Get 1,000 adults in a room and start singing, “Now sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip…” and the room will complete the song knowing every word of the Gilligan’s Island opening. That 60’s sitcom (Gilligan’s Island ran from 1964-1967) has a special place in the hearts of most Americans. (It might have something to do with the fact that there were only three channels to watch at that time!) With the recent passing of the show’s producer Sherwood Schwartz I wanted to revisit this phenom of a brand!
The fact that the show was only on for three years (The Brady Bunch ran for five years) and yet we all know the characters, the theme song and have our favorite episodes, is pretty amazing! How can our brand have that lasting of an impact in the hearts of our fans? Here are three lessons we can glean from Gilligan:
- We related to the characters
Gilligan was goofy and fun-loving, the Skipper was controlling but lovable, the professor was geeky (and hot), and of course every girl wanted to be like Ginger but completely related to Maryann. We got to know the characters and realized we were like them. Do you let your fans get to know the characters of your organization? How can you share a bit more about the real people to allow fans to relate better? - We wanted to contribute
I can’t tell you how many times I yelled to Gilligan to “LOOK TO YOUR LEFT” when there was a boat passing by, or to tell the Professor that his device had been unplugged by the monkey that came by earlier when only I was watching. We were frustrated that there were celebrities and strangers who would find their way on and off of that island in each episode and yet the seven castaways could never make it home. We wanted to contribute our brilliance. Your fans want to contribute as well. Ask for them to share their brilliance in creating new product and service offerings. - We heard from them regularly
I don’t think I missed an episode of Gilligan’s Island in the 60’s and with reruns that are still playing today, we heard from these seven characters over and over again. They have entertained us and kept our interest for over 45 years now! Social media allows us to be in front of our customers, fans and potential customers each day. Make sure you are interesting and providing value and they will let you into their hearts for years to come!
Now sing along with me…”Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip, that started from this tropic port aboard this tiny ship. The mate was a mighty sailing man, the skipper brave and sure, five passengers set sail that day for a three-hour tour…”
(More fun Gilligan lyrics trivia)
This week’s guest post is by Gina Schreck, a technology-enthusiast and all around CHIC GEEK! Aside from being the co-founder and Digital Immigration Officer of SynapseConnecting, a technology and digital media company, she is the author of several books including Getting’ Geeky with Twitter and was the technical editor on the latest Complete Idiots Guide to Social Media. Gina also hosts the popular and fun tech shows GETTIN’ GEEKY and SCHRECK TECK, and drinks enough caffeine to fuel the state of Colorado.
