My Conversation With Samuel L. Jackson

I’ve heard it said that good marketing, like good politics, is made good by getting personal. Good marketing touches people in a personal way, engages them and aligns a brand message with their life.
That’s why as a marketer, I was so impressed that Samuel L Jackson called me personally to invite me to see his new film, “Snakes on a Plane”:http://snakesonaplane.com/. I mean, right out of the blue, Samuel just called me up and then sent me a voice-based email to invite me to get out to see this new film, “Snakes on a Plane”:http://snakesonaplane.com/.
You wouldn’t believe it, but he asked for me by name, told me which of my friends had referred him to me and even, in his endearingly gruff way, told me to “stop marketing things that nobody wants” and to “get out of the gym” so I could see his new film, “Snakes on a Plane”:http://snakesonaplane.com/. It’s incredible that he knew what I did for a living and that I like to exercise.
Sure, the conversation was pretty one-sided and he had to get off the line before I really had a chance to ask him any questions. But the fact that he, Samuel L Jackson, called me personally to get me to see his film, “Snakes on a Plane”:http://snakesonaplane.com/, well, how could I refuse? Sure, the film looks over-hyped, low budget and poorly acted but Samuel took the time to call me personally and that’s what matters, isn’t it?

Oh, and you know the best part? At the end of both the email and the phone call, he gave me instructions on how to go to his website and arrange for a time for him to call some of my other friends who might want to hear from him as well. I mean, who wouldn’t want a call or an email from Samuel L Jackson?
So, sure enough I went to “the site”:http://snakesonaplane.varitalk.com/ and entered the names of 10 of my friends and their contact information and something personal about them so Samuel could call or email them too when his busy schedule permits. I wonder if those smart people over at “New Line Cinema”:http://www.newline.com/ will keep that information handy to contact us again to see if we actually went to the film or to ask us to be part of some fan club for Samuel’s next project after this new film, “Snakes on a Plane”:http://snakesonaplane.com/. That would be cool. Well, they have my info now, so I’ll leave that up to them.
I saw on the website of their technology provider, “Varitalk”:http://varitalk.com/index.php, that “Samuel actually contacted 100,000 people in the first 24 hours of launching”:http://varitalk.com/news_press_detail.php?_id=48 the campaign. Wow, he sure must have been busy. Well, I guess that’s how you create inexpensive “buzz” for a B-grade, poorly-acted film which just as easily could have gone right to video if it wasn’t for the Internet and technology.
Well, I guess it’s true what they say, good marketing is personal.