forget the MCU, I'm about the MMU
Hey there,
This wasn’t the email I’d planned & started for today…but that one’s not done yet, and I’ve been thinking about something that reminded me of this old draft.
So I decided to update and finish it!
I have this database called my “Smile File” of things that cheer me up when I’m in a funk.
And lately, I keep returning to the same smile file entry over and over again:
Christine Baranski’s performance of Does Your Mother Know in the Mamma Mia movie. 😍
The silliness and joy she dances with in the chorus round starting at 2:28 can turn any day around for me.
And it had me thinking, again, about something I’ve wanted to write about for awhile…
My argument?
Mamma Mia is proof there’s no limit to how far you can repurpose a piece of content, if you do it right. 😍
I mean, look at the Mamma Mia Universe (MMU):
Remix 1: the jukebox musical
First of all, it’s a jukebox musical.
All jukebox musicals are repurposed content, by definition.
They’re based on existing songs that they curate, remix, and build a story around.
In Mamma Mia’s case, it’s ABBA.
(Remind me to write you a whole email about what we can learn from jukebox musicals, cause as a pop culture and Broadway obsessed content marketer, I! have! thoughts!)
Remix 2: the movie musical
Then, the stage musical was remixed into a movie musical.
One where we get Meryl Streep and Christine Baranski dancing and laughing and looking like they’re having more fun than they’ve ever had on set before (the cast has admitted this was the most fun set!).
Plus Pierce Brosnan’s humanizing attempts to sing!
Remix 3: the sequel
After that movie’s success, they make another movie.
This one’s a sequel with a bit of prequel on the side, remixing more ABBA songs left out of the original musical.
(Including Fernando! Fernando!)
Sure, there’s minimal Streep, but we get CHER. You know how I feel about Cher and her penchant for repurposing her greatest hits.
Remix 4: the cover album
Given that penchant for repurposing content and riding greatest hits until the wheels fall off, Cher starts her ABBA era.
Hot off the heels of the sequel, Cher records Dancing Queen, an entire album of ABBA covers.
Yes, it’s amazing.
Remix 5: the tour
Oh, but wait!
Cher’s not done yet! I told you she has a penchant. 🙃
To promote the album, she kicks off the Here We Go Again Tour.
It’s a true assortment of different kinds of remixed content: her own greatest hits, ABBA covers, and covers of other artists (her version of Walking in Memphis is my all-time favorite).
Remix 6: TBD?
That’s as far as the content remixing chain has gone so far, but I hope they’re not done yet.
There’s trusted rumors about a third movie, but given how long it took to get the second one together, we probably have a few years of waiting left.
At this point, the songs and stories involved with Mamma Mia have been remixed and repurposed and refreshed again and again for almost 50 years, with only a short break.
All the songs in the original musical were from 1972-1982, the musical started coming together in 1997, and opened on the West End.
The only time it hasn’t had an active production, either on the West End, Broadway, or touring, since it opened in 1999 was when all theaters were closed in 2020.
And are people tired of it? Not the people who matter.
Anything Mamma Mia-related continues to have a huge following, of which I am a proud member!
We will continue to eat up anything this universe gives us, as long as it keeps being so damn fun.
(Btw, if you love Mamma Mia as much as I do, you will love this video essay.)
What this says about content remixing
So it’s time for the marketing lesson in all this (you knew it was coming lol):
Marketing may not always be fun, and I don’t know if anything in business can be as fun as Mamma Mia, but the same “no limits” principle still holds true for content marketing.
As long as your repurposed and remixed content is good, has unique value, and gives people what they come to your content for, you can repurpose it forever.
Sure, it takes strategy, creativity, finding the right pacing, and other real work, but it’s still possible.
If you’re doing it well, when it comes to how much content you can repurpose, we need to reference a completely different Amanda Seyfried movie:
The limit does not exist. 🙃
One of the questions I get a lot is, “how do I know if I’m repurposing too much?”
And from now on, if you’re ever thinking that, I want you to remember the Mamma Mia Rule.
Got it?