I will admit to being late to this binge-watching party. However, if you haven’t heard of the wildly popular CBC Television show, Schitt’s Creek, then you’ve been living under a bigger rock than I have.
The series follows the Rose family as they lose all their riches – except for the ironically named town they purchased as a joke – Schitt’s Creek – where they move when they have nowhere else to go. Through six seasons the members of the Rose family experience personal and professional trials and triumphs as they learn to make their way in their new lives.
You may be asking yourself, but what does all this have to do with branding?
Family patriarch, Johnny Rose (Eugene Levy) ran a successful video store empire before their business manager takes off with all their money. After moving into a roadside motel in their new town, Johnny eventually starts putting his business expertise to good use to help out and eventually franchise the motel.
A few good takeaways:
Be True to Yourself. The motel isn’t fancy. In fact it is downright outdated and dingy to begin with. Small improvements are made throughout the series, but the motel remains just that – a roadside motel for quick travelers. For staffing companies, take a look at what your core business is. What are you good at? Light industrial, temporary staffing, clerical or professional? Stay true to your core business and become really good at delivering that service.
Consult an Expert. When it comes to online marketing or social media, Johnny is not the most savvy person out there. However, daughter, Alexis, is. Drawing on her experience as socialite, Alexis turns out to have a very shred sense of how to gain attention through social media campaigns and events. If social media, blogging or search engine optimization are a foreign language to you, partner with an expert who can help plan your entire marketing strategy (shameless plug: Haley Marketing makes marketing affordable for the staffing industry – contact us to learn more).
Grassroots Efforts Gain Fans. Leaving the fictional world of Schitt’s Creek to the reality of promoting a “small” show from a Canadian network. PR News Online’s article: Schitt’s Creek Tips for Budget-friendly PR and Emmy Nominations covers in-depth how Schitt’s Creek was able to effectively use PR to help elevate it from a cult-following to all out pop culture phenom to sweeping the Emmy’s in the comedy category.
Finally, head on over to Netflix to experience some very binge-worthy comedy. I schitt you not!
