Four Mistakes in “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace” NOT to Repeat in Your Digital Marketing

June 18th, 2012

Topics: Marketing Optimization, Optimization, Site Optimization, User Experience

 

 

George Lucas has been many things.  Filmmaker, screenwriter, special effect genius and, maybe more than anything, a master marketer. That doesn’t mean everything he has done is perfect.  The first three “Star Wars” movies…genius.  The prequels…not so much.  And none was worse than “Episode I – The Phantom Menace”.

Like many, I considered “The Phantom Menace” to be 136 minutes of my life that was completely wasted. But if we look at the movie again with a critical eye we can learn from George’s mistakes, by taking this awful (awful, awful) movie and gleaning online marketing strategies that can move e-commerce sites to the next level.

While examining “The Phantom Menace”, let’s attempt to hold our stomach bile down and take a closer look at four key mistakes Lucas made with the movie and how they apply to online marketing:

1. Shoving More Junk on the Screen Will Not Accomplish Your Goals

A movie screen is a lot like a screen on a computer or mobile device: you only have so much real estate to communicate clearly with users.  As opposed to his original “Star Wars” trilogy movies, in his prequels, including “The Phantom Menace”, Lucas filled the screen with digital effects and characters. Every scene seemed to have a million things going on at once. The result was overwhelming and made it difficult for people to focus on what was really important.

DON’T BE LIKE GEORGE.

Homepages are often crammed with information: popups, sliding carousels, banner ads, dynamic rotating content, flash intros, multiple “click here” buttons, you name it. The result for users is the same as when they watch “The Phantom Menace” – they want to run away.

Even if you have a lot of products, keep your homepage as simple as possible. Focus on offering a clear way for users to find the information they are looking for. Your users will thank you and your online performance will improve.

2. Be Memorable:

Don’t let your site be like the characters in Episode I – forgettable. Do you remember anything specific about Qui-Gon Jinn? Captain Panaka? Heck, Natalie Portman plays Queen Amidala and even she was forgettable.

DON’T BE LIKE GEORGE.

Make your site and buying experience memorable! Let users know the benefits of shopping with you. Make the buying experience easy. Offer easy to access to customer service. Try using informal, friendly language on your site and use your email marketing to stay in touch with your customers.
The better the shopping experience the more memorable you are and the more return customers you will have.

 3. Get to the Point Already

The plot to “The Phantom Menace” is incredibly complicated. There’s a peaceful planet that is under an embargo by the Trade Federation. Right? Ok. But why would a “Trade Federation” block trade? Shouldn’t they like trading? Why are they working with Senator Palpatine (the bad guy)? If no one can get off the planet how is the Senate supposed to know what is happening or react to the “crisis”? Why send two Jedis to negotiate this? Are they experts in trade disputes? Why…you know what, forget it. This is exhausting. Lucas was trying to communicate too much information and it gets convoluted and confusing.

DON’T BE LIKE GEORGE.

Keep the copy and images on your pages succinct and to the point. The best way to focus your copy is to ask yourself “What is the goal of this page? What do I want users to do here?” Then remove all the copy and page elements that would distract a user from accomplishing this goal. A page with content focused on a simple goal will have a higher conversion rate and result in more online revenue.

4. Hire the Right People for the Right Roles On Your Team

No matter what your goals are you are only as good as the team you assemble to accomplish them. Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Samuel L. Jackson and Natalie Portman were a promising start to be leads in “The Phantom Menace”, but we all know one bad apple can ruin everyone’s efforts.

DON’T BE LIKE GEORGE.

Don’t hire a Jar-Jar! Make sure you take the time and make the extra effort to find the right people for the right positions on your team. One bad apple can derail the efforts of your team, wreck morale and cause you to miss your goals.

So, remember, make sure your website and marketing team are more like “Episode IV: A New Hope” Lucas than “Episode I: The Phantom Menace” Lucas.  Keep your screen elements and your copy uncluttered and straightforward.  Create a memorable experience. Something more along the lines of the Death Star exploding not monotone discussion of trade issues in the Senate. Finally, assemble a great team.  After all, there’s a difference between Darth Vader and Darth Maul. A big, big difference!

May online marketing success be with you.  Always.

  • http://twitter.com/AdamKay Adam Krause

    The 90 minute review of Phantom Menace by Red Letter Media explores all of these points in detail. Granted, it’s watching a movie about a movie, but much more enjoyable than Episode 1. And free to watch on YouTube.

  • http://www.facebook.com/Johnbarrattmanchester John Barratt

    i’d also say even bad webpages have good points just like the Pod Race scene, ok it was an update to an already classic scene from ben hur, or the climatic lightsaber duel with darth Maul, but the point is that there are nuggets of brilliance and the trick is to extract them and combine them with other nuggets from equally bad projects (the appearance of the clone troopers in ATOC or the betrayal of the Jedi in ROTS)

  • Michael Shaye

    For the record, this film ranks number 10 all-time with a worldwide gross of $1,027,044,677 and was nominated for three Oscars.

    • Sussannunez

      You could say the same thing about any movie franchise…The first three (or last three) Starwars movies are legend. So it was only natural that everyone who had grown up with them would go see episode I. Also, no one sits there and marathons Star Wars but leaves out episode I.

    • Mark

      Just because McDonald’s makes a lot of money, doesn’t mean the food is good for you. And those 3 Oscars, they weren’t for ‘best director’, ‘best screenplay’, ‘best actor’.

  • http://twitter.com/websiteconsult Marcus Interactive

    How about “Don’t add characters based on outside influences that don’t move the story along”. Jar-Jar was added as something for kids to enjoy, but ended up annoying the known universe. More is less in most instances.