Pushing the Edge – Not Falling Off

There is risk in entering new markets. Part of that risk lies in not understanding the ins-and-outs of that market, simply because it is new to you. Whether dealing with new technology or a new population, a learning curve exists and one must plan to adjust for it. Missteps happen, the key is to minimize those missteps while reacting in an honest manner to fix errors.

DreamWorks has learned this the hard way. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/10/AR2008081001869.html Their new comedy, ‘Tropical Thunder’, opens this week. Part of the movie is dedicated to making fun of ethnic minorities and people with disabilities. On its own, this is not exactly high art, but hardly unheard of in today’s entertainment industry. The film overtly makes fun of people with disabilities as ‘retards’, going farther than any mainstream movie has in recent memory. Let’s be clear folks, ‘retard’ equals ‘nigger’ for people with disabilities in terms of the hate and discrimination that comes with the word. It causes a real passion in the 53% of the population who are touched by disability and emotional pain in those who struggle with discrimination on a daily basis.

Funny is good, and some may find this stuff funny, but for DreamWorks, it’s just bad business. It is just a bad business strategy that pushes a negative emotion button in half your customers. While ‘Tropical Thunder’ would never be a blockbuster, why would they risk audiences for properties like Shrek, Gladiator, Madagascar and any future blockbusters? It makes the Mouse House look even better.

There are learnings here. As one reaches out to a new market, one must understand where limits are. Communication with new markets is hard, because one simply does not know which messaging works and which messages fuel a mob mentality. General Motors has a classic story of a misstep in a new market. In the eighties, GM decided that it must increase its ex-North America share by increasing its marketing in Latin America. One model it decided to bring to Brazil was the Chevy Nova. One can picture a bunch of Detroit-based marketing guys sitting in a room plotting to bring a good, fuel-efficient compact to a huge market would explode share ‘down there’. One small problem, Nova translates to “Won’t go” in Spanish. Oops. It probably didn’t help that not many left the lot.

While the DreamWorks debacle is not a direct parallel to the Nova, it illustrates the power of the disability market from the negative side. Leaders in this market are starting to understand the economic power that they wield stemming from their mammoth 53% demographic. Op-ed in the Washington Post, coverage on TV news and entertainment outlets coupled with rational arguments why this film ‘misses the mark’ are doing their jobs to make DreamWorks look rather base in this case. While not relevant here, business needs to be prepared to work with disability groups to work through ‘touchy’ issues before they blow up in their face.

DreamWorks’ mistake here was in believing that they are a niche/edgy production house, forgetting where it makes its money, namely kids and ‘wholesome’ programming. The executive team failed to recognize that by offending 53% of their market to produce a small property in “Thunder”, they are hacking off their nose, despite their face.

There is an easy way to avoid something like this, ask someone! Whether it’s a movie, a commercial or any other interaction with the public there are ways to vet and find out how messaging is perceived by the mega-segment of people with disabilities. There is almost no primary research on people with disabilities as a consumer. There are opportunities for consumer based firms to go out and run focus groups/surveys to clearly understand what turns this powerful consumer on, and as DreamWorks learned the hard way, what turns this market’s stomach.

What the DreamWorks mistake does not do is increase the risk in this market. It merely defines it. It clearly demonstrates the cost of a misstep while also defining the upside. While positive efforts won’t translate into equivalent media, because negative sells papers, it does translate the passion into sales. It clearly demonstrates that Customers are watching and are ready to pounce. There are no large brands out there making disability a core Customer, yet. The blowback out of DreamWorks has a flipside, and that flipside is powerful for expanding margins.

Another learning here is that disability is a mainstream issue. The days of markets ignoring disability are gone. Had one done a negative movie about African Americans in the 60s, the reaction would not be as vitriolic as it would be today. Doing a ‘retard’ joke in the 80s was acceptable. Doing it now presents real risks to the deliverer and those who are associated with them. The brand of disability is starting to be owned by those it represents.

New markets are risky, and DreamWorks demonstrated that by stepping in a deep pothole. The good news is that a well-run business should have no problems avoiding these mistakes. Any competent manager of a diverse business will find it common sense to stickhandle around these obstacles. The only issue here is being aware of these issues. In that way, we can thank DreamWorks for bringing this forward and teaching its competitors what not to do while showing the rest of us the explosive upside.