Have you seen this video production that Budweiser created for the 2014 Superbowl final? It’s incredible!
That’s not an advert I hear you say! I think you’re right. It’s SO much more! Let’s face it, there aren’t that many ads that get a staggering 49 million plus views. And I’m not sure there are many ads that make you feel a greater connection with a brand. Most advertising is interruptive. This isn’t! So, is it an ad? I’d argue not - I think it’s clever content marketing!
As I said a couple of weeks ago - the communication/advertising/content marketing space is changing rapidly. And the question is, are you keeping up?
I have to say we are incredibly excited by this new landscape. It presents so many opportunities for those that are keen to lead! It reminds us of conversations we were having about video production six years ago when we started this business. We knew video was going to take off, but we knew that it had to be done differently from anything that had come before.
With all the companies we talked to, we simply said “video is going to be huge, we think you should embrace it - if you don’t others will. So, are you a leader or a follower?”
We’re now having exactly the same conversation with clients with regards to content marketing. It IS going to be huge. The question is - are you going to lead in this space or are you going to follow? In years to come I’m pretty sure your company will even have a content department!
Every day we are seeing more new content - blogs, videos, podcasts, info graphics! You name it, individuals and corporations are creating it. But sadly these efforts are going to waste because there is rarely a strategy surrounding the initiative. So, after a short timeframe the plan is aborted!
Unfortunately the bean counters want results and they’re asking for the return on investment! The thing is great content goes way beyond the cost of creation and distribution.
It all comes back to story! According to Jonathan Gottschall, author of The Storytelling Animal, science backs up the long-held belief that story is the most powerful means of communicating a message. It is the ultimate weapon!
And what better example to end on than this incredible viral video entitled “First Kiss”. And what a story it is!
A simple video production now watched by over 61 million people. A few days after the First Kiss “outbreak” everyone wanted to know more. Who was it by, what was it for? Here was a story that we just HAD to find the ending for! Curiosity got the better of us! We wanted to engage! And isn’t that what it’s all about? Native advertising, content marketing - call it what you like…it’s what we do with it that matters?
If you have a story, we’d love to tell it!
James Lush
Sarah Mitchell
Hi James,
I agree, both these videos were good enough I waved family members into my office to view both of these. I do think the Budweiser video is more effective from a brand perspective. The Budweiser Clydesdales are heavily associated with the company so anyone watching it makes the connection. It’s a terrific way to bring viewers along without clobbering them over the head.
The real testament to their success, however, is when people start creating parodies. The first kiss video has created a number of them including this one by Jimmy Fallon as covered in Time magazine: http://time.com/25075/jimmy-fallons-first-lick-video-spoofs-viral-ad-of-20-strangers-kissing/ When that happens, you know you’ve hit a nerve.
Nic Hayes
I love puppies and horses… who doesn’t? Then add a beer into the equation and I am racing down to the local to get a six pack.
Clever stories and content is what it is all about and while it might seem the domain of the big corporates it is a possibility for any organisation with an idea and a will.
Don’t tell me what I need to have or buy but give me a story and you will win me every time. Content marketing is the future!
John Dawson
There are a lot of elements needed to actually make this work as an advertising success, here are some random points.
When we care we share. There is social currency in sharing the “cool thing we saw on YT”. So viral plus value = great marketing.
While the video for best buds is great it may not be as powerful as the “Whassup?” commercial campaign for Budweiser beer from 1999 to 2002. The reason is the social/trigger cue to say Whassup to friends and think of the beer than the dog horse scenario.
The story and the product need to be inseparable otherwise the product will be lost from the story. Can we loose the beer from the story and still have a story? In a proper “Trojan horse” story, without the soldiers in the horse the story has no meaning. So your product needs to be woven in this way so as the story is retold details will be inevitably lost but not the product.
Also before you pass go you should probably get your YT metadata right too or you will fail to launch!
More here;
http://www.youtube.com/yt/playbook/index.html
Regards
John Dawson
John Richards
I haven’t watched the second video before, but I have watched the first one a lot of times. Each time I watch it, I love it more. So simple, yet a very effective advertisement. These days, when the amount of advertisements is too large and most of the commercials are full of cliches and boring, a good video commercial is definitely refreshing. I am not a kind of person who watches commercials, but there are a few of them which definitely attracts my attention. This puppy love ad was definitely one of the best in 2014.