Everybody’s heard of Star Wars, the American movie franchise George Lucas created back in 1977 with the release of Star Wars: A New Hope. What you might not know is that Star Wars is more than a movie franchise, it’s also a genuine lesson in great marketing. In honour of May the Fourth, here’s a look at some of the marketing lessons worth pulling from the franchise.
Using drip feed marketing
To build hype ahead of The Force Awakens’ release, Disney leaned on drip-feed marketing. Before the movie hit cinemas, they released posters and official trailers to give fans a taste of what was coming. The same strategy translates easily into your own marketing campaigns. Rather than simply announcing a product and releasing it, dropping hints along the way builds buzz and anticipation, meaning a bigger response once the actual release lands.
Incorporate UGC
Target created a fansite called “Share the Force,” backed by Disney, encouraging Star Wars fans to share their favourite memories and taking advantage of UGC in the process. Those fan memories lived on the site as stars scattered across a 3D galaxy, shaped like iconic Star Wars characters.
Taking a page from Target’s playbook, there are plenty of ways to bring UGC into your own brand. Organic options include reviews, testimonials, photos, videos, and blog posts. Paid UGC tends to be popular among newer brands eager to tap into UGC but without a large enough customer base yet sharing photos organically. You can reach out to UGC creators directly on platforms like Upwork or Fiverr, or if your brand already has a loyal following, they may well come to you.
Trigger emotion
Part of why LucasFilm’s marketing worked so well was its ability to tap into a genuine sense of nostalgia among fans. Creating content that evokes an emotional response from your own audience can do the same thing. Once you’ve done the research to understand your target audience properly, you’ll be in a strong position to create content that genuinely resonates with them.
Evoking emotion can be simpler than it sounds. Colour choice in your ads, for instance, has a real impact on your audience’s emotional response. Red tends to carry strong associations with love, excitement, and anger, while yellow leans more toward warmth, creativity, and happiness.
Create your own slogan
“May the Force be with you” is a phrase fans instantly associate with Star Wars, and the same holds true for plenty of other brands. “Just Do It” probably brings Nike to mind, and “The Happiest Place on Earth” likely conjures Disneyland. Coming up with a genuinely memorable slogan helps your own brand stick in people’s minds the same way. The best slogans stay simple, carry a clear message tied to the brand, and are easy to remember.
Incorporate cultural relevance
Part of what’s driven Star Wars’ massive success is how deeply it’s woven itself into pop culture. Darth Vader remains one of the most iconic villains of all time, while heroes like Luke Skywalker give audiences someone genuine to root for.
Star Wars makes clear that cultural relevance matters, but just how much? According to Adweek, quite a lot. A survey of 865 consumers found that 25% of product purchase decisions are driven by cultural relevance.
For your own brand, building cultural relevance starts with genuinely understanding your audience’s culture through research. In practice, that can mean using inclusive language and incorporating culturally relevant imagery. Authenticity and respect are what separate a genuine, culturally relevant brand image from one that just feels like it’s reaching.
Star Wars isn’t just a beloved franchise, it’s a genuinely useful lesson in building a successful marketing strategy. If you’re looking for a strategy that actually gets results, get in contact with us at hello@omdigigroup.com to find out how we can help.
