5 Marketing Lessons from Emily in Paris

So I binged-watched the hit series, Emily in Paris in one night. It was that entertaining. I loved the 'Ugly Betty' undertones, the relatability of the character Emily and the humour that the language barriers brought about! The fashion! The food! The wanderlust of it all and of course the romance. If you haven't watched an episode yet....you should. I'm waiting with bated breath for season 2!

Apart from all the fluff that makes a series like this particularly great, there were some important marketing lessons that you may have missed out on. But not to worry, I'm here to break them down for ya!

Lesson 1: Content is Everywhere & Everything

Formulating a strategy is one of the first things Marketers talk about....so it's always in our faces. But, sometimes content falls outside of that strategic box and literally creates its own 'strategy' if you will. If you are in the digital marketing field, I know that you know, that our minds are always on go. Trying to find the right puzzle pieces and put them together. 

One of Emily's cool abilities is that she could spot a great post from a mile away. To the untrained eye, something may seem useless - for example, a random statue, however, that statue could be the perfect piece of content if presented accurately. Content is all around us so you have to develop the ability to connect the invisible dots, no matter where you are or what you are doing. 

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Lesson 2: Don't knock it 'til you try it

If I weren't in Marketing, I like to think that I would have been a Literature Professor, LOL. So forgive the 'Lit' Nerd *pun intended* in me, but I would describe Emily and Sylvie as having a love-hate relationship. Pardon my French - c'est d'accord if you don't agree, but I believe that it's difficult for humans to readily accept change and a lot of the characters saw Emily as a threat to their organization and space...in general. She kept reaffirming that they were all on the same team - especially to Sylvie - but sis was not having it.

As Sylvie came to realize but still doesn't totally accept, Emily is good at what she does. Even though her ideas are seemingly unconventional and she has an unorthodox approach to getting her job done, she is incredible at it and - within this season - she assisted the organization in maintaining top clientele.

Similarly, Emily going to Paris in itself was a huge deal, because she was arguably out of her element, in a foreign country but soon carved her own space and found her footing. 

Lesson 3: Not everyone will like you (or what you do)

Adding to Lesson #2 and the mere fact that it's just a part of life is that not everyone will like you. I can hear your thoughts 'ok Paula, but what does that have to do with marketing?'  and you're right, you're right. The thing is the quicker you realize that being liked in real life is the equivalent of vanity metrics on social media is the faster you'll focus on your skills and what you bring to the table. People will hate you and your content just for hate's sake and that's ok because once you can back it up with results or a proven track-record then isn't that all that matters?

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Lesson 4: Use the resources you have and pivot

A lot of times we tend to think that we need something that we don't have to do better and it holds us back honestly. For example, you want to start creating videos for your social media but you have a self-inflicted barrier because you need this specific camera to start recording..........all in the name of perfection. Perfection doesn't exist but you can get as close to it as you can by using the resources you possess currently. 

When Emily mixed up the reservation date for the client dinner, she had to think quickly. What/Who did she have in a foreign country that could solve her issue at hand? You should watch the show to find out. But for those who know, wasn't that an excellent pivot?

Lesson 5: Position yourself as an expert

Listen closely to when Emily introduces herself. Although she is gaining invaluable professional experience at the Parisian firm, she already sees herself as a force to be reckoned with. And that is symbolic especially to young professionals within any field. I'm not saying that you should start introducing yourself as the CEO of Instagram or anything, but carefully think about where you see yourself and the steps you should take to get to that level.

BONUS Lesson: Learn other cultures

I think that this is one of the main lessons to be learned throughout the series. Understanding other cultures and languages keeps you ahead of the game. We saw the awkward and embarrassing moments of things lost in translation for Emily and the other characters. Although, they were great comedic additions to the series, just think for one second, what if you had to move to another country for work? These things could potentially happen to you...can't they la plouc? *Laughs in French*

Go watch the series now!

Is there another Netflix series I should be watching? Let me know in the comments below and share your thoughts too on this article. 

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