Project Hail Mary: What Blockbusters Teach Us About Branding
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It’s not every day a movie makes me cry. Three times. Especially a movie that, for the most part, features the guy from the Notebook and a rock. Maybe having two little girls has made me soft. Maybe the Goose finally got me. Or maybe we all crave the same connections, experiences, and feelings.
Part Project Hail Mary review. Part business article. Fully interesting.
Spoilers and insights ahead.
Act One: Setup
I told my sitter, “Kayla only fell asleep once, and that’s a big deal because she doesn’t like ‘space movies.’” To be fair, we went to the 9:00pm showing at the end of a long workday. In the middle of a long week. In the middle of a long year. Despite my best efforts (a liter of Coke and Starburst jelly beans), my sweet wife didn’t stand a chance against those heated leather La-Z-Boys…
We kicked off date night, a remarkable alignment of the stars (get it, space?) with nearly 4 uninterrupted hours together, and Kayla and I were talking about how I think of movies. How I’m such a loser to be bummed I picked seats D-6 and D-7 instead of D-8 for date night. And how much I say esoteric things like “esoteric” and “symbolism” and “cinematography.” Fun fact, my buddy Jamie let me know I have Australian cinematographer Greig Fraser to thank for many of my favorite movies in recent memory (Dune, The Batman, Rogue One, The Mandalorian).
At first, I tried to use a food metaphor to compare some of the movies I love. “Star Wars is like pizza. It’s fun, family-friendly. You know, it’s always pretty good even if it’s bad.” My wife stared at me, like our pastor says, “Like a cow looking up at an airplane.” At this point, I’m committed. “But something like Christopher Nolan is more like a steak. A filet."
At this point, I’ve thoroughly confused her since Star Wars is one of my favorite franchises and steak is one of my favorite foods. Until I finally said something somewhat coherent:
“It’s everything working together that makes a movie great. Writing, pacing, tone, symbolism, casting, performance, cinematography, lighting, set design, props, VFX, production, editing, marketing, design, iconic moments. A great movie is all of it...Actually, you can’t compare Star Wars to Interstellar. They’re totally different foods.”
"An elegant weapon, from a more civilized age..." (Star Wars: Episode IV)
Which is better, your favorite steakhouse or pizza joint? Each can be great in its own right but totally different experiences. Star Wars is nostalgic. It makes me remember the magic of movies, swishing my lightsaber stick in the backyard, sneaking Phantom Menace into my best friend’s house and being sure to tell his mom to “knock first” (I was so smart) so she didn’t walk in when Darth Maul was getting cut in half. When I watch Star Wars, it makes me feel like a kid again. That’s why I still love it in my thirties.
Many minutes later, I finally reiterate, “That’s what it is. It’s the experience. The feeling, you know?” As she sweetly smiles back at me eating her jelly beans. “You know what, we have a pretty good shot at a trailer trifecta for the new Star Wars, Dune, and Spider-Man.”
That’s about when it hit me. The food metaphor isn’t working. The real metaphor is in theaters now.
Act Two: Development
Your brand is like a movie. It’s remarkable how similar a brand is to a movie. Unfortunately, many business owners are taking the title Project Hail Mary a little too literally. They let things get so bad, it feels like the end of the world. And they’re desperate for anything to work.
Houston, we have a problem, am I right?
Scene 1: You’re not for everyone. And that’s okay.
Once that lightbulb went off, the low-hanging fruit hit me in the head: my wife doesn’t like space movies. Depending on how long it’s been since she’s watched Interstellar, she may even tell you she hates space movies. Honestly, she doesn’t love movies. She loves me and I love movies. So much that she watches all the Star Wars and Marvel stuff and the occasional Project Hail Mary with me.
I, on the other hand, love movies. Especially space movies. And people who love space movies really love them. Like a movie, you’re not for everyone, and that’s okay. You shouldn’t be. In fact, your business should be polarizing enough for people to love and hate it. No one talks about mediocrity, but more on that later (This is foreshadowing).
Scene 2: We judge a book by its cover.
Despite being told not to, we do judge books by their cover. When a new movie comes out, you’ll see the marketing, watch the trailer, hear the premise, read the cast list, think about their previous roles and similar movies or previous entries in the series, and subconsciously, you’ll make a decision based on whether you feel like it’s worth spending your time and money to go see it.
That perceived value is your brand. That’s all you have. Because if people don’t see the value of what’s in it for them, you’ll never get the chance to show them. No matter how great it is.
