Ahhh, Alias! Has it really been 20 years since you ended?
If you avidly watched it like I did, you’ll surely miss the pumping, pulsing, club-style tunes while J-Garn kicked many butts.
Unce, unce, unce, unce, unce.
Coming at us strong from the early-mid Noughties, this American espionage thriller ran for 5 seasons from 2001-2006, and was the brain child of JJ Abrams (Lost, Mission Impossible III, Super 8, Star Trek, Star Wars).
Each action-packed episode starred Jennifer Garner as our protagonist Sydney Bristow: a young but accomplished spy who’s sent on covert missions to face international terrorists and double agents, all while wearing a myriad of disguises.
The overarching narrative? The pursuit of collecting ancient artefacts that are part of an increasingly complicated Rambaldi mythology for SD-6: an organisation headed by Arvin Sloane (Ron Rifkin) that Syd and many of her colleagues think is an “off the books division” of the CIA.
20+ year spoiler alert: it’s not.
That Sloane and his dastardly plans. Incorrigible!
FYI: Milo Rambaldi is a fictional Da Vinci-Nostradamus character that pops up frequently throughout the series, whose inventions from yesteryear are not only coveted by this crime syndicate for a sinister endgame, but also predict that Syd plays an crucial role in these plans.
A recurring theme in the show is also about the characters understanding or growing to understand the people around them.
Who are the “targets?” What motivates them? What are they hiding? What are their Achille’s heels? And, crucially, how can Syd and her “Black Ops” team approach those they’re targeting for successful outcomes, depending on the situation.
Yep, this is a metaphor for customer personas and audience research.
Sydney Bristow never approaches two missions the same way…
That’s the first big marketing inspo lesson.
There’s always a new disguise or strategy for Syd, but not so much her partner Dixon (Carl Lumbly, who’s a ‘Flanaverse’ regular) who tends to be her backup in the field.
Syd leads. 9 times out of 10, she’s on point and looking sharp AF.
The anticipation to see what wig and costume Syd will adorn became an episodic treat.
Sometimes she was a corporate executive, sometimes she was a nightclub dancer. She could be a scientist or she could be an arms dealer. One day she’s a diplomat, next she’s a sneaky hotel maid.
Overall, very versatile and with various accents.
Syd is a covert chameleon and master of… adaptation.
See? As a spy, Syd must change her appearance and approach depending on who she needs to connect with.
For each mission, Syd is given a profile or dossier containing all the information she needs about the “target” and the mission plan, which is the same as connecting to your customers through well-researched personas.
It wouldn’t work if Syd treated each “target” and mission the same all the time. And brands shouldn’t make this mistake either by marketing like there’s only one audience with only one message and landing page required for each campaign.
Absolutely not.
Even if there’s only one type of audience to market to, such as teachers or parents. Yes, they can be categorised as a collective, homogenous group of ‘teachers’ or ‘parents,’ BUT —
They’re made up of human individuals.
Like the cast of Alias: it can be broken down into segments:
- Main cast
- Recurring characters
- Special guest stars, like Isabella Rossellini, Christian Slater, Faye Dunaway, Ethan Hawke, David Cronenberg, and even Quentin Tarantino pops up
Real audiences are layered with different pain points, motivations, objections, and levels of awareness.
When marketing messaging treats everyone the same, there’s a high risk it will resonate with nobody.
This happens when messaging is too generic and not specific enough.
Understanding that motivation is power…
One of the reasons Sloane is such a compelling antagonist is because he deeply understands people.
This makes him very good at his job as the Director of SD-6… which is also a bad thing… because he’s a baddie.
He knows what drives people, what they desire, what they fear losing… and he uses this psychological intel strategically.
Just not ethically, obviously.
Whereas, when brands do it properly, it’s audience research that is strategic and ethical, with understanding and without manipulation.
But brands can get their customer personas WRONG…
Personas are more than age, location, and job title demographics.
Yes, these are useful to know, but they’re simply not enough.
Not even close.
In Alias, Syd succeeds because she understands behaviour, not just the identity of the mark.
From her dossier, she studies the mark’s routines, environments, emotional triggers, etc., and brands should do the same. (In a less creepy and intense Arvine-y way.)
For instance, learning where your customers/ target audience spend their time online tells you a lot about:
- How they think
- What they value
- How they consume information
Where to find your customers to create proper personas…
This is where Alias remains incredibly relevant for marketing tips…
Syd doesn’t wait for information to appear: she is sent on a mission to go to where her “target” or mark is, whether she’s jumping on a plane to Taipei, Taiwan or hopping over the Pond to Yorkshire, right here in England.
She goes to their location.
