There is a continuous debate among advertisers about what a viral advertisement is. Most people who are really well versed in the web and understand the culture try to emphasize the idea that you cannot "make" a viral video, you can only cross your fingers and hope that a video you made "goes" viral. That's because viral is a verb, not a noun.
I know that seems just like a argument over semantics, but its important. Using viral as a verb or an adjective and not a noun help set expectations and changes the view of the audience from automatons who's only purpose is to mindlessly spread your message, to real people that you have to give a compelling piece of content that they think is worth spreading to their friends.
Now that's a trick.
Here is an example of a video from the UK promoting Samsung LED televisions. I showed it to Dave and he was in awe, but I told him to wait, because it gets better....
He posted the link to his twitter account and away it went to all his friends, who spread it to all their friends, but he didn't realize it was an advertisement until I told him so. He was a little shocked and felt slightly ashamed that he helped an ad man spread his message, but he got over it because the video was really amazing.
So how did this ad succeed in going viral where so many others fail? It succeeded, because it wasn't an ad. That's right, you heard me, IT WAS NOT AN ADVERTISEMENT. The message was vague and left the interpretation, which is not typical of a traditional advertisement. It was a gift to the internet.
The video itself was amazing. Live sheep making amazing patterns with LED lights. It was incredible, and a no brainer for spreading and the message was secondary to the act of extreme sheepherding. By spreading it among their friends people of the internet are reaffirming their identity. By spreading this video they are saying, "I think this is neat. I think you should watch this. I think your life would be a dull and dreary place if you do not see this."
This video is not an advertisement. Samsung LED televisions gave this me. I really liked it. I thought it was amazing, and I think you will like it too.
This video is a gift, from Samsung, to me, to you.
Sometimes your best ad isn't an ad and your best advocates are always satisfied customers, not shills.
Take Royal Caribbean for example. They monitored message boards and blogs and found their biggest advocates. Good. They invited these advocates to private parties and gave them a free cruise on their new ship. Good. Then they proceeded to expect the advocates to continue to plug the brand in public forums in exchange for further free services from Royal Caribbean without disclosing the relationship. Bad.
I'm all for treating your advocates well and thanking them for being fans of your brand, but be transparent about it and ask them to do the same. I'm also in favor of giving people with well known and relevant blogs the opportunity to try your services and review them, but it shouldn't be with any expectation of quid pro quo. Make sure the bloggers and reporters you deal with have a sense of integrity and aren't just in it for the freebies.
Now let's take Southwest Airlines. SWA has always been known for being casual and non-traditional. They think outside the box when it comes to customer service, which is always a good thing. Their flight attendants throw in a joke or two into the safety speech just to make sure you're listening, and some of them even rap:
Considering how miserable air travel has been lately, an airline where I can look forward to some fun and mischief is a good thing.
So what's better? A bunch of positive reviews by people who were basically paid to do so, or a YouTube video of a rapping flight attendant? Which says more about what that company is really about? Which gives the warm fuzzies? Which cost next to nothing? The one with sincerity.
The death knell of image making has been sounding for months, if not years. Trying to paper mache a beautiful facade over a turd just doesn't work in a world where people who know what's really up can post YouTube videos, blog their experiences, twitter some links, update wikipedia articles, and spread the word amongst their friends. No amount of veneer and single source broadcasting can compete with a large group of well connected people who don't need to make a huge effort to tell everyone they know what the truth really is.
Mark Earls suggested giving up the term "brand" for the new year. Work in marketing or advertising? Then you know how hard that would be to do (I didn't take up the challenge). But he had a point. Brand communication without a concrete and real effort by the company behind it is usually empty, deceptive, and ultimately useless.
SunChips did some consumer research and realized that the people who buy their chips are not only looking for healthy and wholesome snacks, but that they also index really high for caring about environmental issues. How could they engineer their brand to further align themselves with the core values of their consumers?
They started thinking in terms of growing their chips and negating or offsetting the impact of the manufacturing process. If this was going to be a meaningful effort for SunChips, this couldn't be a marketing only job. Silos would have to be broken and and everyone would have to be onboard and contributing to the idea. The result - make the SunChips plant solar powered.
It fits the target's value, it adds to SunChips values and brand identity, and it's real. It's not a hollow gesture that only lasts a few months. This is something that resonates with SunChips consumers that SunChips (Lays) made a real commitment to.
That's not crafting an image, that's evolving the brand's core values and expressing them solidly.