All anyone can ever buy is the perceived value of the experience. They don’t get any real value until after they buy. Let that sink in. Like any movie at the box office, your business lives and dies on what people think and feel about it.
Scene 3: Every piece matters.
One trailer doesn’t make a movie great. One casting decision doesn’t make a movie great. One joke doesn’t make a movie great. One scene doesn’t make a movie great. One score doesn’t make a movie great. Everything makes a great movie great because all of those things work together.
Little Easter eggs like Grace’s shirt: “AH! The Element of Surprise,” and how he named Rocky’s mate Adrian are smart and fun, but they didn’t make the movie great.
Ryan Gosling’s journey of the lovable, self-deprecating teacher turned reluctant hero is a refreshingly vivid cross-section of humanity. But that didn’t make the movie great either.
Neither did the moment where the man who insists he’s “not a hero” slowly types the word “BRAVE” when Rocky asks what’s the word for when someone would risk their life to help another (despite telling him the word was “dumb”).
Don’t get me started on Eva’s gut-wrenching, voice-cracking karaoke to Harry Styles’ “Sign of the Times” that hits a little too close to home:
“Just stop your crying, it’s the sign of the times… you look pretty good down here, but you ain’t really good....Remember everything will be alright. We can meet again somewhere, somewhere far away from here.” (Sign of the Times, Harry Styles)
That definitely didn’t make the movie great. Well, it did. All of it did. Because it all works together to tell the same story of fear, hope, loss, love, survival, and sacrifice.
Your brand isn’t judged by one thing, it’s judged by everything. It’s not your logo or your colors or your videos or your website or your product or your ads. It’s how everything comes together. And your brand is only as strong as its weakest link. For most businesses, the weakest link isn’t even a weak link. It’s not seeing the chain, with pieces sitting on the table, never linked with intention.
Scene 4: The sum of the parts is the feeling.
“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13)
Project Hail Mary isn’t a particularly Christian story, but there are strong undertones. Grace grapples with a wide spectrum of imperfect human emotion. And while he was ultimately drugged and forced into the mission against his will, he rose to the occasion with remarkable, Christ-like love. Do we really think it’s a coincidence his name is Grace? (Pretty amazing, Grace).
Likewise, we see his fellow survivor turned best friend, Rocky, rise to the occasion, risking his life not only for the Eridians but also for Grace.
When all of the pieces work together to tell the story of an underdog, a long shot, imperfect people (and weird rock aliens) doing their best and risking their lives for others, the whole movie hits different. That’s the sum of its parts: the feeling.
This CGI rock made me cry more than once. Even a disheveled Ryan Gosling with glasses holding on for dear life in a bright yellow jacket made me cry a couple of times. Because this story made me feel something deeply human. Even with Grace and Rocky from different planets, there’s this shared struggle of the human condition with death knocking at our door. We see movies to escape, to connect, to love, to hurt, to heal, to feel. Isn’t that why we buy?
"We don’t buy what it does, we buy how it makes us feel."
Scene 5: Marketing isn’t a megaphone, it’s a mirror.
Great brands (and movies) are deeply relatable. They’re lovable. Not in a touchy-feely, wishy-washy way. What made Grace and Rocky’s journey so lovable? You could see yourself in them. Or at least who you hope to be.
You could feel Grace’s self-doubt like it was your own. You wonder if you would rather live 30 more years at the expense of a quarter of the world’s population if it came down to it. You dread the loneliness of waking up lost in space with no idea who you are or how to get home. You know exactly what it’s like having no idea what you’re doing. You can relate to feeling misunderstood. You hope to be as “dumb” as him one day. Maybe you can relate to the weight of the world on your shoulders (maybe not quite so literally). You can relate to losing someone you care about.
Marketing isn’t a megaphone, it’s a mirror. Your customers should see themselves in everything you sell, say, and do. Not just how great you are, your quality, service, years of experience, or awards. They should see their very real problem and how it feels with deep empathy, and how your very real solution helps them get what they want. To feel.
Act Three: Resolution
Scene 6: We remember the way it made us feel.
When great parts create a better whole, some moments will stick with you. The painful admission that Grace rides a bike because he can’t afford a car as a teacher. Rocky slowly learning to communicate with his new friend. Grace trusting Rocky to remove his helmet. Rocky running and rambling through Grace’s ship: “Dirty, dirty, dirty, ditty, why room so messy? Is this room for garbage?” When Grace types “B–R–A–V–E.” The bitter irony of the scientist finally coming out of her shell to sing a song about the world ending.
