support you for life.

Love you,

Jordan