Jennifer Lawrence’s e-mail alias is apparently “peanutbutt.” If that’s true — it’s info from the Sony hacks — then it furthers America’s obsession with Jennifer Lawrence and how real / authentic she is (depending on whether you believe she really is). Think about this pretty simply, though: she’s a girl who rocks the off-the-cuff remark, makes young women aspire to be her BFF, sends sexy photos to dudes (SFW), and uses “peanutbutt” in her e-mail. She’s basically the girl on your block, but she’s mega-famous, has an Oscar, helms a major franchise, etc.
What’s the lesson here?
It’s seemingly pretty simple: fans/customers/consumers/clients/whatever you want to call it respond to real, authentic things. Storytelling should be authentic. Social media should be authentic. If you want your brand to be successful, be real and authentic. Make mistakes and talk about failure. (J-Lawrence does this too.)
Heck, some marketers have already written about marketing in the context of Hunger Games and authenticity.
Remember, people are generally able to spot a very sales-y or marketing-type message. They can see the difference between something that helps them and something that helps your brand. I’d say a good portion of the well-traffic’ed articles about Jennifer Lawrence involve the idea of “something she’s taught us” or “lessons we’ve learned from her.” People — especially younger girls — take her as a role model and source of strength, because she’s real/authentic. She appears to be going through the same things as them. (You could say the same thing about Taylor Swift, in some respects.)
The lesson is: when some super-famous person has an e-mail like peanutbutt, you know that super-famous person is just an average girl who rose to the top of the entertainment world; you want to believe she’s authentic. She’s real.
That’s the same thing you want to be conveying about your brand if you’re in marketing. That’s what resonates and captures fans/customers.
