Simply Genius

I tend to get all misty-eyed and excited when talking about consumer co-creation, but this takes my enthusiasm through the stratosphere. I’m talking about a Halo talk show.

You know Halo, right? The mega-blockbuster X-Box game from Bungie that is by far the best-selling game for Microsoft’s franchise. Over $165 million worth of Halo 2 games were snatched up over a two-day period when it was released, making it bigger than the time Titanic opened to the tune of about $100 million over a long weekend.

The talk show — called This Spartan Life — is a machinima idea. This is not a talk show about Halo. It is a talk show that uses the Halo characters. More appropriately, it is a talk show that takes place inside the multiplayer game, using the X-Box Live feature to conduct interviews with guests.

In other words, while other players are in the game playing, a number of people are using the Halo characters to conduct an interview talk show, complete with an in-game DJ and a pair of easy-going hosts. Halo has, in essence, become a TV channel-like medium. It has been “taken-over” to allow users to disseminate information and attract an audience — inside the game itself.

If I’m not making any sense, here’s a better explanation.

Thanks to Craig Silverman — he of Regret the Error fame — for bringing this to our attention.

Check out an interview here.

BOOK BUZZ

My literary agent Don Sedgwick sent me an interesting article from Newsday about the latest buzz campaigns being employed by book publishers. The intro to the article described a street-team roll-out for a new book titled “The Black Silent” by David Dun.

The idea behind the campaign was to literally give away the first two chapters of the book to sun-bathers in Central Park and in the Hamptons, hoping that the tiny morcel of the book would lead to a greater appetite to read the entire thing. So far, after 150,000 sample chapters were given away for free, the campaign is being touted as a success.

The article goes on to describe another tactic being appropriated by book marketers, namely, the use of so-called “buzz agents” who are unleashed on the population to hype books to friends and strangers alike. The main agency behind this tactic is (no surprise) Boston-based BzzAgent, which touts over 90,000 buzzers on its database roster. These agents go on subways and conspicuously pretend to read the book in front of packed riders, or they continually call up book stores which they know do not yet have the book and request copies. They go on Amazon.com to write glowing reviews, or attend dinner parties where they shamelessly name-drop the book to their friends — often without disclosing that they are buzz agents for it.

Now, here’s a clear example of experiential marketing at its best…and at its worst. Giving away a couple of chapters to a book is a good idea. It allows consumers to make a choice on their own, plus it gives them a bit of engaging entertainment for free. Buzzing the book — without disclosing that the buzz is fabricated and the intentions are concealed — is deceptive marketing. Incredibly, Seth Godin — the author of a book titled “All Marketers Are Liars: The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World” — has used BzzAgent on numerous occasions to hype his numerous books.

THE DEAD COME ALIVE

Who knew that The Grateful Dead were experiential marketers! Great musicians, yes. Relentless road-show tourists, definitely. Unapologetic drug fiends, oh yeah. Pied-pipers of the hippie ethic of community and freedom of expression, you bet. But experiential marketers? Hell yeah!

Here’s what Seth Godin wrote a while back on the subject:

More than Campbell’s Soup or American Airlines or CAA or Cisco or McKinsey, the Grateful Dead is the template for how organizations are going to grow and succeed moving forward.
No, not every element of who they were and what they did, but the idea of conversations and open source, the idea of souvenirs and emotion and live events and of remarkability. The Dead sells through permission marketing, spread their music through an ideavirus and yes, as long as we’re slinging buzzwords, profits from the long tail.
The most important takeaway is this: They repeatedly did things that felt like huge risks, that challenged the status quo and that seemed, on their face, to give too much power to their audience. And in those moments, the Grateful Dead were at their most successful.

The Dead brought the show to the people, and let the people do whatever they wanted with it. The Grateful Dead experience was a collaborative effort, and because of this, it was inspiring. The Dead were innovative (one of the first bands to use lights and special effects in rock music) and permissive (anyone could sell anything — from veggie burritos to sheets of acid) with their shows.

Most significant to Deadheads (and marketers alike) is the fact that they allowed their concerts to be recorded. In other words, bootlegged. This had a profound affect not only on how their fans responded to them, but how their music spread throughout the world to convert legions of music lovers into hard-core Dead-heads.

According to an article in the New York Times, “if you look at where the music business has been forced to go by technology, now it’s not about selling records. It’s about live shows and inspiring a fan base to be absolutely loyal. Hello? Who did that first? The Grateful Dead.”

