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"I can't Help It that I'm Really Popular" Branding: The 'Mean Girls' Editt

showmedmani
Feb 29, 2016
5 min read

You Can Learn A Thing Or Two From ‘Mean Girls’ About Branding

Catty, I mean Cady Heron, started her high-school journey anew at North Shore High as a social recluse, but by the closing credits she became a hometown legend; How? By creating what would become a legendary brand with the help of friends and frienemies.

So here’s a few things you can take from the catty clique we know as 'The Plastics' to build your brand!

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

Janis Ian and Damian, made Cady aware of her school’s demographics consisting of: The Art Freaks, Burnouts, Girls Who Don’t Eat Anything, Girls WHo Eat Their Feelings, Sexually Active Band Geeks, Unfriendly Black Hotties and of course, The Plastics. By knowing who was at what lunch table and what their interest were, Cady could then figure out where she fit in.

Do your research, find out who your audience is and what their interest are so you can not only get in where you fit in, but you can produce content/materials that your audience will find “Grool”.

CREATE A PLAN

While Janis Ian and Damian were genuine friends to Ian, they created the perfect campaign plan to improve Cady’s brand. Although their intentions were ultimately to bring Regina George and her ‘Army of Skanks’ to a demise, they built a brand that would eventually become a household name and influence all at North Shore High.

Create a name for yourself and stay consistent.

Much like Cady Heron’s name, your brand’s name can seam simple to you and confusing to others, don’t get frustrated and don’t change it (unless ofcourse you want to or it’s best for your brand) but correct your audience and educate them on your name. Everytime someone pronounced her name as Catty (which has a negative connotation), Cady would correct them; “No, it’s pronounced Cady “

Identify competing brands that are at the level you aspire to reach; observe and study their methods and allow them to inspire you on your branding journey.

In order to take down Regina George, Cady first had to get to her level. After years of observing 'The Plastics' Janis and Damian had their style, social practices and personalities down to a tee.

One major key to Cady’s ‘Glo Up’ process was the visual. Damian made it known that those oversized flannels and boring ponytail weren’t going to get her far socially, so it all began with Damian’s pink Polo.

The Plastics were known for their well-polished image and CONSISTENCY with their image:

The Rules:

Don’t wear a tank top two days in a row.
You can only wear your hair in a ponytail once a week.
On Wednesdays we wear pink.
You can only wear jeans or track pants on Friday.
Be effortlessly plastic.

This way, everyone in Northshore knew what to expect from them style wise and their well-polished look was automatically associated with their ‘clique’ because of these consistent guidelines. To this day we still associate pastels (mainly pink) and mini skirts with the Mean Girls.

HOW TO APPLY THIS TO YOUR BRAND

VISUALS:

Create an aesthetic for your brand and stick to it. Today’s society is so moved by visuals (hence the reason infographics are highly effective marketing tools). Visuals can set your brand apart from the millions of others that are doing the same thing. The quality of your infographic photos may be the deciding factor on whether or not your audience clicks on your website link vs. your competitor’s.

Make your aesthetic consistent amongst all platforms (social media, business cards, advertisements,etc.)

Instagram is the perfect visual branding aid; do not take this for granted when it comes to branding. Make sure your images are consistent with your brand’s aesthetic and high-quality. Eventually your follower engagement will increase and your social media can be a more effective tool to drive traffic to your monetized outlets (i.e online store, blog, webinar,etc.)

And lastly; create infographics. People will remember visuals before they remember written content.

CONSISTENCY

Consistency and timing go hand-in-hand; the same way The Plastics created a schedule for their apparel; create a schedule for your content, product releases, etc. this way your audience can be front and center to patronize your brand because they know when to expect new products/content from you.

Know when to say, “YOU CAN’T SIT WITH US”

Throughout your career there will be plenty of brands that will reach out to collab, but you don’t have to say yes to all of them. Every opportunity isn’t a good opportunity, some brands may not produce the quality you need to get to where you aspire to be and some projects may not be the best for your specific audience. I’m not saying to go completely Gretchen Weiners and scream it for the whole 3rd period to hear, but know when to respectfully decline certain collab offers. Always do your research and read the fine print and if they approach your table in sweats while you're slaying in your J.Crew sweater, no, they can not sit with you.

Share Your Crown

It’s very rare that successful brands become successful on their own. When Cady graces the stage after her Mathletes tournament AKA social suicide event, her speech acknowledging those who were responsible for her newfound popularity was admirable and ultimately created showed nobility and humility. Let’s not forget that this speech was also the perfect damage control after rumors that Cady pushed Regina George in front of a moving bus went viral.

When your brand reaches milestones always acknowledge and give credited to those who helped you prior to your success. This will help you maintain the professional relationships you built, possibly resulting in referrals and it will also display to prospective collaborators and investors that you are loyal.

Respond to the Controversy...and QUICKLY

After the forever memorable ‘Burn Book’ fiasco and the aforementioned Regina George rumors, Cady took a bit too long to respond to the controversy, by this time people were left to created their own stories and conclusions and Cady made herself look cowardly for not addressing the issue.

When your brand is involved in controversy RESPOND, while Cady took to long to address the rumors and lies at the ‘Spring Fling’, it was better late than never. Go public with your response.

For instance, last year, due to technical difficulties one of my magazine issues had to be published a few days later than I announced; I sent an email apologizing to my patrons and was very transparent by letting them know exactly what the issue was, I also posted this explanation to all of my magazine’s social media platforms. None of my patrons requested a refund because I acted promptly and let them know that they would receive the issue, just at a later date. Had I ignored the issue my patrons would have took their issue with my brand to social media and requested refunds, ultimately hurting my brand because by not responding I left them to come to their own conclusions.

MAKE FETCH HAPPEN

“That is so fetch”-Gretchen Weiners

Regina George certainly wasn’t here for the phrase and was very clear when she yelped, “Stop trying to make fetch happen, it will never happen!” Ironically, to this day we all refer to the term ‘fetch’ and we all know who coined it! Be proud of your catchphrase, be proud of your name, be proud of your brand. If you don’t promote any of these entities and don’t see their potential, no one else will. Find your “fetch” and make it happen!