Brand Like a Maestro
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✏️ ON MY MIND
Brand Like a Maestro: Marketing Lessons from Joe Hisaishi's Music
As a long-time fan of Studio Ghibli, I've been enchanted by their films since I first watched Spirited Away around 2003.
Recently, I delved deeper into the incredible music of Joe Hisaishi, the renowned composer behind their magical soundtracks.
I couldn't help but notice some valuable lessons that we can learn from his compositions and apply them to our marketing efforts. Let's embark on a melodic adventure!
🌼 The Power of Repeating Motifs
Hisaishi was deeply influenced by the concept of minimalism in music. He understood that repeating motifs provided a strong backbone for his compositions, allowing the melody to shine while maintaining a clear and condensed structure.
So what’s a motif? Imagine you're drawing a picture of flowers. The repeating motif of the flowers forms the main part of your artwork, just like the repeating parts of the music form the main part of the song.
In marketing, consistent messaging and branding are the repeating motifs that help people recognize and remember your brand.
🎵 Simplicity Creates Emotional Impact
Hisaishi's music has an uncanny ability to evoke strong emotions. By using repetition and simplicity, he creates melodies that touch our hearts.
In marketing, simplicity is key. Your main message should be clear, concise, and easy to understand. Just like a simple melody that lingers in our minds, a clear and simple marketing message leaves a lasting impression on your audience.
💡 Maintaining Brand Integrity
While Hisaishi experimented with different styles and influences, he always maintained the central idea of his compositions.
Similarly, as a small business owner, staying true to your brand identity is essential. Your brand's mission, values, and core messaging should remain consistent even as you explore new products or launch different campaigns.
This cohesion ensures that your audience understands and connects with your brand on a deeper level.
🎵 Apply the Musician's Mindset to Marketing
You know, just like Hisaishi's dedication to learning and pushing boundaries, it's crucial for you to embrace a similar mindset in your marketing.
When you actively participate in marketing experiments and campaigns, you gain invaluable insights and experience. Through these hands-on experiences, you uncover what works, what doesn't, and what truly resonates with your audience.
Remember that building a brand is like composing a beautiful piece of music. Embrace repeating motifs (consistent messaging), craft a simple melody (clear and simple messaging), and always stay true to the central idea (brand integrity).
These harmonious marketing principles will help your brand resonate with your audience and create a lasting impact.
Let's continue to find inspiration in unexpected places and make beautiful music with our businesses!
Now here’s a cool video of the maestro Joe Hisaishi doing what he does best. Enjoy!
(This newsletter was drafted with the help of GPT-4 and edited by yours truly.)
🔨🧰 MARKETING TIP
On social I run the Engage/Post/Engage play. This:
-Warms up the algo (🤖👋📈)
-Shows your audience you’re active (🙋♀️🛎❤️🔥)
How to do it:
1. Engage before you post
2. Post
3. Engage w/ some comments
4. Break
5. Engage w/ more comments
6. PostActivity loops are 🔑
👍 3 THINGS THAT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION
1/ Listen: The Burnout Battle: Anfernee Chansamooth’s Journey to Slow Growth and Finding Purpose
I had an amazing time being a guest on Joe Fier's Hustle & Flowchart podcast (my second appearance and the first since Joe became the sole host). We had a casual chat about my personal journey and the lessons I've learned along the way. Here are some of the topics we covered:
Burnout in the corporate world and in my own business: I shared my experiences with burnout and how it led me to reevaluate my priorities and seek a more fulfilling path.
The dangers of hustle culture: We delved into the negative effects of constantly hustling and the importance of finding balance in life.
Discovering core values and human design systems: I talked about how exploring safe spaces and human design systems helped me gain clarity on my values and purpose.
The power of slowing down: We discussed the benefits of slowing down and taking time for self-reflection, which ultimately leads to more meaningful and sustainable success.
My slow growth framework: I shared my approach to business growth, emphasizing the importance of finding your superpower and investing in relationships.
It was a fantastic conversation that touched on so many important aspects of finding fulfilment and success. If you're feeling burnt out or looking for ways to create a more meaningful life, I highly recommend checking out this episode.
A big thanks to Joe Fier for having me on the podcast again.
2/ Read: The 6 Risks of AI Content
Are you aware of the risks involved in using AI for content creation? Discover the potential challenges businesses face when leveraging artificial intelligence in this article.
3/ Watch: Australian Fast Food!! 🇦🇺 TOP 5 CHEAP EATS in Sydney, Australia!
Check out this mouthwatering video by the incredible food vlogger Mark Wiens as he explores the best cheap eats in Sydney, Australia! 🇦🇺 Having lived in Sydney for most of my life, it’s exciting to see some of my absolute fave spots in the video (like the first one Mark visits - truly the best bahn mi in Sydney!).
💸 WEALTH BUILDING TIP
Seven personal finance basics:
1️⃣ Pay yourself first
2️⃣ Expenses
🐦 COOL SOCIALS THIS WEEK
Source: Ruslan Kogan (Linkedin)
I’m a simple creator.
If marketers say it works, but I don’t like the way it feels, I just won’t do it.
Turns out living with yourself and feeling proud of your work matters more than hitting arbitrary metrics.
It's more expensive to hire and train a new employee than it is to retain an existing employee by adjusting their pay.
Give them that raise.
🔧 TOOL OF THE WEEK
AudioPen
With AudioPen, you can finally think out loud and let your thoughts flow freely. ✍️✨
This app utilizes AI technology to convert your voice notes into beautifully summarized text, eliminating all the filler words, repeated sentences, and pesky 'umms'. 🚀🗣️
It can effortlessly capture the essence of your ideas and condense them into clear and concise text. It'll make your note-taking process a breeze! 🌟
Here are four use cases I can think of for this:
Meeting Notes: Capture and convert meeting discussions into concise, shareable text.
Research: Record interviews or gather data and transform them into written form for analysis and reference.
Content Creation: Speak your ideas aloud and have them converted into text.
Ad Hoc Ideas/Brainstorming/Inspiration: Quickly capture and transcribe spontaneous ideas, brainstorming sessions, or moments of inspiration, allowing you to revisit and develop them further. You can even use Zapier to send your notes into a tool like Notion.
You can give the free plan a go before upgrading (you'll only get 3 mins recording time compared to 15 mins on the premium plan).
Works on both desktop and mobile apps.
🤔 PARTING THOUGHTS
Be kind.
Love this
h/t @JamesClear
Anfernee Chansamooth
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