(1) Online behaviour
Remember, different audiences hang out in different places online, for example:
- Teachers may be active in Facebook groups or LinkedIn communities
- Gen Z audiences may respond better to TikTok or Instagram Reels
- Technical audiences might spend time on Reddit, YouTube, or niche techy forums
(2) Observe engagement
Syd spies. She is a spy. (This metaphor is a bit more on-the-nose.)
Before leaping into action, Syd must recon the situation and stakeout, gather intel, but not always intervene unless absolutely necessary.
Brands should pay special attention to:
- What gets shared
- What gets liked
- What sparks comments
- What formats perform well
These engagement patterns can reveal more about customer psychology, their intent, and inform your campaign strategy.
Don’t forget, Syd and her team analyse the files and data they have access to first with…
(3) Existing customers
Your best target audience insights are right in front of you, in the content and data you already possess:
- Customer calls
- Onboarding sessions
- Case studies, testimonials, and reviews
- Support tickets
- Webinar chats
- Sales conversations
These are chock-full of golden customer persona nuggets.
The “double life” and audience segmentation…
Another key theme in Alias is dual identity.
Syd is constantly balancing who she really is and who she appears to be.
Even though she’s a spy in private, her public persona is full of deception:
She is actually trying to balance espionage while studying for her English master’s degree, but her cover story is her job at Credit Dauphine: a bank acting as SD-6’s “front” company.
This is what Syd’s friends think is the truth: Francie (Merrin Dungey, or Stevie’s mother from Malcolm in the Middle) and Will (Bradley Cooper, the first thing I saw him in), who suspect Syd’s bank job is far too demanding for what it is.
Your audience might also have ‘multiple identities’ online, by behaving differently on LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram, and by email.
This means your messaging has to adapt according to the medium and the medium behaviour, because the version of your brand someone sees on LinkedIn shouldn’t necessarily sound identical to your TikTok content.
Ultimately, it should be the same core brand identity (Syd), but in a different presentation (Syd’s aliases).
Note: This is one of my favourite Will reaction shots. After the toilet cubicle-microphone-transmitter jump scare.
(You’ll need to watch it to know what I mean… especially the bloopers for this season!)
It’s never really a solo mission…
Yes, Syd is an incredible field agent who regularly runs into the breach alone. (Remember, Dixon is relegated to backup or in the comms van at a safe distance.)
However, Syd never works alone:
- Vaughn (Michael Vartan) is a CIA agent handler-goodie who provides insight and support when Syd becomes a double-agent after discovering that SD-6 are the terrorists, have lied to her since she was recruited by them, and murdered her fiancé. (Oh, and Vaughn is quickly established as the next serious love interest.)
- Marshall (Kevin Weisman) is SD-6’s ‘Q’ equivalent who knows the ins and out of all the tools and tech Syd and co use, but believes the lie that he is working for the CIA goodies, not the SD-6 baddies.
- Jack (Victor Garber) understands the psychology and risk… and just so happens to be Syd’s estranged father who is also a deep-seeded CIA double agent, unbeknownst to Syd, Arvine, or the rest of the SD-6 baddies.
Does it make sense? (DM me if you need an Alias series deep-dive/ crash-course.)
Together, the team builds a complete picture, which is how customer understanding should work internally, too, across sales, customer support, marketing, and product teams.
Each team holds different, vital pieces of audience insight.
Avoid the danger of assumptions…
Misinformation is a constant in the world of Alias.
Mostly from SD-6 as it maintains its lie masquerading as the CIA… as well as Syd’s double-agent status and real-life deceit.
How is this humanly possible for one person to commit to!? (It’s difficult enough explaining it concisely to provide series context.)
Syd, et al, can frequently trust the wrong people, misread motives and act on incomplete information. Brands can be guilty of this, too, especially when they rely on assumptions and dated data, instead of audience research.
Just because you think your product’s biggest selling point is “X,” doesn’t mean your audience agrees.
And the marketing takeaway is…
Customer personas can’t be treated as fictional profiles sitting in a dossier or slide deck, because they’re living with changing behaviours.
Personas require an understanding of:
- Who your audience is
- Where they spend their time online
- What motivates them
- How they speak (get the TOV right to replicate in your messaging)
- What pain points/ challenges they want to solve
One last takeaway…
Sydney Bristow succeeds because she adapts without losing who she is.
Great brands can do the same by:
- Maintaining a consistent brand identity and values
- Tailoring how they communicate with their target audience(s)
- Adapting their tone and messaging, depending on audience, environment, and context
Phew!
It’s hard getting into the mind of a secret agent, but Syd/ J-Garn makes it look so easy-breezy and wig-ing cool.
Got an urge to watch the show? Yeah, ya do!
The complete series of Alias is currently streaming on Disney+/ Hulu.
You’re welcome.
Fourth Wall Breach 