DAIMLER CHRYSLER IN DA GAME

A sidebar on Adrants describes a first-of-its-kind deal between JSM Music, BBDO and Daimler Chrysler to get into “the game” — or the music business, as rappers and b-boys would say. The trio will all go into a profit-share agreement to release a full-length rap album and video with up-and-coming rap star Chris Classic (who happens to be Reverend Run’s — of Run DMC fame — nephew).

How did this all come to fruition? The end-answer is simple: consumer evangelism.

BBDO hired JSM music to provide a soundtrack to a commercial for the Dodge Charger. The song is called “Unleashed” and is a form of music called “mash-up,” where two seemingly dissimilar songs are “mashed” together to form a new one, with Classic rapping over the beats.

After the commercial aired in mid-May, JSM received over 20,000 eager emails from consumers asking where they could buy the track. It was clear that JSM had a hit on their hands. The company acted quickly by convincing BBDO to pony-up the moolah for a music video — a staple in a musician’s arsenal to propogate a song. BBDO and Daimler Chrysler agreed to put up money for the music video, while Simon agreed to give a cut of the album sales to the ad agency.

While songs from commercials have been released before in album form, it’s the first time that the agency and its client, in this case Daimler Chrysler, have a financial stake in the project.

The single from the commercial, called “Unleashed,” will be released in September, along with the video. The full-length album, which will feature other music from Classic, will be released in October..

This example isn’t branded entertainment, folks. There was no plan in place to do this. The album and video were a direct result from consumer enthusiasm and involvement. Kudos to BBDO vision, and Daimler Chrysler’s chutzpah, to act quickly and decisively to capitalize on positive consumer feedback. It’s good that these behemoths even listen to their consumers, let alone go the extra mile to delight them.

FRUITSTOCK’S INNOCENT BRANDING

Writing in the UK’s Guardian newspaper, brand consultant Diane Perlman waxes poetic about an annual concert event in London’s Regents Park thrown by smoothie-maker Innocent Drinks called Fruitstock.

She posits that “Innocent, the fruit smoothie brand, is definitely guilty. It is guilty of demonstrating an intimate understanding of one of the most important truths of marketing today: brands that engage customers in experiences that are authentic, that enrich their lives and that customers themselves can take ownership of, will win.”

Perlmam points to three key elements of Innocent’s experiential marketing strategy with Fruitstock. First, Innocent’s founders have created a memorable brand that stands for something, and a company that can deliver its brand truth with humility, individuality, corporate social responsibility and a sense of humour.

Second, Innocent has developed this ethos into a personality that manifested itself across Fruitstock – from the big sign above the stage that proclaimed, simply, “hello everybody,” to the flirting area, and the blendavenda station, where you could mix your own fresh fruit smoothie using only the ‘pedal power’ created by riding on a stationary bike.

Lastly, “Innocent has created a smoothie cult, turning its customers into fans by hosting memorable brand experiences that actually make people’s lives better….Innocent fans are definitely taking ownership of the experience and enjoying it.”

Fruitstock — now in its third year — will no doubt become the centrepiece to Innocent’s branding strategies. As Perlman writes, “during a time in which competition for brand loyalty is as fierce as ever and choice – in drinks brands and in how to spend a sunny weekend – abounds, Fruitstock simply and effectively invited its customers to get involved with the brand, sample its products, meet its friends, be in the world of Innocent and make it their own.”

It’s no surprise that experiential marketing coups like this — simple, straightforward, inclusive, authentic, captivating and memorable — will be at the heart of the new marketing revolution.

ADVERTECTURE?

Ad Rants reports on a new billboard in NYC (on King Street in SoHo) for Court TV network.
Created by Venables, Bell & Partners, the cool “advertecture” gets voyeuristic passersby to look up and peer into their neighbor’s windows — something New Yorkers are keen on.
If you look closely into one of the windows, you can see a hapless guy about to be whacked with a cleaver. Is this a cool way to advertise, or has a marketing crime been committed here?
Valerie Leclercq from NYC-based Night Agency points out that the windows collectively make up a comic strip, and there’s another post on Towleroad about this ad. Very cool, with more pics.

ROOM ON THE ROAD

A nice tidbit from Media in Canada: The Hilton Garden Inn brought its traveling hotel room to Toronto as part of a mobile marketing campaign (in the old school
sense).

The Evolution Solution Express (ESE) TM, a 72-foot, 67,000 pound truck features a full scale model guest room and a mini display of the brand’s Pavilion lobby entrance. This is part of a cross-country promo push highlighting upgrades to the Hilton Garden Inn brand. The ESE will trek across Canada and the U.S. hitting popular tourist events and destinations.

