Jerry Bruckheimer

Idea sex positioning

by

“Star Wars on Earth”

That was the initial four-word summary of Top Gun, in the mind of its producer Jerry Bruckheimer.

I’ve read much of Hollywood works this way.

Take an existing successful idea… combine it with something else… and boom, you got yourself the next Avatar (“Dances with Wolves in space”).

James Altucher calls this idea sex.

It’s not just a way to make the next Hollywood blockbuster. It’s also a great way to come up with new business ideas. For example:

I once found the “S&P 500 of the vacation rental industry.” The company is called AirDNA, and just from that short description, it’s pretty clear what it does. From what I could find, AirDNA revenue was $8 million a year.

Instacart was “Uber for groceries.” So much so that last year, when Uber launched its grocery delivery service Cornershop, Instacart sued. No wonder Instacart is feeling territorial. The 2020 valuation for Instacart was over $13 billion.

But what if you’ve already got a business are you’re not looking to launch a new idea?

You might still be able to use idea sex to give your business better positioning.

Just look for an analogy. Ask yourself what your business is similar to, or could be similar to.

“The Best Buy of the adult industry.”

“The Louis Vuitton of festivals.”

“The Nike of e-sports.”

You might have to change what you do a bit… or drop some things you thought were core to your business.

But do it right, and you will have powerful positioning. And that means you will make more money, with less work.

Ok, so much for positioning. Now on to the pitch:

I write a daily email newsletter. It is like the Far Side, but about marketing and copywriting. If you’d like to try it out, click here to sign up.

Star Wars on Earth or elsewhere

by

“It’s Star Wars on Earth!”

That’s what Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer said after reading a May 1983 article in California Magazine. The article described a special flight school for the Navy’s best pilots.

Bruckheimer knew he had to make a movie out of it. So he bought the rights to the magazine article — title, “Top Guns.” He got two screenwriters who loved flying to drop the final ‘s’ and start developing it into a script.

A couple days ago, I sent out an email with a Top Gun theme. That made me track down and rewatch a fantastic documentary I saw once on YouTube about the making of Top Gun.

The documentary is called Danger Zone. It’s got interviews with the film’s producers… the editors… the stars… the cameramen… the special effects guys… even Giorgio Moroder, the Oscar-winning composer who wrote and produced the iconic songs.

But it’s not just my boyish love of Top Gun that makes this documentary so interesting.

For one thing, it shows how complex it is to produce an hour and a half of seamless entertainment… how many specialists are involved… how much thinking lies behind seemingly simple parts… how many layers of subtlety go into even a jockish, commercial, fantasy flick.

But that’s not the biggest lesson I got from it all.

The biggest lesson — and what I want share with you tonight — is the role of chance and obstacles in the final result.

I won’t retell all the “this can’t possibly work” stories from the making of Top Gun. Watch the documentary for that. But if you’re interested in doing any kind of complex, creative work, the lesson is timeless:

Things will break. There will be deviations from your original plan. You will run into obstacles that threaten the very project.

That’s all normal. Expect it. Accept it. And with a bit of luck and good timing, the final result you produce will be stronger for it — Star Wars, in whatever market or niche you’re in.

Finally, here’s a blockbuster recommendation:

Sign up for my email newsletter. It’s free, and I share stories and ideas related to writing and marketing, much like what you’ve just read.