Brand Dots

Posts Tagged ‘fans’

Ahhh, the smell of Old Spice aftershave.  It brings back fond memories of sitting on my grandfather’s lap as a child.  He would wear the Old Spice brand day-after-day with pride and I loved it because it would mask his usual odor of Ben Gay and mothballs.

Unfortunately, until now, the image most of us associated with Old Spice is old, distinguished men.  No wonder the company is working so hard to revitalize the brand; the audience they connected with most is inevitably dying off!

I was tickled when I saw “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” commercial back in February.  It’s hilarious!  And within the past five months, it has turned into an internet sensation, receiving close to 13 million views on YouTube.

No doubt, the company is attempting to reach a new demographic and what they’ve done so far appears to be working! College students and young adults love the commercials.

But Old Spice didn’t stop there.  They took their viral campaign to the next level by reaching out to influential bloggers and admirers.  Mashable announced Old Spice’s latest and greatest viral idea yesterday.  The Old Spice guy is now making personalized messages for his biggest Internet fans.  Check out this video made for Perez Hilton, which was posted to Twitter.

Old Spice has even recorded marriage proposal messages.  (This is my personal favorite.)

So, why is this idea pure genius?  It’s encouraging more viral chatter for an already very successful campaign!

• The Old Spice guy is connecting with opinion leaders and other online influentials that will be prompted to comment and share the video with their target audience.

• A personal connection will be made with people the ads are created for.  People that admire the popular bloggers, and lesser know individuals, will become invested in the brand and more likely to make a purchase.

I wonder what my dear grandpa would say about the technological mayhem surrounding one of his favorite brands today?  I’m sure he’d find the humor associated with the brand just as entertaining as I do.

I’ll be honest. Radiohead is one of my all-time favorite bands.  I found a keen fascination with the band years ago, when they released the album “Pablo Honey.”  And I have been a huge fan and admirer ever since.  I’ve bought every album and listened to them religiously over the years, and now I can add one more reason to love them to my list.  They are marketing masterminds!

Last year I was blown away by the huge success of their “In Rainbows” album.  With industry album sales in decline, largely because of the expansion of digital distribution and piracy, Radiohead decided they would try something new.  They marketed their “In Rainbows” album in a fresh and controversial way.  Fans could download the album from their website and name their price.  The “pay what you want” price strategy, intrigued consumers and in one year, the band sold more than three million copies.  The buzz helped move them and keep them at the top of the charts.

According to the NY Times, Radiohead didn’t stop there.  They have more contentious and cutting edge marketing tricks up their sleeves.

Here are a few marketing concepts that Radiohead has mastered:

• Create buzz-worthy material: They continue to release great music that speaks to people of all ages and social classes.  It gets people talking and makes them want to share it with everyone.
• Viral vitality: They’ve embraced technology.  Internet videos, blogs, digital downloading, and forums are all part of Radiohead’s marketing vocabulary.   They start rumors about new releases and encourage consumer connectivity.
• Fan interaction: They ask fans to participate in their success.  They hold contests, ask fans to create their music videos, and get consumers involved.
• If you can’t beat digital distribution, join ‘em: Recently, Thom Yorke, the band’s lead singer, announced that the band has plans to start releasing singles as opposed to albums.  This strategy goes against the music industry’s traditional distribution strategy.  This is generating more buzz about the band…maybe the industry could learn a thing or two from the group.

No doubt, Radiohead has found a way to stand the test of time through great musicality and notable marketing practices.  Here is the winning video from one of Radiohead’s recent contests.  Rock on, Radiohead.  Rock on!