What the rise and fall of the Star Wars franchise can teach you about marketing and branding.
Disney Star Wars Franchise is DEAD. Angry Fans DECLARE WAR on Latest Star Wars Movie!
You might not know this, but in 1977 Charles Lippincott completely changed the way the movies are marketed to audiences.
He got his big break when he met George Lucas at Universal who was working on a film called Star Wars.
Lippincott then began to copyright just about everything that he could get his hands, on while getting a series of deals with Marvel, Kenner and a book publisher to begin the process of building a fan following prior to the release of the film.
To keep the momentum of Star Wars' popularity going, he created comarketing opportunities and movie tie-ins with brands, television shows etc with established audiences that may have an interest in seeing the film.
Many of his marketing techniques continue to be used to this day. However, there appears to be a clear divide between fans of the Star Wars saga and Disney's Lucasfilm.
The result has led to a drop in box office from $2.06-billion to a little over $300-million.
Regardless of what you think about the films or your political stance, it's undeniable that Disney has alienated it's hardcore, cash-rich fanbase.
Perhaps it also serves as a solid example of how to grow an iconic brand and avoid the pitfalls of engaging a new audience at the expense of losing your most profitable customers.
Be sure to check out my recent video about the above here: https://youtu.be/nHhkhIoC0UM
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