By “soaps” I mean soap operas or “daytime dramas” as they prefer to be called. If you’re like me you’ll breathe a sigh of relief to discover you don’t have to watch them to learn the lesson they teach. Whew!

My mom watched “her” soaps incessantly Monday-Friday. Can’t remember her ever missing them after she was forced to stop working with debilitating spinal arthritis. More than once I found myself caught in our living room with no where else to go. In such situations, I usually found something to read but strangely enough I managed to pickup a storyline now and then. So what did I learn about branding then? Nothing really.

My real lesson didn’t come until I recently read a story about advertising in the Great Depression. Basically Proctor & Gamble, one of the early sponsors of Soap Operas, er Daytime Dramas, (Gee, wonder how they got that “soap opera” label?) was used as an example of Depression-era advertisers. The point made was that business-wise, the Depression survivors advertised while those who cut back lost market share and some even closed down entirely.

Well, it’s an interesting theory but who knows how true it is? I don’t know anyone who has seriously studied this subject. What I do know is fortunes were made during the Depression. Movies were popular as were other forms of entertainment. Folks who didn’t know if they would eat next week would spend a nickle on a matinee. Well that’s something ain’t it? But that is not the lesson! So what is it?

Maybe it’s obvious to you by now. Once it dawned on me, I can’t believe I missed it.

Proctor & Gamble build their brand through content! They weren’t called “soaps” for nuttin! P&G didn’t just advertise they produced a large number of shows. In other words, they developed the content used to build their brand. And the content really had nothing to do with their product. At least I don’t think they bathed in Ivory or washed with Tide. Nonetheless  P&G built a  multi-billion dollar company partly on this content.

So what does this mean to you?

These days content is making a strong comeback as the Internet seems to sport an insatiable appetite for it.  Youtube is one of the most visited sites on the planet. While lots of folks search out information on everything from the hottest pop star to stuff as mundane as animal crackers, if you’ve any creative bones in your body, now would be a good time to let them cut loose.

Maybe you’ve got an idea for something that is not “commercial” something you do for fun that has a media component. Or maybe you know someone else just itching to “get published”.  Keep in mind, it does not have to be related to a product – it just has to appeal to an audience. Granted the wider appeal the better, but in today’s environment, it’s much easier to find pockets of fans for just about any topic.

God bless,

Andy

P.S. This post was brought to you by Havens Communications. We help businesses find missing or lost customers.  If you need more customers, call Andy Havens for a free no-obligation consultation at 443-254-3703.

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