A great post this morning on bladeronner.com (A Valuable Business Lesson from “The Princess Bride”) got me thinking: a) what a brilliant movie Princess Bride is; 2) how relevant the “Dread Pirate Roberts” idea is to branders; and 3) how many other lessons for us are hidden in this great film.
Branding lesson 1: Names matter.
Westley: No one would surrender to the Dread Pirate Westley.
Making your business into a “Dread Pirate Roberts” is the subject dealt with in the blog post mentioned earlier. But in branding terms, treatment note that the intangible qualities of your name are very important to set the stage for your branding conversation with a customer – or to “inspire the appropriate terror” if that’s your objective.
Branding Lesson 2: Persistence Pays.
Inigo: Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.
Repeat your brand promise to yourself over and over as a mantra. Craft the mission as a conversation starter, so a listener simply has to find out the story of your brand. And when it comes down to the final fight, have that mission on your lips as you ruthlessly carry it out.
Branding lesson 3: Got a miracle pill? Help your customers swallow it.
Inigo Montoya: That’s a miracle pill?
Valerie: The chocolate coating makes it go down easier.
It doesn’t matter how miraculous, how sexy, or how “game-changing” you think your product is. If customers don’t recognize it as such, you won’t sell a single unit. Learn what simple things you can add to your whole-brand package to help your customers “get it” as quickly as possible.
Branding lesson 4: Know their pain.
Man in Black: Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.
Keep it real. Use a straightforward tone of voice, and tell the truth. Don’t gloss over customer objections, customer hang-ups, or your own shortcomings. Customers are smart enough to know where the real pain is, and they’d prefer that it not be you.
Branding lesson 5: Building a strong brand takes time.
Miracle Max: You rush a miracle man, you get rotten miracles.
You can’t cut corners. So even if the end result seems like a miracle pill to your customers, you have to patiently build your equity and their trust over time.
Branding lesson 6: Always a) expect the inconceivable and b) respect your competition.
Inigo Montoya: You are sure nobody’s follow’ us?
Vizzini: As I told you, it would be absolutely, totally, and in all other ways inconceivable…incidentally, why do you ask?
Inigo Montoya: (later in the scene) He’s right on top of us. I wonder if he is using the same wind we are using.
If you are in the lead in your market, congratulations. That’s great. But don’t get so cocky you forget to analyze what’s happening behind you. Otherwise, your competitors (who are also smart and dedicated) may “find a different wind”.
Branding Lesson 7: Choose your words carefully.
Vizzini: HE DIDN’T FALL? INCONCEIVABLE.
Inigo Montoya: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
If you try to sound intelligent and savvy without also being a student of your customers’ language, you can quickly lose the respect you are trying so to win. Make sure you mean what you think you mean.
Branding lesson 8: Use the right strategy for the situation.
Inigo Montoya: You are using Bonetti’s Defense against me, eh?
Man in Black: I thought it fitting considering the rocky terrain.
Know your opponent and your terrain. But don’t get too set in your ways. Your opponent may only be pretending to be left handed, so if you have to switch, be flexible enough to do so quickly.
Branding lesson 9: Watch out for the R.O.U.S.’s
Buttercup: Westley, what about the R.O.U.S.’s?
Westley: Rodents Of Unusual Size? I don’t think they exist.
[Immediately, an R.O.U.S. attacks him]
But beyond the obvious point about hidden dangers we choose not to see, the author of the original novel is having some fun here with our propensity for using jargonny abbreviations and acronyms – even when effective communication could mean the difference between life and death. Just call them Monster Rats and watch your back! (for more on this, see our July 31 post the 25 worst acronyms).
Branding lesson 10: Love conquers all
Buttercup: You can’t hurt me. Westley and I are joined by the bonds of love. And you cannot track that, not with a thousand bloodhounds, and you cannot break it, not with a thousand swords.
As the grandson in the movie might say, “yuck, is this a kissing blog?” But seriously. In human or brand relations, the bonds of human affection, attachment, and commitment are awsomely powerful forces. So if you’re looking for a happy ending for your brand, focus on building those real human links that will help you and your customers survive a thousand swords.
