30 Marketing Lessons We Can Learn from The Jungle Book
The Jungle Book is so popular that, even if you are not a fan of Disney movies, you probably have heard about the movie or know someone who watched it. It is one of Disney’s best productions, as revealed in discussions over at runrex.com, and on top of the entertainment factor, it also offers lots of lessons to us, including marketing lessons. To that effect, here are 30 marketing lessons we can learn from The Jungle Book.
Compelling content
The first marketing lesson we can learn from The Jungle Book is the benefit of offering your audience compelling content. The storyline in the movie, as well as the characters, the adventures, the music and everything about it, are stunning. Viewers have watched and re-watched over and over again, which goes to show how compelling it was. As far as marketing is concerned, as per the gurus over at runrex.com, having compelling content to offer your audience will increase the chances of your marketing efforts bearing fruits.
Emotional connection
The Jungle Book was also very popular because of how the creators managed to get the viewer to be invested and emotionally attached to the characters, especially Mowgli. In the same vein, you should try and create an emotional connection between you and your marketing campaigns if they are to succeed.
Make sure there is something for everyone
As covered over at runrex.com, The Jungle Book has a wide variety of dynamic creatures, from Baloo the care-free bare to Kaa the snake and many others. Each of the animals has different personalities, which means that viewers found at least one character they could relate to. As far as marketing is concerned, particularly content marketing, diversity is key, and you should make sure that in your blog posts and videos, there is something for almost everyone.
Repurpose and reuse content
The Jungle Book was so good when it was released in 1967, it was always going to be remade once more; evidenced by its recent live-action remake. The marketing lesson we can take here is that we should never discard good old content, but should look to repurpose and reuse it to get more value from it.
Influencer marketing
The cast of The Jungle Book, particularly the live-action remake, is full of stars from Lupita Nyong’o to Idris Elba and many others, as discussed in detail over at runrex.com. This helped in making people take notice and created a buzz around the movie that made it so successful. This shows how beneficial influencer marketing can still be when done properly.
Don’t restrict yourself when it comes to your audience
You would think that The Jungle Book was a movie for kids, given that is what we normally associate Disney movies with, but The Jungle Book, particularly its live-action remake, has done a great job of reaching out to older adults from teenagers to young adults in their twenties. Disney movies are also usually associated with girls, but The Jungle Book tried to also appeal to boys and men. The marketing lesson here is that we should not restrict ourselves when it comes to our audience and should target as many demographics as possible.
Diversity in your marketing team
The various characters in The Jungle Book, particularly those that are aligned with Mowgli all bring something unique to the table and help him in their unique ways. According to the experts over at runrex.com, this shows the benefit of having a diverse group in your marketing team. Make sure that each member of your marketing team brings something unique to the table, and you will benefit massively.
Memories and nostalgia
The live-action remake of The Jungle Book showed us how powerful nostalgia can be as a marketing tool. Those who had watched The Jungle Book as kids were all too willing to watch it again. Create lasting memories and evoke nostalgia and your marketing efforts will bear fruit.
Get straight to the point
When Baloo sings to Mowgli the tune “The Bare Minimums” to cheer him up while entertaining us, it also teaches us an important marketing lesson; try and stick to the bare minimums, getting straight to the point when communicating your marketing messages. You don’t want to use complex terms and put up long content that will lose your audience.
Learn from Mentors
In Bagheera and Baloo, Mowgli has excellent mentors who guide him and teach him how to survive in the jungle, while helping him find his way. The marketing lesson we can take here is the important role mentors can play in making you a better marketer. Look for people with more experience than you and try and learn from them and their experiences.
Make sure your customers know what your products or services can deliver
When Mowgli is asked by King Louie to give him the power of Red Fire, they realize that he doesn’t have the skill that all men have; or rather, what they perceived all men to have. As per the experts over at runrex.com, it is important to make sure, when you are marketing your products or services, that you are clear in your messages so that your customers know what to expect. You don’t want them to suddenly realize that that feature you hinted at isn’t actually on offer. This will erode trust.
Don’t ignore advice and think you are beyond being taught
Don’t be like Mowgli who continuously avoided Bagheera’s advice on how dangerous the jungle was, which meant that he regularly got into trouble. Listen to advice and never feel like you are above teaching otherwise your marketing efforts will be fruitless.
Adapt
Even though Mowgli is an orphan in a strange environment, he takes the challenge straight on and adapts to his current environment. As the marketing experts over at runrex.com will tell you, adapting is a skill you will need when it comes to marketing, where things are always changing.
Innovate and be creative
Mowgli also has to routinely improvise, innovate and be creative; to the extent that the other animals feel like he is using “tricks”. As far as marketing is concerned, creativity and innovation are crucial. You will be required to continuously come up with new ad creative ideas and solutions, and if you can’t, then you won’t be able to achieve the success you are looking for.
