robert-spears-blog

An Example of User-Generated Content Elevating an Art Form

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 03:51:26 +0100

While once doing work for a startup in the music space, I came across a terrific example of artistically impactful user-generated content (UGC): a visually reinterpreted Enimem music video of the hit “Lose Yourself” by a young Swedish Youtuber that goes by the moniker of Tulkas88.

For me, this song is a classic in the “motivational” genre of music (think Rocky’s theme and the like). But I would have never come to this emotional conclusion without watching the Tulkas88 version, as it delightfully reinforced the message of the song, over and over again: Don’t Give Up – This is Your One Chance – So DON’T BLOW IT!

The creative approach taken by Tolkas88 was very simplistic but powerful: a rapid fire set of PowerPoint-like slides with overlaid lyrics. Each image was precisely contextual to a given line of lyrics and mostly unpredictable. So the Tolkas version gives me many more things to discover and enjoy, all the while illuminating and strengthening the message of the song.

The Take Away: Meta and contextual information can dramatically improve the experience of art, content, or whatever, just like listening to the director’s comments of a favorite movie can conjure a greater appreciation and understanding of the original work.

(I would love to see a revised version of this that could serve as a promo for the NCAA’s March Madness basketball tournament).

Exhibit A: The UGC Challenger – Tolkas88
Total YouTube Views as of 2/26/2009: 4,065,052

Exhibit B: The Original - Eminem
Total YouTube Views as of 2/26/2009: 7,352,015

Disclaimer: This post purposefully ignored the related topics of intellectual property rights and age-appropriate censorship.

An Example of Old School User Generated Content: Vanity License Plates

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:19:22 +0100

It occurred to me while driving yesterday that there have been many offline forms of user-generated content (UGC), besides the traditional letter-to-the-editor prototype. For example, a favorite commuter game of mine is to decipher cryptic vanity license plates while traversing heavy traffic in southern California. A visually striking plate that caught my eye was on the car of an Ohio State football fan with the following UGC “message”:

Though UGC is often imperfect, vanity plates are a reminder to me how uniquely personal, passionate and creative “user-generated” perspectives can be.

As a personal exercise, here are example types of UGC that quickly came to mind:
Online: blogs; comments; reviews; videos; photos; links; user profiles; discussion boards; polls; surveys; avatars; answers; etc.

Offline: vanity license plates; sporting event signs; letters to the editor; man-on-the-street interviews; welcome home signs; home videos; protest signs; questions to speakers; bulletin boards; personalized t-shirts; birthday cakes; etc.

Let me know if you have any especially creative UGC types or examples you would like to share. Thanks.

McDonald’s Coffee Converts Another Starbucks Drinker

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 00:26:12 +0100

I finally gave McDonald’s gourmet coffee a try today and my expectations were met. The flavor of my double latte was on par with Starbucks, while the cost was moderately priced. The reason I post this is that I find McDonald’s strategy to reinvent a portion of its brand offerings to be an important case study. It was a recent Wall Street Journal article on the high pricing of Starbucks that was the final impetus for me to give McDonald’s a try.

(On a side note: The Starbucks exec quoted in the story failed to acknowledge that many consumers, myself included, psychologically round prices up to the next dollar. For example, a latte for $4.06, including tax, in Manhattan is really a $5 latte, in my opinion, when one lacks spare change. Anyway, I digress).

Though McDonald’s has been reporting strong financials during a down economy, they launched their coffee strategy well before any signs of a recession. I first became intrigued when learning of it in late 2007 from another avid coffee drinker whom is based in Starbucks’ corporate backyard, Seattle. She emphatically endorsed that McDonald’s new coffee was truly good and much cheaper than Starbucks – and added that she was one of many other Seattle-based coffee drinkers coming to the same conclusion.

How does this relate to interactive marketing? Well, McDonald’s did the hard part first – they figured out how to deliver a consistently competitive product. Thus each and every time a “serious” coffee drinker gives them a chance, McDonald’s has a high chance of literally converting them. In my case, McDonald’s is now positioned in my mind as a viable substitute good when I desire quality coffee. Ironically, McDonald’s success reminds me of many failed online marketing campaigns that effectively led me to websites, but did not meet my expectations.

ROI and the Stimulus Package

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 19:53:17 +0100

It would be interesting to poll a large set of marketers regarding their take on the great stimulus package of 2009. Regardless of one’s political and economic leanings, how will any of these programs be effectively measured for real costs and tangible results? Just from a marketing perspective alone, it is a frightening thought to ponder how untrackable these expenditures will be. It would be refreshing and somewhat reassuring, however, if any and all proposed programs would be tested first. Would that be a first?

What’s So Super About Super Bowl Ads?

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 20:03:39 +0100

I tend to judge the ritually over-hyped Super Bowl ads by two simple aspects: 1) Do they present the advertiser’s value proposition in a clear and positive light?; and 2) Do they intrigue me enough to try or recommend the product or service being advertised?

Conversely, my least favorites are those ads that denigrate their brand image for the sake of laughs and transparently play to members of the advertising industry. I have not watched all of Super Bowl XLIII’s commercials (due to SBAFS – Super Bowl Ads Fatigue Syndrome), but here are two examples of my favorite and least favorite types of Super Bowl ads:

Favorite Example
Brand: Denny’s
Title: Thugs / Serious Breakfast
Agency: Goodby, Silverstein & Partners
Directed by: The Perlorian Brothers
Voice: Burt Reynolds
http://www.hulu.com/superbowl/55608/super-bowl-xliii-ads-dennys-thugs
http://commercial-archive.com/commercials/dennys-thugs-teaser-ad-2009-25-usa
Why I like it:
Provides an interesting lead-in to an intriguing offer: “This Tuesday from 6AM to 2PM everyone in America can receive a free Grand Slam breakfast”. I haven’t been to Denny’s in many years, but that might change tomorrow. What better way to spend marketing dollars but directly on new prospects (and iHop customers)?
Other Examples:
Hulu.com for strengthening brand awareness in the crowded market of online video portals in a straightforward and humorous fashion.
Universal Studio Parks for providing a visually captivating story that taps into one’s inner super hero and ends with an offer of a free 7-day pass.

Least Favorite Example
Brand: Careerbuilder.com
Title: Tips
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, Portland
Why I do not like it:
Annoyingly repetitive and negative, with an unoriginal and tired theme that - surprise - many people hate their jobs. It’s as if CareerBuilder.com wants us to mentally position their site as the place where masochistic complainers post their resumes. This is not a great message to send to quality employers and job seekers. And did I mention that this theme is tired? That this theme is tired? That this theme is tired?...
http://www.hulu.com/superbowl/55633/super-bowl-xliii-ads-careerbuildercom-tips
http://creativity-online.com/work/view?seed=68e89f85

More Links:
http://www.hulu.com/superbowl
http://commercial-archive.com/SuperBowlCommercials