Bonjour #EmilyInParis! If you haven’t binged on Netflix’s latest big hit, here’s the storyline: A young American woman from Chicago is hired by Savoir, a prestigious marketing firm in Paris, to provide them with an American POV on all things social media, as IMDb puts it (with some additions from us).
Spoiler alert: there are a few creepy French lover clichés. There are also some tres important marketing lessons to learn from (and a couple of things to avoid.)
So, let’s begin s’il vous plaît.
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What marketers can learn from Emily
1. Use Your Audience’s Voice
While her quick leap from 50 Instagram followers to Influencer’s fame with 25K is a bit of a reach, she does seem to know how to get users going.
“To build a brand, you need social media engagement. It’s about content, trust, interest, and engagement,” Emily says on the show. And she’s not afraid to go all-in on these fundamentals.
She’s a micro-content machine. She can find the edgy in almost any otherwise mundane topic. She’s honest, thus gaining trust. And when it comes to engagement, she’s more than willing to throw the ball to the users’ side of the court.
For example, in the naked model French perfume commercial, Emily suggests they put a poll on Twitter to ask the audience whether it’s “sexy or sexist?” Putting the dilemma right in consumers’ faces is gutsy and can cause some stir.
It empowers consumers in a way that builds relationships with them. “Let the world decide and make it a part of your campaign,” she says as it’s publicity either way and will get a conversation going.
2. Master Campaign Sensitivity
It’s 2020! Make sure your social media campaign doesn’t seem tone-deaf.
When Emily starts working on the Vaga-Jeuene project – a vagina suppository product for older women – she discovers that in perhaps the most romantic language in the world, the word Vagina is masculine. In French, it’s le vagin.
“The vagina is not masculine,” she posts on Instagram along with a photo of the product. A subtle way to bring a fresh perspective and start a conversation. Which, in the show, gets the attention of some well-known French female figures.
3. BE ON: Never Miss an Opportunity
Though, some work and some don’t – Emily has always got plenty of creative ideas up her sleeve. And she never misses the chance to act upon them.
For example, when facing a request to post a client’s dresses on social media, Emily manages to cross-promote another client along the way.
Another time, she was asked to take a somewhat dull brand and spice it up. And so, while fulfilling an extra curriculum work duty, Emily is still very much ON. And she snaps a very memorable picture of the problematic American actress, Brooklyn Clark’s dress thrown on the hotel floor pictured along with her high heels, alcohol bottles, and cigarettes. A couple of clicks, and it’s on The Insta.
It was the perfect shot to advertise the “relevant and sexy” feel that appeals to a younger consumer. And genuine.
4. Find Inspiration Around You
Paris is filled with love, beauty, and romance, so it wasn’t too hard for her to find inspiration. But Emily still makes sure that it’s just risqué enough.
When she goes to an art museum featuring Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night,” – she gets an entire campaign idea for one of her company’s largest clients.
“Let’s harness the power of social media and ask people to come to sleep with us,” she suggests when speaking about her campaign idea for the bedding brand.
The slogan? “To sleep under the stars” on the most beautiful streets in Paris. Of course, the client loved it.
And what marketers should not take from her
1. Don’t Skip on Learning Your Audience
She moves to French without knowing the language. That’s bad research.
Additionally, her lack of cultural understanding makes her seem ignorant and unappreciative of landing this dream job.
“You come to Paris. You walk into my office. You don’t even bother to learn the language. You treat the city like it’s your amusement park,” says her local boss.
It for sure cause her and the agency some extra trouble.
2. Don’t Be Too Quick to Commit
It’s simple, don’t overpromise and underdeliver. Emily commits to things without thinking them through. She takes on too many projects at once, which leads her to more than she can handle.
For instance, taking on actress Brooklyn Clark at the chic red-carpet event and signing the insurance waiver for the 2-million-euro watch was not showing careful thought.
Overall, Emily in Paris is a fun show, far from being perfect – but it still gets the job done. We wish you, too, to at least get by. Taking the good things this fictional social media phenom brings to the table could help.
