3 Things Pump Up the Volume Can Teach Us About Content Marketing

Image from IMDb

You didn’t have to come of age in the late 80’s to remember the 1990 hit Pump Up the Volume.  Starring Christian Slaughter as a rouge disc jockey who thinks he is talking to himself and ends up changing the tone and conversation of an entire town.  With catch phrases like “Talk Hard” and “So Be It”, “Harry” is able to reach an entire generation screaming to be heard.  So beside some great music and sage advice like “eat you cereal with a fork and do your homework in the dark” there is a message here that marketers can learn from.

1. Messaging must be compelling.  What does that mean?  It means that our words and our topics must reach our readers and listeners in a way that is not superficial.  Creating content that is interesting enough to “Pin” is not enough anymore.  We must create messaging that compels our readers to take action.  Whether it is to rebel against a corrupt school administration or to buy our products or services.
2. We have to know our target audience.  “Harry” doesn't know who is audience is when he gets started…he doesn’t even know he has an audience.  But once the letters start coming in, it becomes clear that he has a very specific group of teenagers who are listening and internalizing what he is saying.  As marketers we use lots of tools to tell us who are target market is.  We analyze geographic profiles, demographic information and psychographic details of our prospects and customers lives.  But do we know them?  Do we stop to think about what keeps them up at night?  What drives their behavior?  We are in an era that demands highly customized marketing and if we can get into the very hearts (not just the minds) of our market we have a better chance of doing this.
3. Ability to capitalize on a moment.  As marketers it is our job to understand not just the challenges of our customers but the larger challenges that they are facing.  Challenges driven by the economy, the legal system, family budgets, childcare issues, divorce…understanding the lager moment we are in can help marketers to craft messaging and chose channels that can help to drive sales.

The next time you are channel surfing or digging through that box of VHS tapes you keep in the garage next to the baby cloths the kids grew out of years ago, consider taking an hour and half.  Revisit Harry and remind yourself of the massive impact we can have as marketers…no matter our message.