The Power of Editorial control over your Brand

by Startacus Admin
It’s that time of year folks, and everyone is currently making the most of the holiday season; especially the business folk! We’ve all probably seen the new John Lewis advert, wanted to share our chocolate at Christmas and of course, learned from a red and white soft drink label that the holidays are coming.
This is what editorial control of your brand can do, and that’s just on a temporary basis. Imagine what prolonged control can do to (or for) your brand?
First and foremost, it’s very important when starting up, to have a set goal and idea about your brand; if you go changing it all the time, you’ll lose plenty of followers/custom. No one wants to continuously back a brand that won’t even back itself consistently.
That being said, there’s very little harm in a few minor tweaks here and there, just like the Christmas ads mentioned or any other seasonal promotion. It’s a short term adjustment to your brand to pander to a market. Briefly. It’s a safe bet that very few people are buying Santa Claus branded merchandise in July.
As with almost all things in business, this comes down to another balancing act; Maintaining your brand and the correct changes needed, all while making sure not to drive consumers away. (FYI Have fun with that)
Recently, thanks to media students, a fad has developed online of re-cutting or re-dubbing certain materials. As a point, they create these new videos to show the potential of editorial influence, and frankly, because they’re actually rather hilarious.
Just so you know before watching these; nothing is sacred or spared from the power of editorial influence. Nothing.
We’ve all seen the John Lewis ads around Christmas time at some point or another. They’re adorable right?
Now let’s see what happens, with just a few tweaks to the audio.
John Lewis 2014 Christmas Ad. Horror Cut
Some cutting and a sound file can really make a difference to somethingThat little penguin suddenly appears to be some form of demon spawn. We’d always suspected here in the office.
If that one didn’t seem too unusual to you; how about a beloved family movie? Something heart warming and thought provoking?
Mrs. Doubtfire - Horror Cut.
A Popular family movie can take a really sinister turn with a few omissions and clever image placementsThis basically ruined the childhood of several of our content writers. It’s cruel really.
Just as a final point, let’s show a different angle. Implications are easy, you put the right inflection on anything, you can make it sound scary. So lets take something completely serious and gritty, and show you once again, the power of editorial influence.
Breaking Bad as a Romantic Comedy
Horror isn't the only thing your brand could take a hold as, this proves that anything can be construed another way with the right changesHopefully these examples have been enough to show you how important maintaining your brand and your image is, as well as ensuring that editorial influence on your brand is regulated, to make sure what you want to be offering, is what people are aware that you’re offering.
For some more advice on marketing, branding and editorial content, why not check out these other articles?
Creating a Marketing Plan - the basics
Branding basics for your Startup - 4 key things to consider
Personal branding and your startup
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Published on: 3rd December 2014
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