ComcastCares emerged from a Comcast employee who was sick and tired of seeing so many complaints about his company on twitter. Even though he was acting on his own, but himself, he handled the situation perfectly. He never got defensive, he was apologetic and accommodating , and really tried to find out what the problem was and how he could help. It may not have been a top down effort that management felt was needed and would be a good representation of their brand, but it was something a mid-level employee thought was needed and top brass gave him the reins to keep going on with it when they found out after the fact. Not planned, but still smart. A human voice to a vilified company.
So what's the more meaningful effort that has the potential to last beyond this year and even infect the very culture of the company itself? Comcasttown or ComcastCares?
Campaigns are good. They serve the purpose of educating potential consumers about the value of your product. But lets wean ourselves off of campaigns that will move the perception needle a few notches on the meter for a few months and start thinking about ways to nudge the needle in a positive direction permanently.
When are agencies (besides CP+B) and clients going to start to realize that everythingisanad. Everything communicates, so make sure you're sincere.
End Note - If you haven't discovered and started reading Marketing With Meaning, then get on it.
At dinner the other night a friend of mine and I were talking about how excited we are for SXSWi and making plans when she asked me about what I thought the breakthrough app was going to be this year. I thought about it a moment and told her that I didn't think there was going to be a white hot web service this year. Seriously, I don't.
It's not like two years ago when I had a vague knowledge that there was this service called "twitter" that people were using, but the concept of telling everyone what I was doing at any given time of day seemed pointless. Then Ms. Jen pulled me aside and explained how it would be of use for SXSW-
"At WDN people were on the mountain twittering where they were and telling other people to meet them there."
Then it made sense. SXSW is a disperse simultaneous zoo of parties. You could go one place, but what if no one's there? You could go another place, but what if too many people ar there? What if the panel you're in blows, how do you find out if there's another panel nearby that's much better? Twitter. Your friends will tell you what's up. That's why SXSWi was such a proving ground for the now famous social app. It was necessary.
I don't hear about anything quite like that this year. This year has been much more subtle. This year seems to be inwardly than externally focused. I've had my ear to the ground and the rumbling in the distance that is bound to catch on is Ambient Data Collection and Measurement.
Lord Kelvin said, "If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it." This is true of most things, but it is especially true of self improvement. This year there are numerous ambient data collection applications that live on the web or your mobile device that were created to help you measure and improve your own personal statistics:
WeightBot - keep tabs on your weight via your iPhone. Daytum - measure and track, well, anything, and then make beautiful charts and graphs. WattzOn - so how big is your carbon footprint really? WiiFit - measure your exercise progress and receive real-time feedback.
Ego - track your web statistics with your iPhone. Bedposted - track who you're sleeping with. Google PowerMeter - track your home energy usage.
Some were not designed with self improvement in mind, but to increase more social interactions, like Twitter:
Google Latitude - uses your phone to let your friends know where you are. Loopt - pretty much the same thing as Latitude, but without the Google muscle.
We still have Ambient Intimacy, but we've added a layer of Ambient Self-Awareness to it. We are now more aware of each-other and ourselves. This gives us the power to change ourselves, how we use things, and our relationships. That can be incredibly positive and powerful.
I'm not one for flowery talk. I think giving a new name to an old idea is a cop out from the opportunity to be truly innovative. Be direct. Call a spade a spade. So when people start saying that we need to start calling green efforts blue. I'm not impressed.
I get that the term green is overused, misused, and cheapened, but but it still has meaning. The general public still understands it and we need them to now more than ever. Switching our terminology from one color to another is only going to confuse an issue that is already prone to fuzzy logic.
Then we have a sustainability strategist on PSFK telling us that the next phase of green thinking will be blue. Can you imagine going to GE and telling them to ditch their green efforts and start thinking blue? I've got a better idea. Let's keep calling it green, but make people better understand the different environmental systems and how they work together and effect each other. If you're communicating your green message as just less waste, less carbon, and planting trees then you're missing the bigger picture.
and eventually your customers will demand more from you.
Green, blue, sustainability, social responsibility are all related. You can't just look at one part, like just recycling or reduced packaging, and say that you're doing your part and that you're "green" with a straight face. It's a moving target that keeps moving farther away. If you make a serious commitment to being green then you make a serious commitment to constant improvement.
So how green are you today? Will you still be that green by this time next year? I hope you will be better at reducing the impact of your inputs and outputs. Being green is like playing an instrument. If you never stop practicing and challenging yourself, then you never stop getting better.