These are some of the moments I remember. Not because they were all the biggest scenes with the best action or effects, but because they made me feel something. There’s neuroscience behind this.
UCLA researchers found that changes in emotion create boundaries between experiences, making them easier to remember. One researcher put it this way:
“It’s like putting items into boxes for long-term storage. Emotions are the boxes.” (David Clewett, assistant professor of psychology at UCLA)
That’s why I can name those moments. They’re in their own boxes. Columbia University researchers put it even more plainly: "Most people can remember where they were on 9/11, or what the weather was like on the day their first child was born. Memories about world events on Sept, 10, or lunch last Tuesday, have long been erased."
Your brain is literally wired to forget neutral experiences and remember emotional ones. If you’re not making people feel, you’re not making them remember. You’re designing your business to be forgotten.
Scene 7: Do something remarkable.
Most estimates cite that as few as 5–10% of customers will go out of their way to leave a positive review without being asked. Seth Godin 🌔's definition of remarkable has stuck with me for years:
"The word remarkable means: worth making a remark about." (Seth Godin)
If you want people to remember you, you have to do something memorable. You have to make them feel something. If you want people to tell their friends about it, you have to do something remarkable.
“You have to go see this movie… you have to work with this person…”
That’s bigger than marketing: it’s remarkable. But that only happens when your business does something out of the ordinary. If you do what’s always been done, you’ll get what’s always been got.
When price is the only thing that's different, customers will sort by price and you'll have to lose to win. If you’re the same as everyone else, why should they choose you?
Scene 8: Business is live or die.
Remember: you’re not for everyone, and that’s okay. Your customers will judge you by the cover before they ever get to experience it. Every piece matters, working together as a whole. Marketing isn’t a megaphone, it’s a mirror. We buy the way it makes us feel, not what it does. If you want more referrals, you need to do something remarkable.
But this is where the movie metaphor starts to break down. In business, there’s no Rotten Tomatoes score. You may have reviews, but at the end of the day, business is pass or fail. Period. Live or die. You got the customer or you didn’t. They traded their money for your thing or they didn’t.
If you’re a business owner, this is where the analogy should start to feel a little too real.
Scene 9: So, what?
My friend Jamie (and fellow space-loving movie lover) asked me at church Sunday, “So, what did you think of the movie?” When I told him Kayla fell asleep when Rocky was learning to talk, he said, “Oh man. That was one of the best parts.” And then we just talked about it for a while. About how much we love Rocky. How he’s so lovable.
I don’t toss around 9s or 10s often, but I had very few legitimate critiques. It was a strong chain where all parts were phenomenal and felt intentional. I agree with my friend Jenah that Grace could have wrestled a little longer with his amnesia and had a more defined lightbulb moment, especially given the setup from the trailer. She also mentioned Grace’s ship would never survive multiple entries and exits from different atmospheres. You could dock maybe half a point for each. But I’d still put it somewhere in solid 9/10 territory.
Even though I had another friend tell me he thought Project Hail Mary was "the most 5/10 movie he's ever seen," (not for everyone, right?), it’s one of my favorite movies of the last decade. Probably top 10 of the past ten years.
I’m astro-not kidding.
And I’ve told a ton of people they should go see Project Hail Mary. And you should too (in Imax if you can). Not just because it’s a technically great movie, but because it felt great. It’s an emotionally great movie. It felt like Interstellar meets Arrival, but instead of being crushed with heavy drama, this drom-com was equal parts gut-wrenching and life-giving. Cinematic. Raw. Inspiring.
It felt great to travel from despair, lonelier than you could possibly imagine, confused and scared…to brave, hopeful, ready and willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. To feeling connected, accepted, and loved. To leaving the world better than you found it.
So, if you've made it this far, I'll leave you with this:
Who is your business not for?
How does what you do make people feel?
Do customers see themselves when they look at you?
What does your business do that’s actually worthy of remark?
How is your business leaving the world better than you found it?
That’s what business is all about, isn’t it? An exchange of value: trading what we have for what we want, to feel. Helping people get what they want. Finding people at their worst and bringing them to a better place. A place where they belong. Where they feel brave, safe, strong, maybe even do things they never thought they could. That's remarkable.
When you do that, you may not save the world. But it’s a better place.