Because we all got into marketing to have a little fun mixed in with our business (come on admit it, you did too), we will highlight marketing fun on our blog every Monday. Follow and contribute and you will become an inspired marketer plus the most interesting conversationalist at your next cocktail party, all courtesy Something Massive – #MonFun.
One of our very favorite marketers, Scion, announced their latest marketing innovation this morning. “Reinvent the Wheels” is a 6-part web-only reality series that chronicles the journeys of 6 creatives as they build a car that will further their creative craft and push the boundaries of self-expression. Scion has lined up tattoo artist ZULU to serve as a mentor and three tuners from famed garages to help bring the vehicles to life. True to the reality format, surprise challenges will give the contestants the opportunity to win additional time to put toward customizing their car.
You can watch the trailer here. For Scion, this is a perfect expression of their brand which has always sought to highlight and support indie creative, and of course to underscore the ultra-customization that Scion enables and encourages. And watching the series won’t feel at all like watching an ad. That’s fun.
Of course, content like this that is produced by brands is not entirely new. Although some brands adopted the format several years ago, we believe that only now are the stars aligning to make these kinds of initiatives a viable and effective means of marketing. The web has become a destination for entertainment – even beyond the 30 second funny video on YouTube – with the popularity of sites like Hulu. Plus, even despite the crazy proliferation of cable channels, the web remains the very best place to find niche content opportunities that speak directly to an individual’s taste and interests. Now brands can bring the kind of niche content that a movie studio or television network wouldn’t take a chance on to an audience perfect for their product or service. And if it’s popular enough, who know what format that content might take next – book, television, or big screen. It has been our experience that these kinds of opportunities are ripe for the taking, IF a marketer has a team on their side who understands the intricacies of creating compelling programming and distributing it via the web. We’ve got that know-how so reach out if you’d like to talk some more.
posted by julia in Just Plain Interesting | No Comments »
tags: Tags: digital trends, Monday Funday, original content, video
Apple’s ability to generate mega interest in new product launches and press conferences is truly brilliant. As is common with most media consumption today, I actually didn’t watch the press conference in real time – neither on TV nor streaming. Rather, I caught little bits and pieces of it from CNN headlines and iReports, Huffington Post blurbs, Tweets, Facebook posts, and maybe 2 minutes of Fox News coverage as I passed by a television on my way to get a cup of coffee. Much of what influenced me during Wednesday’s buzz frenzy was commentary on the product’s ridiculous name. Here’s my favorite rendition of that hullabaloo. Don’t click if you aren’t amused by feminine hygiene sketch comedy!
After consuming all of that buzz, I just wasn’t that impressed. My takeaway was that this was a giant iPod Touch with a terrible name. But all of that buzz did motivate me to visit apple.com and check out the product. And that’s when my opinion shifted. I was converted from mildly intrigued to full-on salivating. And I think this brings up an interesting point about distributed media. Although the consumer’s fragmented media habits make it critical to adopt a distributed approach, marketers should not neglect their own sites. When a consumer is hungry for more information, they should not be disappointed if they make the effort to type in your URL.
For me the coup de grace was Apple.com’s product video. Now let’s face it, a 7+ minute product video is not something I’m going to take the time to watch from just any old brand. But with all of this buzz behind it, I figured it was at least worth watching the first 30 seconds. Apple, by leveraging their genius ability to cast their own employees (some hipsters but mostly middle-aged, white guys wearing golf shirts) and still make the video engaging, had my attention until the bitter end. I thought one small nuance was especially smart. Rather than showing people sitting on their couch using the product, they changed the perspective so that the camera positioning seemed to put the product in my very own lap while I sat on the couch. Suddenly, it wasn’t hard for me to envision playing the Yahtzee app on iPad with my husband without craning my neck to see his roll on the iPhone. I could picture myself as the first in my book club to show up with an iPad instead of a paper back. With the ease of a car salesman inviting me to picture the car in my own garage while handing over the keys, Apple got to me.
It goes without saying that the market will soon be flooded with advertisements about iPad, consumer reviews, and even more buzz about if/how the iPad will change user experience design, browsing habits, and media consumption. All of these things will most definitely impact audiences and sales. Despite all of the mixed messages and short clips that had me skeptical, thanks to a visit to a product website, at least one consumer (that’s me) is already sold.
posted by julia in Just Plain Interesting | 1 Comment »
tags: Tags: digital trends, video, websites
