本文原载于AllBusiness.com。

在2003年的好莱坞电影《记忆裂痕》里，本·阿弗莱克饰演的天才工程师詹宁斯被公司支付了一笔天价薪水，关在小黑屋里逆向研究最新科技产品。他把那些产品拆成一个个零部件，看它们是用什么做的。他不仅要克隆竞争对手的生产工艺，还要想办法制造出比竞争对手更新、更好的产品。

作为一家创业公司，你也可以利用同样的方法，针对市面上最成功的一些营销活动搞搞“逆向工程”，破解它们的成功密码——当然，只是少了些好莱坞常见的阴谋、枪战和特效噱头。

《财富》500强企业的广告之所以很成功，不仅仅是因为文案写得好或照片拍得好，也不仅仅是因为他们出得起几百万美元去请葛瑞或奥美这类金牌广告公司，它是各个因素共同作用的结果，才使得这些广告取得了极高的回报。如果你把这些元素细细分解开来，你就能知道如何受益于类似的策略。

在这个过程中，你要注意以下几点：

1.把文案写好

你能拿出多少钱做营销活动并不重要。但如果文案写得不好，你的成功机会就会严重受限。

不过这个问题也并不是绝对的，而是有点像打保龄球。位置对了，就能得个满分；如果定位偏了一点，也可以得些分数。但如果你的定位离目标太远了，自然也就得不到什么好成绩了。

另一个重要因素是信息的规模。你可能会发现，一些大公司最成功的广告往往只有一句话甚至几个字，有的甚至只有一张图片，然而效果却丝毫不亚于那些广告词洋洋洒洒的广告。对他们来说，说的是什么并不重要，重要的是说话的方式。文案所描绘的图景、它背后的故事，以及它所激起的情感波澜，也能对广告的成功产生影响。

所以，你要围绕你的价值定位描绘一幅大图景，这样才能让你的文案正中靶心。

2．渠道的重要性

如果你盘点一下《财富》500强企业的那些经典营销活动，你会发现，一些效果最好、影响最大的营销活动并非都是通过电视、广播、纸媒等渠道进行推广的。比如男士香水品牌古风（Old Spice）最成功的广告就是通过在线视频推广的。

研究一下《财富》500强企业的内容推广模式，你会发现，很多企业在内容推广渠道方面都有自己的“套路”。有些利用视频，有些利用文字。虽然很多公司都拥有多种多样的营销渠道，但他们往往各有侧重，而不会全部使用。

他们对推广渠道和工具的选择并不是盲目的，而是基于谨慎的研究。《财富》500强”企业知道这些广告最大的受众群体在哪里，他们也知道哪种内容最有可能获得最多的关注。

我不是说你要完全复制《财富》500强的成功广告，而是说你应该从他们的研究中吸取经验，了解你的目标受众主要把时间花费在了哪些媒体上。其次你要寻找有哪些被忽视了的机会，看看有哪些尚未被发掘的渠道可能还隐藏着一些受众群体。

3．营销活动是怎样开展和推广的

认真研究《财富》500强企业的营销活动是如何开展和推广的，并且将这种流程应用到你自己的营销活动中，特别是如果这些大品牌恰好和你处于同一个行业的话。如果一些大型营销活动取得了很好的效果，你更要仔细关注这些内容是怎样在网上进行运营推广的。不管是登陆页面、视频、博客还是网帖，你都可以在社交媒体上关注这个话题，看看粉丝们是如何分享的。

另外，你也可以追踪一下这些营销活动的反向链接，看看网上有哪些人在文章和博客里讨论它。等你开始运作自己的营销活动并且发布内容时，你也应该联系一下这些资源，以提高话题的热门度。

4.完善时机

如果你想通过“逆向工程”的方式复制《财富》500强企业的营销活动，那么在时机的选择上，你一定要考虑以下这两个方面：

首先是营销活动的时机选择。有些营销活动对时间是极为敏感的，比如一些热门、时尚话题、年度活动，或是一些注定只能火一次的东西，一旦上线，就几乎不可能被复制。

2012年母亲节前夕，宝洁推出一个以“谢谢你，妈妈”为主题的系列广告，描绘了几位运动员是如何从小小年纪成长为一名奥林匹克选手的。它特别渲染了这些运动员在成长过程中努力奋斗和遭遇挫折时，他们的母亲所带给他们的影响。该系列广告迅速取得了巨大轰动。

该系列广告堪称宝洁的一步“奇招”，因为这家日常消费品公司并不生产运动产品。但根据Hubspot公司提供的数据，每一则“养育奥运选手”广告都吸引了近百万的点击率，其主打的“谢谢你，妈妈”视频广告更是吸引了近5300万次点击率，使其曝光率超过了耐克。该系列广告之所以取得如此巨大的成功，既是由于时机的选择，也是由于它非常了解目标受众的生活方式。

其次是发布内容的时机选择。Buffer公司曾在多个渠道上就发布内容的最佳时机进行过调查，清晰地指出了在一周的每一天以及一天中的每个时间段里，网友对话题关注度的升降变化。

只要观察《财富》500强企业的一些最成功的营销活动，你就会发现他们在时机选择和内容发布频率上的“套路”。

5.受众是关键

在上述每一点中，都有一个反复出现的主角——受众。不管你是一家《财富》500强”企业，还是一个名不见经传的创业公司，要想“逆向研发”任何一个成功的营销活动，最终的落脚点都在受众身上。

