Words by Nicky Colley
The rise of social networking sites and their importance to brands, not to mention the opportunities they present, cannot be ignored. Facebook, for example, has more than 65 billion page views a month, with 8 million users in the UK.
Effective as TV, radio and print advertising are, and will continue to be, Nicky thinks companies need to be much more sophisticated and creative in their marketing, as well as braver and bolder in their approach, if they want to achieve real impact and stand out from the crowd.
Who would have thought companies would pay £5,000 to have their product blended to smithereens on YouTube? What started off as a Blendtec employee blending a golf ball on YouTube has become cult viewing on its own website - willitblend.com. Thousands of people subscribe to the feed and hundreds of thousands of ‘blendit’ fans suggest the next blending challenge.
The company also does Will It Blend episodes for other companies willing to pay for the privilege with a series of products as diverse as the iPhone, marbles and tape measures.
Effective as TV, radio and print advertising are, and will continue to be, Nicky thinks companies need to be much more sophisticated and creative in their marketing, as well as braver and bolder in their approach, if they want to achieve real impact and stand out from the crowd.
Who would have thought companies would pay £5,000 to have their product blended to smithereens on YouTube? What started off as a Blendtec employee blending a golf ball on YouTube has become cult viewing on its own website - willitblend.com. Thousands of people subscribe to the feed and hundreds of thousands of ‘blendit’ fans suggest the next blending challenge.
The company also does Will It Blend episodes for other companies willing to pay for the privilege with a series of products as diverse as the iPhone, marbles and tape measures.
Online sales have increased by 70%. Blendtec’s initial outlay was just $50 on a lab coat and a few items to blend.
Will it Blend shows that you don’t have to spend a fortune to achieve impact of brand awareness and sales growth – all you need is a little creativity. It also shows that other companies can put their product in front of consumers in new and very different ways. The infamous gorilla in the Glass and a Half Full Production from Cadbury drums to Phil Collins’ In the Air Tonight and gives people the chance to win a prize and a half. The designer who created it wanted people to do ‘mash ups’ of it and some of these, including drumming to the Smiths, are on YouTube now.
Here Nicky shows us some more of the more interesting and creative viral marketing campaigns around right now:
Will it Blend shows that you don’t have to spend a fortune to achieve impact of brand awareness and sales growth – all you need is a little creativity. It also shows that other companies can put their product in front of consumers in new and very different ways. The infamous gorilla in the Glass and a Half Full Production from Cadbury drums to Phil Collins’ In the Air Tonight and gives people the chance to win a prize and a half. The designer who created it wanted people to do ‘mash ups’ of it and some of these, including drumming to the Smiths, are on YouTube now.
Here Nicky shows us some more of the more interesting and creative viral marketing campaigns around right now:
In his 1984 novel Neuromancer, cyberpunk author William Gibson made the first ever reference to cyberspace. In his most recent novel Spook Country, Gibson explores the idea of GPS art and virtual reality. Now look at the new Nokia campaign. Stavros is an arrogant, funny and artistic genius who is a master of creating art by tracking GPS locators. Stavros, www.theworldismycanvas.com, encourages people to follow his journey and take part in his next masterpiece by relocating en masse to his ‘art event’ in Rome this month. People can also submit their own artwork to the gallery to hang their art next to the master himself. We’re not for one second suggesting a direct link between Stavros and Gibson’s writing – but it is interesting how ideas emerge in very different contexts. Brands that participate in or define new ideas capture something very powerful indeed.
You’ve probably all seen the more traditional trade and press advertising for credit card company Goldfish but one of the most interesting campaigns around at the moment is www.meandmygoldfish.com in which Rik Mayall, Meera Syal, Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Anthony Horowitz tell personal stories about their relationship with their goldfish, set to different quirky animation. The company says since its launch in 1996 it has “always built relationships between cardholders and their goldfish” and “believes in making it as easy as possible to do anything and go anywhere with a goldfish”. The new campaign is a fun and engaging way to combine more traditional media with the opportunities opened up through the web. It is both a very logical concept for the company and one which requires a degree of adventure.
The maverick Adachi family faces a life without milk, undertakes illegal acts to get it, and goes on the run to find the Power of the Glass. If you log on to www.gettheglass.com you can watch the film, explore the area and play the game. As part of the Adachi clan you can break into Fort Fridge, get spotted by security, run away in hot pursuit, get arrested, sent to and escape from Milkatraz. The California Milk Processing Board may not have the catchiest of names but it certainly scores top marks for its willingness to invest in a unique way of building its brand.
Spam isn’t exactly top of the cool brands listings or the most desired foodstuff around these days but things might be changing with www.spam.com. This lighthearted, ironic trip around Spamtown with the Spam family reunion, is the ultimate cheesy all-American experience that doesn’t take itself too seriously. You can take a trip in the Spammobile, visit the Spam Museum, take part in SpamJam, Spamarama festivals or the Spamolympics, and join the Spam fan club. While spam will probably never become a cool brand, this campaign does breathe new life into tins of cold processed meat with a self-aware irony and humour that is much more likely to engage with the modern consumer.