NEW MARKETS, NEW MARKETERS

I have just added a new marketing blog called Customer World to my lists on the right. It is written by Sivaraman Swaminathan, a marketing exec from India that specializes in one-to-one marketing, a very experiential thing indeed. I very much appreciate his thoughts and deliberations on a variety of topics, most notably, on going beyond customer loyalty or the distillation of lessons learned from Wal-Mart.

In fact, I have been pleasantly astounded to read exceptional marketing blogs revolving around consumer-centric, guerrilla and experience-based marketing from some very interesting countries – especially India, South Africa, Brazil, Kenya, Argentina, Bahrain and Turkey. On the Experiential Marketing Forum, I see daily posts from marketers working and thriving in these locales. Why?

If we were to take a relativist global outlook, the marketing that we here in North America conduct essentially revolves around selling products and services in a hemispheric marketplace where it’s fairly easy to motivate the average consumer.

There is more than enough wealth to go around for thousands of brands to get snatched up by an enthusiastic consumer who has the deepest pockets in the world. We got it good here. Maybe too good.

But what about the majority of the world, which is comprised of much poorer nations? Latin America has the world’s worst income distribution, Africa is perpetually in the throes of poverty with the consequent double whammy of social and economic unrest, Asia hides behind a Potemkin village of prosperity that masks deep economic disparities and dismal individual purchasing power.

Consequently, marketing in the developing world is a tough job. But if necessity is the mother of invention, then marketers in emerging markets are coming up with unique, innovative and outright exemplary marketing strategies.

Why should I care about non-competing firms pursuing a consumer that can’t afford my clients’ products anyway? Because there is a large strata of consumers in North America that are so resistant to mainstream brands and are so stingy toward major purchases that marketing to them may mean looking for examples from marketers in the developing world.

A growing slice of the consumer base who don’t (or can’t) eagerly translate traditional marketing into purchases – for instance, students and the low-income youth underground who are frequently un(der)employed and media-cynical — are many times more affluent than the average Nigerian or Chilean, but their lagging propensity to purchase impose a need for some creative marketing. Popconsorcio

In Brazil, a country plagued by high inflation and outrageous interest rates, buying a vehicle is extremely price-prohibitive. In response, Brazilians have come to rely on pooling money with other buyers to form a “consorcio.”

A number of buyers pool small payments and at the end of each month a lucky winner is chosen by lottery to use the car for the month. If enough people chip in, two cars may be distributed, one by chance and the other going to the person that contributed the most that month.

What a great idea for a North American automaker when marketing to the student consumer (or first-time buyer). A car for this psychographic is a refuge from parents and pressure, new-found mobility and freedom, as well as the prime catalyst for entering the consumer mentality and “growing up.”

But purchase, insurance and maintenance of a car are also huge financial strains. As bundled services and payment options have become a commodity among car suppliers, a fearless marketer can take these operations to the next level with a consorcio-type model, and the first to respond to them will be the youth demographic – because it’s new, peer-based and experiential.

A mainstay in practically all Third World habitats is the street vendor, usually lugging a make-shift cart or tray to hawk a slew of individually packaged products: cigarettes, candy, toothpaste, lottery tickets, batteries, etc.

Consequently, the Mexican producer of Mentos candies introduced packaging for 11 pieces instead of 14 sold in the US, and display boxes that feature 12 boxes instead of 24, to sell more effectively to both peso-strapped consumers and wholesalers who sell predominantly to small street vendors and newspaper kiosks. In India, the world’s largest market for shampoo, the leaders of the sector all sell single-usage sachets for a few rupies.

This “smaller is better” mentality is easily transmutable to the youth and young adults who are constantly bumming smokes off of each other, not wanting to dish out on a whole pack, or their single-usage needs for No-Doz, aspirins, batteries or cleaning products. It already exists in thousands of bar bathrooms: where else can you buy a single pack of French ticklers, cologne, feminine products and just one mint or antacid?

I recently returned from a trip to Argentina and Uruguay, where economic depression has wreaked havoc on consumer purchasing power and further increased the amount of begging on the streets. The need for a point of differentiation has led many of these unfortunates to master juggling in order to eek out a few pesos from pedestrians and drivers stranded in the ubiquitous city traffic — to basically market themselves for a successful transaction in a sea of competition.

How much different this approach is to the typical North American panhandler, whose only modus operandi is an outstretched hand and a look of undeserved shock when the hand-outs don’t come.

