This new Starz series is proof that good old fashion blood and sex still sell. I know they’ve sucked me in with the gladiator action. You can’t go wrong with violent arena battles.
The best part, it’s not even an original idea. The story is a blatant ripoff of the movie Gladiator. Who cares? So what if it’s not an original idea…it’s original for TV. They’ve taken the Gladiator story and given it a second life on the small screen. Starz has found a way to innovate out of a crowded group (HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, TMC, and several other cable channels).
This brings me to my point. You don’t have to be the first to an idea. You just have to figure out how to extend an idea beyond the original purpose. How can you tap into this with your business? How can you take a traditional business concept and give it a creative spin? How can you innovate in an old area? How can you separate yourself from the competition in a crowded space?
Two good examples of innovating in an old space:
Starbucks Via | Instant Coffee: Coffee certainly isn’t a new concept. Starbucks found a way to put a creative spin on instant coffee. They’re extending their reach beyond your morning cup and into your home, office or travel plans.
Amazon Kindle | Books: Business categories don’t get much older than books and book stores. Amazon itself was a revolution in the book category. They’re putting brick and mortar stores out of business and altering the retail environment for books. The Kindle has taken this a step further. Now, Amazon controls both ends of the spectrum: publishing and retail distribution. But, they better keep their head on a swivel, because competitors are popping up everywhere. Soon, they’ll have to come up with a new innovation to separate themselves from the other eReaders on the market.
There’s innovation hiding everywhere.
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Spartacus isn’t a ripoff of Gladiator. Gladiator was a ripoff of Spartacus. Gladiator was influenced by the real story of Spartacus and the classic Kirk Douglas film.
Very true. I need to go back and watch the old Kirk Douglas flick.
Actually, this just further reinforces my point. The Gladiator/Spartacus story is very old, but Starz found an opportunity to utilize it in a new way.
Everything old is new again. But how do you make it reach an audience in a new and refreshing way? I say, by appreciating what went before (equity in a brand) and turning those conventions on their head or simply redefining/retooling/reimagining the brand for an audience whose drink of choice is red bull over gatorade.
I too am a fan of Showtime’s Spartacus. It borrows heavily from the aforementioned flicks, but Kubrick’s Spartacus borrowed from the De’Mille epics and created a world for a sixties generation of filmgoers. The success of 300 is all over the current Spartacus. The stylized fight scenes that stop to literally swathe the canvas with blood are not grounded in reality but in a more base emotion that appeals to the current climate of spectator sport we see in just about every “reality” television show on the air.
So revving up a brand is not something new; King Solomons Mines begat Indiana Jones and Buck Rogers begat the Star Wars phenomenon; but recognizing that you never throw out the brand with the bath water.
Great comment! You’re dead on about 300 and the similar “artistic direction.”
Thanks for contributing.
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