Americas Got Talent: Three Marketing Take-Aways

by. Bo McDonald

Since I am on the road regularly visiting clients, I often find myself flipping on prime time television after dinner while I catch up on emails. I typically don’t get interested in reality shows, but I stopped on America’s Got Talent. As usual, I started processing everything from a marketing standpoint and quickly came up with three things we could learn from AGT.

1. Dreams Can Come True: For many of the hopefuls on the show, it was a dream come true just to be on stage. While a million bucks would be nice, the experience of having 5 minutes of fame showing off passion and talent is a dream come true. The show is all about dreams. Everyone has them. Let’s stop thinking we’re in the “financial” business and start thinking we’re in the dream business. What would happen if your marketing message focused more on people and their dreams than the product that can make it happen, or the rate they’ll pay to make their dreams come true?

2. Stop Hitting The Buzzer Too Soon: Too often I see frontline staff hitting the big red X prematurely when it comes to loan applications. Take a look at your marketing budget. No matter the size, you spent something to get that loan application in front of you. Not only are you doing a disservice to the person seeking the loan, you also just wasted a few bucks. And after awhile, “a few bucks” will add up.

3. Show Your Talent: We make dreams come true, better than anyone else. If you can’t say that statement and truly believe it, it’s time for a gut check. Strike a chord with consumers and put your talent of helping average everyday people front and center. It could be taking the time to go above and beyond the call of duty to help someone, or being the hero that provided the resources to make a dream come true (adoption, home improvement, motorcycle…).