I hope not to make an asinine comparison, but this difference can be analogous to marketing practices here and there, to the rich and to the poor. The poor work harder, and so do the marketers trying to reach them.

GOLDEN PALACE STRIKES AGAIN

I hate to love the guys at GoldenPalace.com, a $10-million a day online gambling site, and not just because I stink at Texas Hold ‘Em. I hate to love them more as an experiential marketer, which (ahem) I think I’m pretty good at. I hate them because they have cornered the market on stupid marketing gimmicks, and in doing so, have become some of the best guerrilla marketers in the world.

I’m not alone in my panegyric to GoldenPalace.com and their form of guerrilla marketing. The press in North America, and to an even larger extent in Europe, is increasingly giving coverage to guerrilla campaigns conducted by both large multinationals and nimble boutiques like them.

The company first garnered attention when the site slathered their URL on a B-list porn star and paid her to streak topless across the 11th hole in the final round of the US Open. The resulting PR was impressive, as sports hacks repeatedly wrote of golfer (and tourney winner) Jim Furyk’s surprise at finding himself in the lascivious embrace of mammary marketing.

This is the company that spent $28,000 on eBay for a grilled cheese sandwich the looks like the Virgin Mary, and in doing so, got millions of dollars worth of buzz. The casino doubled-up when a guy in a purple tutu and GoldenPalace.com painted on his chest jumped into the Olympic pool in Athens. They’ve paid people $10,000 to tattoo their URL on their heads.

Again, lots of buzz, lots of press calling their form of guerrilla marketing as “breakthrough” and “daring.” Now, the company has taken Seth Godin’s “purple cow” philosophy to its ultimate conclusion: they have painted cows purple. Real cows. A whole herd of them. In Florida. Then they painted the URL on them for good measure.

What really impresses me, and what gets me to hate to love GoldenPalace.com, is the fact that the guys behind the stunt convinced PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) to support the campaign. That’s right. The organization that throws red paint on celebrities wearing fur or leather acquiesced to an off-shore casino to throw purple paint on the real thing — namely, a cow! PETA’s docility was ensured after GP agreed to write “Go Veg!” on some cows, in a grand gesture to PETA’s stance on vegetarianism. Better to paint the cows than eat the cows, the thinking goes.

If you want to check out the cows, you can take exit 210 off I-75 going south from Tampa. The cows are located 2.3 miles east of I-75 on Fruitville Rd. in Sarasota, FL. They will be on display for several weeks.

But if you want to pursue guerrilla marketing tactics and strategies, I suggest you look elsewhere. This is not guerrilla marketing. This is terrorist marketing, folks. Terrorist marketing seeks air-time. It is parasitic and base. It is indiscriminate, impersonal and ineffective. If there’s a lack of audacity to terrorism, there’s usually plenty of shock-value.

After a few such assaults make the front pages — and after enough pundits decry the moral decrepitude of our social fabric while an equal-strength of marketing execs dictate the need to be “edgy” — terrorist campaigns will calcify the consumer into a mistrustful and even negative reactionary force to creative marketing.

POOL PARTY

P&G Canada’s Olay brand had become a sponsor of the Canadian Synchronized Swim Team, so when the Aquatics World Championships came to Montreal last month, the brand behemoth went into the Quebec marketplace with guns blazing. The partnership with the Synchro team was a propos for a skincare product: if it’s good enough for a bevvy of beauties who spend all day in chlorinated water, it’s good enough for me.

Saatchi & Saatchi came up with the creative — a close-up of each team member’s face in the water — and unleashed it in Quebec magazines, bus shelters and billboard trucks. Ryan Partnership Canada handled all in-store executions. And when it came to providing an eye-popping and experiential PR stunt, Gearwerx was called up to deliver a unique consumer experience. (Full disclosure: I am former CD and former president of the XM agency).

The result was a one-of-a-kind see-through mobile pool, which was transported from street fairs to malls in Montreal and Quebec City. The pool was large enough for 2 or 3 members of the national team to get in and perform their routines in front of hundreds and thousands of viewers at street level.

Because the pool is see-through, the vantage point for consumers is totally the opposite of the top-down camera view typical of TV coverage. Consumers could get so close to the action that they would be practically in the pool with the swimmers.

The pool also went grassroots, and provided aspiring swimmers and local clubs a chance to meet their heroes and get a motivating experience. The execution is a great example of activating a sponsorship with a unique experiential execution included in the overall mix.