It was just more than a week ago when we learned Chanhassen, Minnesota, lost its most famous resident and neighbor. A week later, we probably wouldn’t be buzzing about it except that this neighbor happened to be one of those once-in-a-lifetime, world-famous artists.
Prince, now referred to as Prince Rogers Nelson, passed into the “after world,” as he so famously recorded on his “Purple Rain” album, on April 21.
Just 2 hours before the news exploded on social media, my wife Jenny and I drove past his Paisley Park recording studios on the way to our son’s school. It wasn’t unusual. We drive past his studios several times on any given day on Hwy 5 in Chanhassen. At that uneventful moment, our conversation turned to Prince’s tweet to his fans, letting them know he’s kicked his very public bout with the flu.
We know now that wasn’t exactly true.
I wasn’t a die-hard Prince fan. Never really bought one of his albums, but my wife did and on occasion I’d find myself humming “Purple Rain” or “Little Red Corvette,” just because. My opinion of his unique talents soared after seeing his 2007 Super Bowl halftime show. Now, it’s the standard that every Super Bowl halftime will be measured.
Last week, the day after Prince died, I drove down to the swelling memorial of purple balloons, flowers and impromptu works of art in tribute of Prince and his talents. It’s just 2 miles up the road from Rocket Man Digital headquarters. The traffic has been horrendous since the world heard of his loss. I had to walk blocks to get to the fence surrounding Paisley Park, But I wanted to spend an hour last Friday evening capturing the incredibly raw outpouring from his fans.
I created this short video for my sister, a Prince fan. Of course, I posted it on Facebook, and got way more chatter, likes, emotions, and shares than any previous post. Prince was trending at the top of social media all last weekend, and on my feed too. By Monday, I thought that was the end of the story.
You never know what the next day brings. A connection on LinkedIn reached out to me early this week to weigh in on research project he was conducting. After shooting this quick video, and getting a huge reaction in social media, his question startled me.
Do you believe that emotional content has a greater impact on your desired audience?
My answer in short. Yes. With metrics to prove it.
In fact, it is the sole reason we have a passion for creating content. To make a personal, human, emotional connection through storytelling. Even if it brings us “purple pain.”
YOUR TURN: Do you believe that emotional content has a greater impact on your desired audience? Tell us your thoughts.