Get Low

One of the best movies I have ever seen is Get Low. It is loosely base on a true story!

It stars Robert Duvall as Felix Bush, an old man who has spent years living alone in the Tennessee woods. Felix decides he wants to have his funeral.

Except he wants to be there for it.

He wants people to come while he is still alive. He wants to hear the stories. He wants to know what people would say about him if he were dead.

It sounds a little crazy.

But I have always thought there was something pretty brilliant about it.

Because we sure do say some beautiful things about people once they are gone.

What's Brewing

I have said for years that I think we should have living funerals.

Why wait until somebody dies to gather in a room and tell stories about how much they meant to us?

Why wait until they can't hear us to say how funny they were, how talented they were or how they helped us through a hard time?

I mentioned my living funeral idea to someone once.

She said, “We already have those. They're called birthdays.”

Well.

She had me there.

And I've thought about that answer ever since.

Because maybe she was right.

Maybe birthdays are supposed to be our living funerals.

Not the depressing part, obviously. Nobody wants a casket next to the birthday cake.

I'm talking about the other part.

The stories.

The laughter.

The phone calls.

The “I'm glad you're here.”

The “Do you remember when?”

The “You probably don't know this, but you really helped me.”

The things we suddenly become very good at saying when someone is no longer around to hear them.

And that brings me to something else I have noticed.

Whenever someone famous dies, social media fills up with tributes.

People share their songs. Their movies. Their quotes. Their pictures.

Businesses sometimes join in too.

And I don't think that's automatically a bad thing.

Someone you've never met can still matter to you.

A song can take you right back to being 17 years old.

An actor can remind you of sitting beside your dad watching the same movie for the tenth time.

A writer can put words to something you have felt your entire life.

You don't have to personally know someone for their work to have been part of your life.

So sometimes those posts are very real.

But sometimes they aren't.

Marketing Bite

This is where things get a little uncomfortable for those of us in marketing.

We're taught to pay attention to what people are talking about.

Something happens and there is an immediate temptation to figure out how the business can join the conversation.

But not every conversation needs your logo on it.

And not every trending topic needs to become content.

Especially when someone has died.

I don't want to point fingers because I don't know what is in somebody else's heart. None of us really do.

But I do think there is a difference between memorializing someone and using their death as an opportunity to get attention.

And I think most people can feel the difference.

Before posting, maybe the question isn't, “Can I make this relevant to my business?”

Maybe the question is simply, “Why am I posting this?”

Did this person genuinely mean something to me?

Is there a real connection to our business or community?

Would I still say this if nobody could like, share or comment on it?

Would I be comfortable with their family reading it?

Sometimes the answer will be yes.

Post it.

Sometimes you may realize you don't need to say anything at all.

That's okay too.

Silence isn't always a missed marketing opportunity.

Sometimes it's just respect.

Take Home the Bacon

Maybe Felix Bush had the right idea in Get Low.

He wanted to hear what people had to say while he was still around to hear it.

But maybe my friend had an even better idea.

We already have living funerals.

They're called birthdays.

So maybe we should start treating them that way.

Tell people what they mean to you while they're sitting across the table.

Tell your friend the story you would tell at her funeral.

Tell somebody you admire their work while they're still doing it.

Tell your employees they're valuable before their going away party.

Tell your parents what they taught you.

Tell people you're proud of them.

Give people their flowers while they can still smell them.

And when someone is gone, absolutely tell their stories. Celebrate what they gave us. Talk about what they meant to you.

Just make sure you're giving them the flowers.

Not holding the flowers so everyone can see you holding them.

There's a difference.

And I think most people know it when they see it.