Remarkable Content with Ian Faison The Matrix: B2B Marketing Lessons from the Academy Award-Winning Movie with Anja Simic, Director of Content Marketing at Deel
Wake up. There’s a glitch in the matrix. That’s because we’re seeing deja vu - your campaigns are starting to look the same. Need some fresh ideas? We’re here for you.
But in reality (what is reality anyway?) you don’t have to come up with the freshest never-before-seen content. You just have to pull from all of your favorite pieces of content. Take the inspiring bits. All of them. And put them together to make something new.
See, the creators of The Matrix, the Wachowski’s, even said they took “every idea we've ever had in our f***ing lives” and put it into the Matrix. Based on the ideas from French philosopher Jean Baudrillard, they also pulled from the techno scene, anime, martial arts, and more. There are even references to Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz, these very familiar cultural symbols. And yet when The Matrix was released, it was something fresh. It received wide acclaim, won Academy Awards, and basically broke the box office, bringing in over $460 million.
So in this episode, we’re going down the rabbit hole of marketing lessons we can learn from the 1999 film with the help of Deel’s Director of Content Marketing, Anja Simic. Together, we discuss how to pull your inspiration into your B2B marketing, create educational content that preempts audience questions about your product or service, and call out audience pain points. So put on your very dark, very tiny sunglasses for this episode of Remarkable.
About our guest, Anja Simic
Anja Simic is Director of Content Marketing at Deel. She has been with the company over 4 years, having started in December 2018 as Senior Content Marketing Manager. Prior to Deel, she served as Digital Media Coordinator at Impact Hub Network.
About Deel
Deel is the all-in-one HR platform for global teams. It helps companies simplify every aspect of managing an international workforce, from culture and onboarding, to local payroll and compliance. Deel works for independent contractors and full-time employees in more than 150 countries, compliantly. And getting set up takes just a few minutes. For more information, visit Deel.com
About The Matrix
The Matrix is a sci-fi action movie about a computer programer who discovers that the world as we know it is a simulation. In this awakening, he finds out that machines have created the simulation to distract humans and are using his body as an energy source in the meantime. He bands together with other people who have been freed from The Matrix to rebel against the machines. The 1999 movie stars Keanu Reeves as Neo, Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity, Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus, and Hugo Weaving as Agent Smith.
The Matrix was created by Lana and Lily Wachowski, known professionally as The Wachowskis. They had only written and directed one movie before - Bound, a 1996 neo-noir crime thriller. Now they’re now known for V for Vendetta, Cloud Atlas, and more. The Matrix was made when the Wachowskis were asked by a friend to develop an original comic book concept, which they started working on in 1992. It began with the idea that everything in our world is a simulation in a digital universe, an idea inspired by French postmodern philosopher Jean Baudrillard (1929 - 2007). Baudrillard believed that we have lost all ability to make sense of the distinction between nature and artifice. In the movie, the Wachowskis nod to Baudrillard when Neo hides his contraband software in a hollowed-out copy of "Simulacra and Simulation," a book by Baudrillard. The idea that “our reality” is a simulation allowed the Wachowskis to explore and experiment with special effects and camera tricks to make many iconic and memorable scenes, like the bending spoon and the slow-mo bullet dodging scene. The style of the movie is influenced by cyberpunk, anime, and martial arts.
What B2B Companies Can Learn From The Matrix:
- Combine all of the ideas you’ve ever had. That’s exactly what the Wachowski’s did when they developed the story of The Matrix. They pulled inspiration from the techno movement, anime, martial arts, and cyberpunk as well as the postmodern philosopher Jean Baudrillard to create something totally new, but whose references were recognizable. This made The Matrix accessible and not totally foreign while also being inspired and thought provoking. So pull in those ideas and make something totally new!
- Present complex products in an understandable way. Use clear visuals and straight-forward language that appeals to both the technical buyer and the layman. By speaking to both, you increase your potential customers. Anja says, “When you're talking about a product, you are trying to explain it in a way that's relatable to your potential buyer, to a prospect. So you're trying to find the words, use the visuals, use the brand, everything in your power to respond to a need. The Matrix is doing the same. So it's based on the very complex philosophy of postmodernism, but the movie presents it in a way that's very light, that is relatable.”
- Call out your audience’s pain points. This grabs their attention and sounds like you’re talking directly to them. Trinity does this when she meets with Neo in the nightclub. She says, “I know why you're here, Neo. I know what you've been doing... why you hardly sleep, why you live alone, and why night after night, you sit by your computer.” Neo immediately knows that Trinity has been paying attention to him, understands what he’s going through, and that it’s important to her. Which is exactly how your audience will feel if you do the same.
Quotes
“There is some hesitancy from marketers to not want to pull in a bunch of different things that they like and put them together. But that's what makes [The Matrix] feel so cool and different. The cramming of worlds together in that way is what makes this feel so unique. So like, take a few things that you are really passionate about - content that you love - and just put it together.” - Ian Faison
*“I think you need to be really flexible with [your content strategy] because the markets change, the business landscape changes the economic factors change. So what you devise as a plan for this year might not work next year because we are living in very uncertain times. We don't know how the next few years are going to look. So being lean and flexible is the right way to address any strategy, but content strategy in particular.” - Anja Simic
Time Stamps
[0:55] Introducing Director of Content Marketing at Deel, Anja Simic
[1:50] Why are we talking about The Matrix?
[4:22] Tell me more about The Matrix
[8:52] What makes The Matrix remarkable?
[11:11] What are some marketing lessons we can take away from The Matrix?
[33:49] How does Anja think about content at Deel?
[36:58] How does Anja prove the ROI of content?
Links
About Remarkable!
Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both non-fiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com.
In today’s episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Senior Producer). Remarkable was produced this week by Meredith O’Neil, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK.
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