Marketing Lessons from Stephenie Meyer's Twilight

Read the first part of this entry by clicking here.

Marketing Lesson no. 1:

Take a classic, put a twist to it, and reintroduce it to the market.

Centuries of literature have proven that people are engrossed with vampire stories. It is a classic for all ages. We have seen the storylines develop through out the years. First there was the hair-raising thrillers portraying them as blood-sucking monsters. Next came a romantic take on it with Bram Stoker’s Dracula (As to how Winona Ryder fell in love with that ugly looking creature still puzzles me). And there was Interview with a Vampire portraying them as hunks with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt among the cast. (Not to mention the in between takes like Blade and Underworld)

So what did Stephenie Meyer change to make her storyline different? She mixed and matched and added a few more components. She made them beautiful like Hollywood hunks as well, she made them built for romance, she made them young, and most intriguing of all she changed their diets! For the first time, a new group is introduced who stay off humans and feast on animals instead.

Marketing Lesson no. 2:

If you have a brand that works, Extend it!

Now that the book is a bestseller, why not make a movie out of it! The movie will be a blockbuster hit for sure. Even if the take won’t be as good as the book, those who loved the book will still watch the movie for mere curiosity.

Remember though that when you extend your brand, extend to a field that your target market still associates with your brand. Read more about Extending your Brand here.

Finally, I leave you with a picture of the cast and a trailer of the upcoming movie based on the first book, Twilight. Personally, I don’t like the cast at all. Only Bella seem to fit with the characters that I created with my imagination. Enjoy!