Princess Diana and the Mexican Wave
Princess Diana and the Mexican Wave
Copyright Henry James 2022-2023 - updated from its initial publication in 2009
Marketing Lessons from Princess Diana and the Mexican Wave
BANG, it went. Darned alarm clock! No, wasn't that. It was the front door.
Then clump, clump up the stairs, as my youngest got back from his early morning paper
round. "Morning Dad, time to be up", and chucked the papers on the bed.
And it was definitely time to be up and about. We were all off to The Concert for Diana, a little surprise I had organised a few months earlier. My wife, two boys, and me.
A great chance to celebrate an icon [faults an' all], see the new Wembley stadium, some great bands, and contribute to charity too, all in one swoop.
I still think the new Wembley stadium should have been built on a large greenfield area around Coventry/Daventry, rather than slap bang in the middle of an industrial estate in North West London, but there you go.
Having got there by a mix of car and public transport in just under two, very relaxing hours, the sun came out [and miraculously stayed out all afternoon and evening too], the stadium was fantastic and our seats were great. The stadium was virtually full, despite some of the TV angles the world saw suggesting otherwise, but seats that could the see stage were all full. It was a great atmosphere.
Elton John opened and closed it.
The Prince's read their words off their hands (what was that about!!), Duran Duran sang "Wild Boys" for William and Harry, and "Rio" for Princess Di. Bryan Ferry, Fergie, Pharrell Williams, P Diddy, The National Ballet, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Sarah Brightman, Andrea Bocelli singing "Phantom of the Opera", Tom Jones, Joss Stone, Rod Stewart (he was great, surprised me, not the biggest of his fans) enjoyed kicking footballs out to the crowd in his songs, Take That and The Feeling were great too, as was Orson, James Morrison, Lily Allen was brill, Nelly Furtado, Natasha Bedingfield, Kanye West, Rodger Hampson (Supertramp), Status Quo and Will Young. Ricky Gervais. Fantastic all.
And we had intro's from an assortment of guests, Kiefer Sutherland no less, Dennis Hopper, Natasha Kaplinski, Boris Becker, John McEnroe, Jamie Oliver, and more.
But what's the Princess Di concert got to do with marketing?
Two things:
1. The first is about over-delivering at a good price = i.e. value for money. There was a souvenir programme, beautifully produced with photo's galore, high-quality production and for £10 great value for what it was. A "product" I was not planning to get, i.e. I had already decided before going I would not get one but..... it was too well done and at a too good price point not to.
So, don't think you can't convert your market. If you are going to convert prospects, even skeptical ones like me, and have them buy from you, create and deliver a high-quality product for a great price and even the most skeptical of buyers can be converted.
2. The second is to find a way to create a "tipping point", something that will create action amongst a group of your target audience. The "tipping point scenario" was best demonstrated during the concert. On many occasions, the left-hand corner of the crowd, near the stage, tried to send Mexican waves away from the stage, up the sides, round the back, down again the other side, all the way round to their opposite numbers on the other side of the stage, over three massive tiers and 68,000 people.
How did they get on? The people trying to start the wave showed that persistence pays. And persistence pays in marketing. Because, as Malcolm Gladwell ably writes, it creates a "Tipping Point".
The first time about 4 people tried it. Failed.
The second time about the same number, the same result.
3rd time, @ 20 people, this time about 50 seats away, joined in but it stopped.
4th time it got about 1/2 way around a patchy 1st tier.
5th time we were rocking, 2/3 rd's the way around the first tier.
6th time, fantastic, all the way round the first tier and a few from the second tier.
After that first, "all way round" success, it went again, this time with everyone in the first and even more in the second tier too. After a few more times during the whole concert, all three tiers did it. It was great, you could feel it as it got nearer, the noise went up and clapping and more, as 68,000 people moved in timed unison, to one end goal - the wave.
And as it got to the end the "posh" seats at stage level sent it all the way from the front of the stage right the way back round to the far side of the stadium where it started from - Cool.
Nearly every time thereafter, if a wave started, it nearly always completed.
Sometimes the whole stadium was on its feet with the wave (in between all the dancing for every band), sometimes just a complete tier in isolation.
But once the crowd was taught, the "tipping point" reached that crowd and it was easy to start another frenzy, to get the crowd to respond.
It became easier to "upsell" the next wave, after the one before it.
Just as you should think about providing the opportunity for a loyal seller or landlord to get something else from you immediately after their last transaction with you, upsell, cross-sell, a downsell, even a free gift or discount for a future move.
The real message. Next time your marketing gets stuck, persevere.
It starts with just a couple customers or leads. But keep trying. Those 2 become 4, then 20, 40, 80, 160, 320, 640, and you get the drift. In other words, you get sellers and landlords banging at your door. When I was involved in the start of a relo business we had just one empty room, one desk, one phone NO clients. But we persevered and got the first, then the second, then the fourth, the twentieth and so on. Perseverance pays.
With the words of great branding success, Nike, and the closing words Dan Kennedy used to close his book, "Ultimate Success Secrets" - JUST DO IT.
Take action to overcome your worry and don't be willing to accept the result you are getting. Do something about it. Don't just try something once, and stop if it does not work. Work out why it may not have worked then try again, and then again and again until it does work.
So, if your marketing is stuck in a rut, going nowhere fast, think: "What can you do to start your own Mexican wave, or viral wave, or word of mouth, or PR wave to get your business back on track?"
Think about it - you will find something.
Until next time, happy concert going!
Henry.
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About the Author:
Henry James is a marketer with a passion for estate agency and the property sector and specialises in marketing systems for estate agents and those in the property sector.
He helps you attract, convert and retain business to help companies like yours make more money!
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