Marketing 101: Hook vs. Big Idea – What’s the difference?

Nov 10

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Marketing can be a strange beast, but if you’ve got a big idea behind your campaign then it’s been said that you're one step ahead in the game. But what exactly is a big idea in marketing and how does it differ from a hook? Read on to find out.

Hook vs Big Idea – What’s the difference?

When Melanie Moonlight walked into the producers office, her knees trembled as she clutched her manuscript. This was her moment. For three years she had been toiling over her screenplay – birthing characters, putting them in peril and then saving them when all seemed futile. She knew her script was good, great even, but she had to pitch it to the toughest, meanest producer in town. Her name was Candice Cranforth. She was known to bite the heads off young screenwriters for merely entering her office without waiting for her invitation.

Candice: So then Ms Moonlight. What have you got for me? You’ve got 1 minute to wow my knickerbockers off.

Her red lipped sneer pulled back with a twitch, exposing the lipstick smudge on her front left tooth. Melanie almost giggled, but knew if she did that it would be the end of her minute before it even began. That moment of levity gave her the courage to spill the beans on her most prized possession...

Melanie: So, the premise of this story is... boy meets girl, they fall in love, boy realises he’s made a terrible mistake, he jilts girl, then girl takes revenge. A battle ensues that continues for decades until they realise they’ve wasted their lives and they truly do love each other after all. They make up and live happily ever after for the last year of their lives before a cataclysmic event ends the world.

It all starts like this….

The scene opens on a meteoroid hurtling through space. It turns in gentle rotation in time to the classical music we hear playing.

We cut to Earth and we see a middle-aged couple embracing with tears in their eyes. The man says: “why did we wait so long?”

They look up to see a bright light in the sky.

Cut to blank screen with text saying “40 years earlier”...

Candice: Enough! You’re minute’s up. I love it! Out you go now and see Mr Oppenstein down the hall to sign your contract.

If only things worked like this!

Back to the point of... what’s the difference between a hook and a big idea? Let’s break it down using our scene above.

To start with Melanie gives us an overview of the idea behind the movie, what is known as the premise. She then goes on to describe the first scene which will grab the audience's attention.

And there you have it.

The Big Idea is the premise of the movie and the attention grabbing first scene is the Hook.

So let’s turn this movie script example into a marketing campaign.

Define the Big Idea

The short version of the premise of this movie is that don’t waste your life on revenge when you can create beautiful love instead.

Perhaps our brand is an ethical gift company and for this marketing campaign we want to highlight that you can reconnect with past friends or estranged family members by sending them a gift that shows your love and helps put aside past differences.

Our campaign would revolve around this Big Idea, with the purpose of “all roads lead to Rome”, meaning all pieces of this campaign points to the message behind the campaign, which is to reconnect with friends and family (as opposed to buy the perfect gift that shows you love them – it’s a different message entirely).

Present the Hook

Each of our marketing pieces that fit into this campaign, things like emails, ads, sales pages, landing pages and social media posts, would all lead to the Big Idea, but they all might have a slightly different hook to grab our readers attention.

Think of them as mini-scenes leading to the big story.

So, perhaps for an email for this particular “reconnect” campaign could involve a starting hook (first paragraph) like this…

What’s the difference between an old friend who truly knows you and one who doesn’t?

Memories.

Don’t let those memories slip away … just because you’ve not connected in 13 years ;)... send your friend a reconnection gift to show you’re thinking of them.

This is just a quick example to help you understand the difference between a hook and a big idea and how it all fits together.

How does this relate to email?

As mentioned above, each piece in the marketing campaign will have a different hook, but how does the big idea fit into emails?

Generally, an email as part of a campaign won’t have a big idea behind it because it feeds into the overall marketing message. If you’re sending one off broadcasts, then the Big Idea behind them will be how you segue from your email content to the call-to-action and what’s beyond the link to click.

Also, if you have created an automation sequence, for example a welcome sequence, the series of emails could revolve around one big idea with each email having their own hook that feeds into it.

Take it away

Hopefully what you’ve read above helps you understand the difference between these two marketing terms so you can more effectively market your products.

The Big Idea is the story you tell or the message you communicate.

The Hook is the initial reveal that grabs your audience's attention and leaves them wanting more.

Any questions, just fill out the form on my contact page and I’ll get right back to you.