对于任何营销活动来说，受众调查都极为重要，它可以为你提供一张路线图。需要了解的问题包括：

他们想要或需要听到什么

他们的痛点是什么

他们喜欢怎样消费内容

他们喜欢聚集在网络的什么地方

他们如何社交和分享内容

他们什么时候最活跃

通过以上步骤，你可以把任何一次成功的营销活动分解成这些因素，并且寻找机会做得更好，特别是在目标群体的定位上。这样一来，你的营销活动就会获得巨大的成功。（财富中文网）

本文作者Aaron Agius是一名经验丰富的搜索、内容和社交营销专家。他曾与全球最大、最知名的一些品牌开展合作，为他们进行网上推广，其客户包括Salesforce、可口可乐和塔吉特百货等。

译者：朴成奎

审校：任文科

This piece originally appeared on AllBusiness.

In the 2003 film Paycheck, Ben Affleck’s character is paid a huge sum of money to be locked in a clean room where he reverse engineers products, breaking them down into individual components to determine how they were made. He not only replicates processes, but he also discovers ways to create newer, better products.

You can utilize the same approach with some of the most successful marketing campaigns, minus the conspiracy, gun play, and Hollywood special effects.

Fortune 500 campaigns aren’t successful just because of the messaging or images, or because they have millions of dollars behind campaigns that are produced by agencies like Grey or Ogilvy & Mather. It’s the individual components of those campaigns that come together to create a high return. When you break those campaigns down, you can examine the separate components to see how your startup might benefit from similar strategies.

Here’s what you should pay attention to:

Get the messaging right.

It doesn’t matter how much money you throw at a marketing campaign. If the messaging is wrong, you’re going to severely limit your chances of succeeding.

I don’t want you to think that it’s just black and white, though. It’s a lot more like Skee-Ball. Sink the ball in just the right place and score big. Miss it by just a bit, and you still get some points. Miss the mark by a long shot and you don’t get squat.

Another important factor is the scale of the message. Some of the most effective campaigns from major companies say more with a single sentence or word–or even just an image–than with content-heavy ads. It’s not really what they say, it’s how they say it. The picture the messaging creates, or the story behind it and the emotional connection it makes, likely contributes to the success of these campaigns.

Focus on painting a big picture around the value proposition to get your messaging on point.

The role of distribution.

Not all of the best and biggest Fortune 500 campaigns were rolled out in traditional marketing channels like TV, radio, and print. Old Spice’s most successful marketing campaign, in fact, was done with online video.

Look at how Fortune 500 companies distribute their content, and you’ll begin to see patterns in how they focus on specific channels. Some target video, others leverage written content, and while many have a diverse network of channels, they might not use all of them.

The channels and distribution tools they use aren’t arbitrary; they’re based on research. Fortune 500s know where the majority of their audience can be found, and they know what types of content are most likely to get the most engagement.

Instead of trying to replicate the success of Fortune 500s, take a cue from their research and find out where your audience is spending their time. Look for missed opportunities and watch for untapped channels where audience segments may be hiding.

How the campaign is promoted and carried.

The process through which content is promoted and carried is one aspect that you can try to replicate with your own marketing, especially if larger brands are in a similar industry. When big campaigns take off, pay close attention to how the content is being carried and promoted across the web. Whether it’s a landing page, a video, a blog, or a social post, you can follow the conversations throughout social media to see how fans share it with one another.

Likewise, trace the backlinks on campaigns to find out who is talking about them in articles and blogs. When you run your own campaigns and start publishing content, you should contact these sources to try and boost the signal.

Perfecting the timing.

There are two aspects to consider with timing when you’re trying to reverse engineer marketing success.

The first has to do with the timing of an event. Some campaigns are time-sensitive and play off of trending topics, fads, one-off or annual events that would be nearly impossible to replicate once the campaign is live.

For Mother’s Day in 2012, P&G PG -1.76% launched a “Thank You, Mom” campaign that featured athletes training from a young age to become Olympic athletes. The video emphasized the impact mothers had on their children as they struggled, overcame obstacles, and went on to become winners.

It was a step outside of P&G’s norm since the company’s products don’t really relate to sporting goods, but according to Hubspot, each of the “Raising an Olympian” videos received close to a million views, and the main “Thank You, Mom” video received nearly 53 million views, resulting in more coverage than Nike NKE 0.46% . The campaign was immensely successful thanks to a combination of timing and understanding the lifestyle of the audience.

Another aspect of timing comes in when content gets released. Buffer published research about the best times to post content through various channels, painting a clear picture about the rise and fall of engagement based on time of day and day of the week.

Look at the most successful campaigns from major companies and you’ll begin to see patterns in the timing and frequency of content publishing.

The audience is key.

There’s a recurring theme through each of the above points: the audience. When you reverse engineer any successful marketing campaign, whether it’s for a Fortune 500 company or a small startup, it’s always going to end with the audience.

Audience research is critical for any campaign and it provides you with a road map for moving forward including:

What they want or need to hear

Their pain points

How they like to consume content

Where they gather online

How they socialize and share content

When they’re most active

Break down any successful campaign into those components and search for opportunities to do it better, especially in how the audience is targeted. By doing so, you’ll see tremendous growth in your startup’s marketing campaigns.

Aaron Agius is an experienced search, content and social marketer. He has worked with some of the world’s largest and most recognized brands, including Salesforce, Coca-Cola, Target and others, to build their online presence.