Anyone that knows me, knows that I have an infatuation with hooded sweatshirts and own a lot of them. So when I saw this video earlier today on other uses for them, I found it interesting. Hey you can keep warm and carry your computer if you get to hot – or are too cheap to by a bag.
However, when looking at the related videos, I saw this one on using a hoody for a baby carrier. It’s kind of disturbing and I hope no one would really try that.
Think this was a case of trying too hard to be funny or something feasible?
On February 7, Puma placed this video on YouTube and their micro-site questioning what you would do if Valentine’s day fell on a soccer match day in both English and Italian. The site also offered the ability to send as an e-card or as a Facebook update with customizable text. While I will not begin to claim that I understand the game of soccer or Italian, this was a curious ad that I am sure appealed to the masses in both of the soccer-crazed countries.
From a viral standpoint the video was a hit with the following stats in just 10 days:
Views 765,745; 76,574.5 views/day
UK – 580,776; 58,077.6 views/day
Italy – 184,969; 1,8496.9 views/day
840 Tweets about Hardchorus alone
What can we learn from this?
Viral videos are one of those things that need a catchy premise, a story and a little luck or you could just hire guns like these guys. So without tapping into how to make a video spread like wildfire, let’s take a look at what worked for Puma.
Catchy tune - If there is a person who doesn’t know the words to this Savage Garden song, please let me know. I would like to shake their hand. So off the bat it has a leg up on being sticky, because there is a good chance the tune will be stuck in the viewer’s head.
Passion – Much like the song being pretty well known, it is safe to say that folks around the world can put one and one together to know that both England and Italy are crazy about soccer or football as they like to call it. So the promotion also pulls at the heart strings of these fans. Do you spend Valentine’s day with your first love or the love you share your bed with? Depending on who you ask it might be a tough question.
Real – This could also fall under passion, but the hooligans in the commercial could easily be real fans sitting in the bar. Before you say Are you kidding me, think back to a Friday night when Journey comes on at the bar close to last call. So it is plausible.
Big brand, big buzz – While I couldn’t find budget details on the campaign, I am sure that this was a multi-channeled campaign that hit a number of channels to maximize the initial buzz. This could have also been as simple as an email blast that sent traffic to the site. This pre-population of buzz is similar to viral agencies that promise 100,000 YouTube views.
So how can you incorporate this into your marketing or social media mix? The first could be to find something that fits, takes you out of your comfort zone or could be seen as holding mass appeal. Read that not just cool to you but to kids and adults while making them want to connect with your brand. Fall down, get dirty, rinse and repeat until you strike gold.
What do you think of the campaign? Hokey? Brilliant? Love to hear your thoughts.
This video is a response to Mike Schaffer’s vlog over the weekend on doing a snow angel for 12for12K. I am not sure of the bet he lost, but think it could be a fun thing to continue after young Cole made his first one for the charity earlier today. I kind of feel bad because Mike got all the snow we usually get in Boston, but hey I tried with the snow I have and made a snow smiley face.
Given the title, there are a lot of places that I can go with this. I will only focus on one teh PR side though. Last night when this commercial (click here if you can’t view) came on my wife said, Hey Honey, wasn’t that a great commercial in a PRy way? My response was no, the commercial sucked from a PR perspective.
Check it out and answer these questions:
Was there a comapny executive apologizing or offering a solution?
Was there a mention of the issue?
Was there a face to the problem?
If you mentioned yes, please watch again, because all of them are missing. Now much like they have mishandled the situation to date on the PR level, they are trying to quell the problem with an ad. As a consumer looking at the commercial, the commitment from the company is great to hear, but why buy a car that can’t stop? Toyota has a large budget for many things, but crisis management is something that they obviously cheaped out on.
A more effective response would have been having CEO Katsuaki Watanabe on the commercial apologizing and saying how 1.) they were going rectify the situation and 2.) how they were going to assure that this would not happen again.
While this will fall to deaf ears at the auto giant, I’ll offer some parting advice: Please put a face to your brand in crisis. Listen to your customers and assure them that you care.
Got your popcorn ready for the Super Bowl? Looking for some pregame enjoyment? Watch this snow angel for charity from Mike Schaffer and add the #popcorn hastag for some popcorn fun. Stay tuned for my favorite commercial of the Super bowl.
