Robert Pattinson was hit by a cab last week, whilst trying to get away from a mob of teenage girls. Thanks to his breakout role in Twilight, R-Patz (as they’re calling him) is struggling to come to terms with his newfound megastardom.
That’s the thing about “Hollywood fame” – no matter how hard you try, it changes you.
There’s a point where you go from ‘next big thing’ to ‘king of the world’.
The key is to remember how you got started, and make sure that you reconnect with the people who put you there in the first place.
Brands face the same challenge.
Early adopters become passionate advocates and drive the brand growth.
The brand gets bigger and bigger, until suddenly it’s so mainstream that its original enthusiasts drop off the radar.
This is great news for us in experiential marketing, since it’s the face-to-face, hands-on approach that allows brands to get back in touch with the people who helped them breakthrough in the first place.
Tom Cruise knows this, which is why he’s happy spending two hours on the red carpet at every premiere.

McDonald’s have a great hiring policy.
They figure that employment history and previous experience is irrelevant, since they can cover off pretty much everything with comprehensive induction and training.
So instead, they hire the smile. The way they see it, it’s much harder to teach someone to be warm, friendly and approachable than it is to say, fry fries.

OK, so that’s fine for McDonalds you say but what about other lines of work?
I think the same rule applies. Sure, we all play the game and update our CVs diligently.
But these days, no-one applies for a job that they think they won’t be able to do, since they’ll be caught out within a couple of days.

So why put so much effort into looking at the past?
What you did yesterday is nowhere near as relevant or exciting as what you’re going to do tomorrow.

So focus on what comes next, rather than what you did before.