Build loyalty
In The Jungle Book, as covered over at runrex.com, there are countless times when Bagheera nearly gives up on Mowgli, but in the end, always shows up and comes through for him. In the same vein, try and build loyalty with your customers, offering them personalized services, and trying to reach out and interact with them, making them feel valued. If you create loyalty, they will always come back to your brand.
Appreciate your team
On a related note, you should make sure you appreciate the members of your marketing team who deliver for you. Don’t be like Mowgli; make sure that those who do a good job for you feel appreciated and they will want to do even better for you.
Have a plan and a strategy
When Mowgli comes up against Shere Khan to save Baloo, he doesn’t just rush in like a fool to face the bigger and more fierce tiger, but he comes up with a plan that ends up with him tying a burning tree branch to Khan’s tail to scare him and make him run off in fear, as discussed over at runrex.com. The marketing lesson here is that we should always have a plan when it comes to marketing. Don’t wing it or go about things off the cuff.
Have an epic opening
The Jungle Book’s opening is gripping stuff, to say the least, and this not only sets the tone on what to expect in the movie, but it also captures the attention of viewers straight away. As far as marketing goes, try and make sure that you capture the attention of your audience from the off so that you don’t lose them even before you get started.
Take positives even from negative situations
In the beginning, when Mowgli races Bagheera, he inevitably loses, but though he is disappointed in the loss, he gets to learn a key lesson about dead trees. Just like Mowgli, we should always look for the positives even when we encounter negative situations in our marketing endeavors. It is this trick that he learns here that comes in handy in helping him defeat Khan.
You don’t need massive resources to succeed
Mowgli regularly made use of limited resources to get through challenges thrown at him in The Jungle Book. The marketing lesson we can learn here is that we don’t need to have massive resources to succeed in marketing. Make good use of the limited resources you have to get the best out of your marketing efforts.
There are no silver bullets
Don’t be like King Louie who thought that to become powerful, all he needed was the Red Fire (flower). This is an important marketing lesson, as we learn that there is no silver bullet to success in marketing; even social media, a point that the gurus over at runrex.com always like to make.
Put in the work for success
Given that there is no silver bullet, you will need to have to put in the work to achieve the success you are aiming for. Don’t assume that you will set up your campaigns and leave them and that the magic will happen. You will need to do some A/B testing, some audience research, and so forth to succeed.
Don’t be afraid of taking on bigger companies
Mowgli was able to take on and defeat the bigger and stronger Shere Khan, which shows us that even if you are a small business, you can still succeed at the expense of bigger companies in your industry. Be tactful and innovative in your marketing efforts, and you will succeed, as per the experts over at runrex.com.
Use the tools that are at your disposal
The other animals in The Jungle Book felt that Mowgli was using tricks when all he was doing was using the skills that were available to him as a human. When it comes to marketing, don’t be afraid to use the tools that are at your disposal as this is how you will be able to succeed.
Having the tools and knowing how to use them are two different things
Mowgli had to learn how to use the various tools that were available to him, and initially, he didn’t always get things right. As per the experts over at runrex.com, while it is good to have the latest tools and technology at your disposal, it is more important to know how and when to use them to get the desired results.
Change can be scary but is necessary to survive in marketing
Mowgli was not comfortable with going back to living with humans as he was used to living in the jungle among the animals. However, in the end, he has to accept that he needs to go back to the human village. Change can be scary, but if you don’t get with the times as far as marketing is concerned, then you will inevitably be left behind.
Knowledge
To adapt to life in the jungle, Mowgli had to learn and get the requisite skills. In the same vein, as per the folks over at runrex.com, you will need to acquire the requisite knowledge and skills needed to be successful in marketing; an important marketing lesson we can learn from The Jungle Book.
Teamwork
Teamwork is a constant theme in The Jungle Book and is yet another marketing lesson we can learn from the movie. Make sure that everyone is pulling in the right direction and that the team spirit in your marketing team is as good as it was in Mowgli’s team.
Get help
Don’t be afraid to get help if you need it, something Mowgli teaches us as he regularly sought out help when he was in over his head. As always, the highly-rated marketing experts over at runrex.com have you covered when you need help with your marketing campaigns.
Humor
The humor in The Jungle Book is one of the things that make the movie such an excellent watch as you will find yourself laughing scene after scene. The marketing lesson here, one that will be particularly helpful in our content marketing efforts, is incorporating humor. Content with humor, be it blogs, videos or even social media posts is more intriguing and will keep your audience coming for more.
The above are some of the marketing lessons we can learn from The Jungle Book, with there being more to be uncovered on this topic over at runrex.com.