Build awareness by crossing over to a larger audience

Crossover is a term the creative industry uses to describe a story about a niche subject that draws a mass audience. This happens when a universal human drama plays out through the practices of specific activity. Films such as “The Horse Whisperer,” “Man on Wire” and others do this well, and brands can too.

With a film or a movie script, the question often is, “What is this story really about?” It’s not about horse training or street performers; it’s about telling a story that resonates with an audience in profound ways. It’s why Olympic athletes are often celebrated not only for their skills but for their ability to withstand personal hardships and become champions.

The Horse Whisperer

You wouldn’t know him by name unless you happen to be a horse person, but you know who he is. Buck Brannaman achieved fame among horse trainers through his distinctive and unorthodox approach. Instead of physically and psychologically breaking the horses, Buck treated the animals with respect and dignity. He fostered a sense of trust with them. When he put his skills on display, he impressed horse trainers in attendance at his workshops across the country.

The documentary film “Buck” tells his story in compelling detail. The film was screened in its original edit to audiences of horse lovers and average people alike. While the horse trainers in attendance were enthralled with the film, most everyone else simply didn’t understand what the big deal was and why his approach was extraordinary.

Toby Shimin, the film’s editor, spoke at a Sundance film workshop for documentary storytellers to offer her explanation of what transformed “Buck” into a crossover film, a film that spoke to an audience many times the size of the niche horse training groups.

After receiving audience feedback, she dug back through the mountains of footage, looking deeper into Buck’s story. She learned that he grew up in a rodeo family. Together with his brother, he experienced immense pressure and abuse from his father, an alcoholic and an old-school horse trainer himself. His father treated his sons the way he treated horses. He broke them and made them comply out of fear. He forced them into submission through physical and mental abuse. Buck understood the plight of a horse under duress. This is what drove him to train the animals with empathy rather than fear.

Toby incorporated this personal backdrop into the story, re-edited the film and screened it again. She provided the audience with the story behind the story, and the audiences responded positively. Robert Redford responded as well and included Buck as a primary inspiration in the film “The Horse Whisperer,” which went on to earn millions at the box office.

Appealing to a larger audience can be a matter of defining what the story behind your brand is really about. Discovering what Toby refers to in her work as the “why should I care?” sequence. What’s the human truth just below the surface? Understanding how the finest details of your brand help connect you with your audience and can be the difference between a dud at the box office and becoming the next crossover smash.