Unique Digital Marketing Lessons from One Piece
Digital marketing lessons can come from anywhere, especially from popular media across pop culture. In this post, we’ll see how One Piece, one of my all-time favorite manga/anime, offers several valuable marketing lessons.
For those who don’t know, One Piece is a long-running manga (you could think of it as the Japanese version of comic books) that started serialization in 1997. As a manga that spans over two decades, there are many lessons to be learnt. I’ve collated the top five lessons that can help you create a sound marketing strategy.
Set Clear Marketing Goals & Don’t Compromise
One Piece’s titular character Monkey D. Luffy started his journey with a simple goal – to become the ‘King of Pirates’. And he arrived at this goal even before he procured a ship (something that’s critical for a pirate). While this might look foolish, it’s this clarity & strong conviction towards his goal that spurs his monstrous growth.
As a marketer, you might find it challenging to define your goals before enacting your strategies. A strategy that lacks goals will leave you struggling. So, before jumping into the action, make sure to have a very clear picture of your objectives, along with your short, medium and long-term goals. Remember, in order to meet a goal, you must first define it, and then you need to work towards that.
Like Luffy, you have to be clear on what you want and never compromise.
Analyze Yourself & Know Your Limits
While Luffy might look like a happy-go-lucky guy who has no plans (which is true in many cases), he didn’t start his journey without any preparations. In fact, Luffy trained his devil fruit powers with his brothers before he started his journey and even endured more training after he lost the most important thing at the Marineford battle (No Spoilers).
To ensure success in your digital marketing endeavors, you should analyze the strengths & weaknesses of your marketing strategy before planning your next move. If you lack something, look for ways to get trained! This is a crucial step that should be addressed even when you’ve found a level of success. Luffy didn’t come to power overnight and continually refined his powers with every encounter. Therefore, it’s important to figure out what you or your team is good at & identify ways to improve.
Build Trust-Based Relationships
One of the main cores of One Piece is the concept of ‘Nakama’ (a Japanese word that means colleague, compatriot, friend or comrade). The bond between Luffy and his crew (and his allies).drives the story forward because Luffy values & trusts each of them. This is one of the reasons why the ‘Strawhat Pirates’ crew is invested in his goal and put their life on the line in helping him become the next ‘King of Pirates’.
Your digital marketing goals are only achievable if your team is invested in the goal. For this, you must build strong trust-based relationships. You should make sure that the relationships you’re trying to develop are genuine and based on the values that your brand believes in. A team that is passionate about your business goals will be more invested in the brand and its success.
Think Outside The Box
Luffy’s ‘gomu gomu no mi’ gives him the power of rubber and makes him stretch his body. While this might not look like a great power, Luffy thinks outside the box and uses this power to great effect while traversing through various islands during his adventure. This out-of-the-box thinking can also be seen in various other scenarios, especially during combat.
To grow as a marketer in today’s day and age, it’s important to find innovative strategies like visual marketing that can help you deliver your business message more effectively. Looking for alternate ways to deliver your message can be critical. This approach can be beneficial not just in your marketing efforts, but also in your day-to-day activities. It will also give you a new set of ideas to use in your marketing strategies.
Learn From Your Mistakes & Evolve
Luffy’s journey is a long and arduous one, and he cannot reach the end unless he learns from his mistakes. Luffy’s struggle after he lost his brother and his renewed resolve are a testament to the fact that he learns from his mistakes. However, that’s not an isolated incident as Luffy is continually evolving, even during his last fight with Kaido.
Digital marketing is an ever-evolving field that has many dimensions. So, you should make sure to learn from your mistakes. In addition to this, you should be honest with yourself and your team about what you or your team can and cannot handle. This will help you define your priorities & areas of expertise and will guide you as you seek to evolve your marketing strategy.
The lesson for you? When you make a mistake, learn from it and try to work it out. But, don’t just fix it. Evolve, and improve your game!
Luffy is the quintessential marketer; he has a clear set of goals, and he pursues them wholeheartedly. He uses every opportunity to improve and his resolve to succeed is inspiring. So why not put all that into practice and become the ‘King of Marketers’?