The Hunger Games (film)

The Hunger Games (film) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Hunger Games isn't just a young adult fiction series. It's also a commentary on human behavior that can be applied directly to business. For example, there are many marketing lessons to learn from The Hunger Games that remind us how important it is to build relationships, be flexible, and be real in our marketing.

As the second movie in the globally popular series, Catching Fire, hits theaters, think about how Suzanne Collins' story can be applied to your own brand story.

Following are five branding lessons from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire to get you started:

1. Avoid Doing What You've Done Before

Catching Fire finds the story's heroine, Katniss Everdeen, returning for a second trip to the Hunger Games, which ultimately, leads to the collapse of long-standing tradition in the world of Panem.

Don't repeat past mistakes and don't regurgitate marketing tactics and strategies that you've done before unless you have a truly valuable reason to do so. It rarely works.

2. Build a Band of Brand Advocates

Katniss developed a band of brand advocates through her actions. Prior to Katniss' defiance of The Capitol in the first book and movie of The Hunger Games series, the districts of Panem operated with little contact between them. By the time Katniss returns to the Hunger Games arena in Catching Fire, the world has changed. People from all twelve districts rallied in support of Katniss and against The Capitol and President Snow.

Build your band of brand advocates and let word-of-mouth marketing, loyalty, and revenue grow.

3. Get Support

Just as Katniss Everdeen learned that she needed to work with other tributes to survive her second trip to the Hunger Games, you need to understand that networking and developing supportive partnerships can benefit your brand significantly.

You don't have to do everything on your own. In fact, collaboration and teamwork can be a win-win situation for everyone involved.

4. Fight Against the Status Quo

Rather than play the game in her second appearance as a Hunger Games tribute, Katniss broke out of the game and changed her world.