How could such a thing happen? What is causing it? How can an upstart online company already penetrate larger markets than a company like MTV that has been around for years? It can be answered with one word: Viral!
Viral is simply something that is engaged by viewers and spread rapidly online. Its strength is that it can be comsumed real easy and forwarded quickly to the viewers acquaintances.
Mark Tutssel, worldwide chief creative officer at Leo Burnett said "Marketers must learn to let go of the control they think they have over their brand.... Once consumers have interacted with brands, they will not go back to being shouted at by marketers."
Tutssel added that marketers and advertisers will have to open themselves up to inviting consumer interaction, through allowing them to create their own commercials and add their comments; both positive and negative. I would add that they not only need to be allowed to, but empowered to by being offered tools to do it with.
“Marketers must learn to let go of the control they think they have over their brand.... Once consumers have interacted with brands they will not go back to being shouted at by marketers.”
Isn't it interesting that through empowering customers to interact with the brand, consumers become far more engaged than simply being "advertised" to.
People hate the old advertising model, but they don't mind brands.
Examples of this being used virally and succesfully are becoming available. There was the Chevy-Tahoe car brand which invited consumer to create their own web commercials. This attracted 5.5m people to a website and produced 22,000 entries, of which only 16 per cent were negative. A VW Golf advertisment shown on YouTube.com also drew 1.9m people.
Would you happen to have a link to the VW commercial. I'd be interested in seeing the tactics :)
Posted by: Jordan | June 26, 2006 3:49 PM | Permalink to Comment