One of my favorite holiday traditions is the influx of Christmas-themed movies, and while the movie buff in me cringes a little (another Tim Allen Santa Clause movie!?), the little kid in me rejoices in the lights, colors, comedy and lessons Hollywood wants to show us.
A few years back, Four Christmases, featuring the “so money” Vince Vaughn as Brad and America’s sweetheart Reese Witherspoon as Kate, was that very movie.
Brad and Kate are a couple who, despite looking to avoid the holiday with their families, are forced to spend Christmas with each of their divorced parents. This leads to four separate households, with four separate families and four separate sets of idiosyncrasies.
Ultimately as viewers, we’re treated to the hilarity of such events as Brad being attacked by MMA-trained brothers and Kate being overwhelmed by her mother’s estrogen-packed home.
The underlying message of the movie comes around at the end, which shows us that the holidays are best when spent together. Now, I know what you’re thinking:
“How does that have anything to do with Social Media?”
It’s actually a very easy analogy to make if we replace the movie characters with the problems we see everyday.
– The brand (Brad and Kate) has a problem- It needs to be everywhere, talking to everyone, and keeping everyone happy- There are a bunch of different platforms (homes) that it needs to work within; and- There are various audiences (families) to please
…Ultimately leading to a lot of extra work on the brand’s part.
What we’ve learned here at thismoment, Inc. is that brands need to stop treating their fans like different families. Sure I browse a Facebook tab, but it doesn’t mean that the user on Twitter, YouTube, a Brand site or their smartphone is saying something I don’t want to hear, or seeing something I don’t want to see.
Although today’s Social Media is a swirl of platforms, experiences and users, a brand can still implement a single cohesive experience. And what’s even more effective for a user is to be given everything the brand has in one fell swoop, rather than browsing YouTube for a video, posting in Facebook then switching to Twitter for an update.
When considering your social media and brand initiatives in 2012, it’s very important to realize that users, like Brad and Kate’s family, may seem different. But when you stop and think about it, they ultimately want the same thing: an engaging experience from a brand they enjoy.
…Just remember to bring presents or else the kids might lock you in a bouncy castle.
- Abhishek “Shake” Lahoti
Dir. Sales Engineer
