Swiffer: For Good
Y'know the feeling you get when a person you can't stand makes a really good point? That potent, acrid cocktail of disdain mixed with admiration and a bitter tinge of envy...it's kind of like the emotional version of heartburn.
For me, the marketing equivalent of that feeling would be Wicked: For Good. I know next to nothing about the movie or its prequel, but I sure do remember walking into a Target and having my eyesight assailed by varying shades of princess pink and floral green after making the mistake of stopping there instead of Fred Meyer to buy a soda. It's blatant, inescapable, obnoxious, and nothing short of a marketing Jackpot. Just slap pink and green on a swiffer mop, call it Wicked merchandise, and clock out to go throw back some beers with your mates while you watch the big bucks roll in.
For me, the marketing equivalent of that feeling would be Wicked: For Good. I know next to nothing about the movie or its prequel, but I sure do remember walking into a Target and having my eyesight assailed by varying shades of princess pink and floral green after making the mistake of stopping there instead of Fred Meyer to buy a soda. It's blatant, inescapable, obnoxious, and nothing short of a marketing Jackpot. Just slap pink and green on a swiffer mop, call it Wicked merchandise, and clock out to go throw back some beers with your mates while you watch the big bucks roll in.
No, seriously. It's that simple.
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No matter what, I'll find a way
The point I'm trying to build up to here is that while I don't particularly care for Wicked, it certainly left an impression on me. Granted, that impression was negative, but it still stuck with me. All you really need to do is put pink and green together, and huzzah! Wicked merchandise. And I'm clearly not the only person who thinks this way when there are over four-hundred Wicked: For Good partnerships and collaborations either already out or still in the works.
To really start hammering home my love/hate relationship with Universal's newest cash cow, I'd like to summarize an article called "How 'Wicked: For Good' Became a Global Collaboration Story" from NBCUniversal about the aforementioned 400 partnerships- which is gonna be pretty easy to do, considering the article itself is more or less an ad itself. The author starts off by talking about how, following the explosive success of the first Wicked movie, over 400 business partners teamed up with Universal to capitalize on the success of the first film. Afterwards, the author talks a little bit about different Wicked themed events, and then goes on to talk about at least 10+ different Wicked themed merchandise collaborations.
Then the article ends.
No closer. No wrap-up. What you see is what you get.
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I really wish I had more to say about an article titled "How 'Wicked: For Good' Became a Global Collaboration Story". Still, from the mangled remains of what I think was supposed to be an article, I was able to salvage three key takeaways about Wicked's marketing and why it is the way it is.
For one: the first movie's success is why so many more brands wanted to collaborate with Universal this time around.
For two: Wicked has created an extremely recognizable brand by using a more simplistic approach to its marketing.
To really start hammering home my love/hate relationship with Universal's newest cash cow, I'd like to summarize an article called "How 'Wicked: For Good' Became a Global Collaboration Story" from NBCUniversal about the aforementioned 400 partnerships- which is gonna be pretty easy to do, considering the article itself is more or less an ad itself. The author starts off by talking about how, following the explosive success of the first Wicked movie, over 400 business partners teamed up with Universal to capitalize on the success of the first film. Afterwards, the author talks a little bit about different Wicked themed events, and then goes on to talk about at least 10+ different Wicked themed merchandise collaborations.
Then the article ends.
No closer. No wrap-up. What you see is what you get.
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For one: the first movie's success is why so many more brands wanted to collaborate with Universal this time around.
For two: Wicked has created an extremely recognizable brand by using a more simplistic approach to its marketing.
And for three: Wicked's primary approach to marketing seems to be brand collaboration deals.
Universal Pictures' value proposition seems to be delivering a quality product to a global audience- something simple and easy to get behind. Wicked's staggering amount of merchandise seems to be the way in which its parent company rises to the challenge of trying to market to people in an economy in which people have less and less money to spend on luxury goods. Sure, you might not have the money for a limited edition matching Wicked vinyl player set, but you have enough for something like a Swiffer, right? To me, this is what makes Universal's marketing approach so unique- they kind of throw whatever at the wall and don't wait to see what sticks before throwing another thing. And another. And another. You get the idea. There's such a metric ton of products out there that you might end up buying one even if you don't particularly care about limited edition merchandise just because it's something you already needed.
My primary critique of Wicked, and what I've been building up towards for this entire article, is Wicked's marketing strategy feels nothing short of aimless. It's hard to think of a primary audience when Wicked is marketing to EVERYONE. They have expensive designer items for diehard fans, cereals and toys for children, and household appliances for who knows. What I would personally do differently would be to try and reign in all of these collaborations and try to figure out who our target audience is instead of trying to appeal to everybody and their dog. Though their current business strategy is undoubtedly a smash success, it's one that has left me scratching my head in many a grocery store aisle thinking 'who is this even for?'. A little direction would go a long way.
And hey, look! I can make my own merchandise, too. That's a Glinda Ozmopolitan Pink pet dress, and it'll be $500. Thanks for reading. Give me your money.
Universal Pictures' value proposition seems to be delivering a quality product to a global audience- something simple and easy to get behind. Wicked's staggering amount of merchandise seems to be the way in which its parent company rises to the challenge of trying to market to people in an economy in which people have less and less money to spend on luxury goods. Sure, you might not have the money for a limited edition matching Wicked vinyl player set, but you have enough for something like a Swiffer, right? To me, this is what makes Universal's marketing approach so unique- they kind of throw whatever at the wall and don't wait to see what sticks before throwing another thing. And another. And another. You get the idea. There's such a metric ton of products out there that you might end up buying one even if you don't particularly care about limited edition merchandise just because it's something you already needed.
My primary critique of Wicked, and what I've been building up towards for this entire article, is Wicked's marketing strategy feels nothing short of aimless. It's hard to think of a primary audience when Wicked is marketing to EVERYONE. They have expensive designer items for diehard fans, cereals and toys for children, and household appliances for who knows. What I would personally do differently would be to try and reign in all of these collaborations and try to figure out who our target audience is instead of trying to appeal to everybody and their dog. Though their current business strategy is undoubtedly a smash success, it's one that has left me scratching my head in many a grocery store aisle thinking 'who is this even for?'. A little direction would go a long way.
And hey, look! I can make my own merchandise, too. That's a Glinda Ozmopolitan Pink pet dress, and it'll be $500. Thanks for reading. Give me your money.
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to circle around to Opossums
in the end.
How 'Wicked: For Good' Became a Global Collaboration Story: https://www.nbcuniversal.com/article/how-wicked-good-became-global-collaboration-story
About|Universal Pictures: https://www.universalpictures.com/about/
About|Universal Pictures: https://www.universalpictures.com/about/
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