Katy Perry’s Lesson For Business Leaders

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Inspiration comes from unlikely places. I never would have ever thought I’d be watching a documentary on Katy Perry, much less blogging about her… yet… here I am.

Mrs. G wanted to watch Katy Perry: Part of Me the other night (doing my best here to secure my Man Card by blaming her) so we checked it out on Amazon. I have to say, it accomplished exactly what a movie/video like that sets out to do, and it’s a great example for businesses.

My take on Katy Perry pre-movie

Katy Perry is a pop music star. I’m hardly her target market, but I’m not ashamed to admit I’ve always liked her music. Despite that, I’ve never been inspired to download any of her songs, but I enjoy them as they cycle through my Pandora rotation.

The movie isn’t going to win any Oscars, but it’s solid storytelling. We get a steady dose of live concert performances, behind-the-scenes insights and a little about her upbringing as well as her path to stardom.

Now look at it through the eyes of a corporate video producer…

  • live concert performance = what a business does… an About Us video
  • behind-the-scenes insights = showing how products/services come to life
  • upbringing and path to stardom = company history and growth

Now, I’m not suggesting businesses leaders produce feature film-length documentaries about their companies, but these subjects are all worthy of individual short videos at the company’s website… social media platforms… and email campaigns.

My take on Katy Perry post-movie

Videos like these work on prospects just like Katy Perry’s movie worked on me. Now that I know more about her… I like her more. I’d go see her in concert (with Mrs. G, of course.. MAN CARD!). I might download some music now. These are things I never would have even considered prior to watching the movie.

These are the results we’re looking for from a marketing video.

–Tony Gnau

Tony Gnau is a three-time Emmy-winning journalist. He is also the founder and chief storytelling officer at T60 Productions. T60 has won 12 Telly Awards for its work over the last eight years.