Everything I know about marketing, I learned from the Three Stooges

Considering that they created their first short over 70 years ago, you might think using the Three Stooges as a guide to better marketing might seem strange. But the Stooges have shown that their enduring charm and wisdom transcends time and technology. In fact, I think the Stooges have a lot of lessons to teach us about social media (as well as the psychological roll the song "Pop Goes the Weasel" plays in the aggressive tendencies of bald, portly men.)

Listen

Today, The Three Stooges are a ubiquitous part of our culture, and it seems that their shorts are always playing on some channel. But what most people don't know is that the Stooges careers were dead in the water by the 1950s. In fact, they were fired by Columbia in 1957. However, with TV's popularity came a rush to find programming (aka content). Columbia released all their shorts in 1959 as part of a package for TV. With so many shorts, the Stooges could suddenly be found almost 7-days a week on TV. College kids started watching in droves (they are always the early adopters) as well as a new generation of kids and their parents (who had watched the Stooges as youngsters themselves).  The Three Stooges popularity skyrocketed.

This shows us that it's not about giving customers what we think they want; it's about listening to customers and sometimes, letting them guide your way.

Engage 

When the Three Stooges’ popularity started gaining renewed momentum in the 1960s, Moe Howard decided to make the most of it and began touring around the USA. They created tours targeted at their core audience at the time, college students. These shows proved to be every bit as successful as their shorts. In fact, they were one of the highest paid live acts in the USA during the 1960s.

Thanks to Moe Howard's decision to start engaging with fans in person, their popularity on TV (and elsewhere) solidified into what we see today: an iconic brand with millions of loyal fans.

Find new ways to reuse your content

In 1952, Columbia Pictures started to cut costs on the production of all their films including Three Stooges shorts. A four-day shooting schedule was whittled down to just two days. In addition, to help speed production of the shorts, producer and director, Jules White, would "recycle" footage from earlier shorts. In essence, he would create a new opening and ending, then he would fill the middle with footage from earlier shorts.

The Three Stooges show us that content is valuable and if you can find new ways of using your content, you can increase its value exponentially.

Be authentic and consistent 

One of the things that made the Three Stooges great was their consistency. Moe, Larry and Curly each crafted a unique and memorable character: Moe was always going to be serious and lead the team. Larry was more sensitive with the heart of an artist (remember his violin playing). And Curly was child-like, playful and fun. These character traits never wavered over the hundreds of shorts they produced. And that, in part, is what made them so popular.

From a social media perspective this authenticity and consistency is something we should all strive for. If your social media efforts are not consistent with your brand personality, developing a relationship with your target will be more difficult.

The result of all this is an enduring brand that is as popular today as they were 70 years ago. As a matter of fact, The Three Stooges have an iPhone and Android app. Moreover, a new Three Stooges movie is currently in the works, which will be directed by the Farrelly Brothers.

I think that if the Stooges were alive today, they would be big supporters of social media and would have used it wisely. Of course, we will never know for sure. But I will leave you with one last thing I learned from the Three Stooges: when all else fails, poke someone in the eye. Nyuck. Nyuck. Nyuck.

Kevin Duffy is the Creative Director for The Duffy Agency's Boston office.