Bonus branding lesson: Have fun storming the castle!
Excellent follow up Dennis. Loved all your points. Just last week I was thinking about the importance of #6, Know Your Competiton. No one can rest on their laurels. When MSFT thought it was untouchable, along came Google. When Google thought it was untouchable, along came Facebook (which beat out that other untouchable Social Media site MySpace). Won’t be long before someone will be threatening Facebook’s hegemony too.
Your blog is a great discovery. Thanks again to Twitter.
Oh my goodness! This is brilliant – I love it! And I agree with Ron – your blog is a great discovery, and I’m glad Ron tweeted about it so I would find it! *grin*
Thanks to both of you DIFFER newbies. Stick around.
Ron, Re. #6: Good point. I was thinking about the IBM / MS / Google / FB continuum as well, but actually there are dozens of other examples from tech alone. MySpace is probably sitting there wondering “I wonder if (Facebook) is using the same wind we are using.”
This is so awesome, and so creative! I love the way you tied it all together. Very helpful.
Thanks Jessica. Again, props to Ron Dawson for getting my brain moving in the first place. The rest was just a matter of unearthing all those lines that were rattling around in my head (IMDB helped as well).
Love these, Dennis!! Ron’s tweet led me here – great blog!
Thanks Bill. Still pretty new to this blogging stuff so your comments are flattering, but I should confess that this little one-hour post (as a Princess Bride nerd, I didn’t have to do a lot of work to come up with 10 quotes) seems to be taking on a viral(ish) life of its own.
Well put, sir, well put. I’ll crtealiny make note of that.
My favourite – courage, audacity, persistence:
“We’ll never make it out alive”
“Nonsense. You’re just saying that because no one ever has.”
Nice post!
Yeah, I tried working that one in, so thanks. Also, the old “BOO” lady (bow to the queen of putrescence!) “As you wish”, and “anybody want a peanut?”.
I love this movie and my kids love this movie. We often walk around repeating lines from this movie. I never even thought about the points you made, except for the name issue, but now that you’ve made them, they make sense. Thank you.
Thanks Jayne. My 2 year old loved the film when I tried showing it to my kids on the weekend. But my 4 year old daughter was bored silly.
I’ll have to try again in a few years.
Hi Dennis,
This is a great branding article. I work with romance authors (digital content & social media) and since The Princess Bride is one of the great romance movies I used your article for author branding giving you full credit! Clever and well-written brand connection strategy. Thank you.
Thanks Malle. Glad it hit a chord with you – and hopefully with your readers.
But I wonder: if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, what does that make cut-and-paste?
In the future, please feel free to quote me and comment at length on my blog posts, but check with me before copying my entire article to another blog.
Brilliant movie and excellent analogies that you have pulled from this classic. Thanks for sharing.
When branding for clients, I guess, we might have to add in the lesson encapsulated in the line: “As you wish..”
We will lead horses to water and hope they drink! (Now which cup should they drink from…..)
Cheers! Jess
Thanks Jess. With the massive mountain of response this post has gotten – all right not massive by big time blog standards, but huge for me – I’m working on a follow-up “10 More Brand Strategy Lessons from the Princess Bride.”
I’ll credit you for “as you wish”.
Our mental health organization, “Strength of Mind” is opening a subclinic of ‘Wellness Coaching’ style, in a separate onsite structure originally conceived as one to supplement the work of pills & psychotherapy in the big house. Now, we know this work may become a flagship robust enterprise. We are realizing how important the new name will be. We’ll take this blog post into the meeting. We love the movie anyway, so what the heck.
Wow, that’s important work, and an inspiring story. Hope the post helps.
But if you don’t mind me asking, “Strength of Mind” is in itself a powerful cause-oriented name. What is the new Wellness flagship going to be called, or are you developing that after the meeting?
For Jess, David, and anyone still following this thread, after your suggestions, I’ve just added a few more quotes:
Thanks!
https://www.begtodiffer.com/2009/09/5-more-princess-bride-lesson/
there a bug with the site on OPera the footer is buggy :/