Shocking the Interwebs audience certainly isn’t anything new to advertising (remember Diesel’s SFW birthday video in ’08?), but some brands are really jumping in with both feet and two of something else and demonstrating how important it is to really know who your audience is and what they want.  KSwiss EVP David Nichols calls this new, razor sharp Tubes campaign: “unfiltered straight talk”.  While it definitely ain’t for the “straight talk express” crowd, this video series nails it as far as bothering to understand their audience and seamlessly integrating their brand and grown up laughs.  This is one of the few times I actually enjoyed watching a branded video without  being put off by the overt presence of the brand.  I watched the piece, laughed my nads off, and found myself with an otherworldy, passionate desire to buy some mutha @#*&ing TUBES!  Kswiss isn’t alone in the cajones department.

Axe Body Spray and, more recently, the Old Spice / Twitter campaign are great entertainment.  We know it’s advertising and we’re reminded at every beat who the advertiser is and what they’re about.  The brands own it and we know it.  Because, they own it, they are being honest, I’m not offended, and I’m entertained because they know I’m not a white bread guy who wants more of the same.  I love me my Kenny MF’ing Powers and I’ll take the HONEST fun before the subtle BS any day.  I’m betting I am not alone.

The Good, Bad, and the Ugly

If you look under the hood of all successful branded content, you will see an engine built of a  creative team, onscreen talent, and a brand that understands the medium and what appeals to its target audience. The success of the Old Spice / Twitter experience, was due in large part to the talent on camera and the team that was able to execute the writing and production of the personal reactions.  They knew their audience.  Bothered to deliver something new.  And reaped the rewards.

It seems like a fairly intuitive process, however we need only look to the recent Cisco Doug Webster, aka “Old Spice Copycat”, campaign to see what happens when big brands go bad and don’t do their homework…or simply try to piggyback unsuccessfully on a rock star campaign.  If we don’t know your story or characters and you don’t provide us with solid entry points into your new story, why should we care or spend our precious time watching and interacting?

Regardless of how much the audience gets involved (and UGC remains an important element of the campaign) brands must first start with high quality creative that sets the bar and the tone for this engagement.  Together, traditional and new media elements are very successful, but brand moderation and solid producing will always be a mainstay.  Once a brand sets the bar as far as the message and story, the audience can be invited into the process and all sides will be fulfilled.  Although some criticize the effort, the iPad and Modern Family combination was, by most accounts, very successful.  The integration was (1) organic to the story and character in the episode and (2) catered to the audience on every level.  This author would have been in favor of Sofia Vergara alone with her iPad in a series of web shorts, but that’s another article altogether.

Proof Is in the Sales

At this point in the game, if you’re a brand and don’t jump in with both feet when creating this type of content, you can’t expect people to stay interested, let alone give your brand any respect or a vote with their dollars.  While it’s certainly too early to gauge the sales success of the latest installment of bold brands looking to cash in on what Mashable calls “the future of Marketing”, Nielsen provided solid numbers on the  Old Spice / Twitter campaign. Total brand views on the web for the old Old Spice videos have surpassed 100 million and sales have made a 100% gain since February of 2010 according to Nielsen.

Axe, Old Spice, and KSwiss all had a clear and complete understanding of their audience.  They determined / decided that the audience that watches HBO, just might be their sweetspot.   They were able to successfully navigate the sometimes tricky real-time content space with edgy video and multi-platform elements (look for KSwiss Kenny on your Facebook page real soon).  Here’s what having balls does for us and for your brand—We don’t mind your advertising, as long as it makes sense and gives us something of value.  While its not everyone’s taste, Kenny makes me laugh….and want to buy sneakers.

We know that Kenny Powers is not for everyone (but we have no idea why).  Fear not fans of G-rated branded content!  It’s not all balls and tubes – unless you count those Swedish meatballs.  Ikea and Iliana Douglas (along with a host of other familiar faces) have been teaming up for the last couple of years to bring you Easy To Assemble.  The series has been seen over 5 million times since it launched and has managed to weave a story and breathe life into those ambiguous, Scandinavian instructions we love.

So attention brands of planet earth!  Now is the time for brands – conservative and edgy alike – to take risks in this new space.  Please make sure to hire capable, creative minds who understand your core audience.  Sorry, only the pros know how to craft content that can be edgy, and yet stay on point with relevance and message. Simply making something shocking, for the sake of standing out in the crowded digital space just doesn’t work.  If you don’t believe us, just ask Burger King.

Video produced by Time To Get Social

How excited were you when you saw Episode 8 and learned about the different types of audience?  We know; Earth shattering.  Keep it together because this week we’re going to astound you yet again with information you haven’t already heard a million times.  All this talk of social media this and new media that is a good thing for your business, but it’s not the only way to reach, entertain, and retain the modern audience.

In Episode 9 we’ll take a look at why it’s so important to embrace all forms of media in an effort to connect with everyone.  We especially  want to reach out and touch those who may be thinking of crossing over to the new paradigm, but haven’t yet taken the plunge.  Although you really should consider this bandwagon because it’s fun here.  Besides, we know you’re always looking for new ways to dissuade cognitive dissonance.  Holla!

Episode 9 features: Beth Diamond, Timothy Golden, Jason Feinberg, and Zach Jordan

Photo by: Travis Jensen

In our last episode, we learned that the power of a loyal audience today is due to quality not quantity.  This week we explain the three main types of audience and how the new, “lean forward” audience engages with content across multiple platforms.  How does one engage people when they are consuming across all platforms, including live events?   Ultimately, the best way to “defrag” any audience today is to weave a compelling story that relies on traditional storytelling maxims AND speaks with a unified voice utilizing only the appropriate platforms that apply to your story.

Episode 8 features: Suzanne Diamond, Timothy Golden, and Zach Jordan

photo by: TourettesWithoutRegrets

One of the key components of our company’s branding mantra is the need for personal engagement through authentic messaging.  Our formula always stresses (1) specific and personal = loyal and (2) keep it real.  In other words, no brand is going to earn consumer attention and loyalty without delivering something of real value (content) that can get past what we like to call the extremely sensitive BS meter that exists in today’s marketplace.  In a recent post, Diane Verde Nieto (CEO of Clownfish, London) takes this point to an even more granular level that we should all take to heart.  It’s not just about “getting past” the BS meter.  It’s about doing so because your brand genuinely lives and breathes your brand message.  Diane points out that corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) efforts, in which brands incorporate their corporate causes into brand messaging, are a key route to building a loyal relationship with the target audience.

So, so true.  A great CSR effort can make a major difference in the eyes of the audience and the returned favor of loyalty.  But like all things, it has to be done correctly, which as the author points out, mean honestly.  In this market where the consumer wants and demand it all on their terms, honesty is paramount.  All brand content has to be authentic.  CSR driven content must be even more.

I was recently discussing with some colleagues the need for brands to do what Diane suggests, walk the walk at the core of their business.  That means, don’t just take on a cause and promote your “stuff” with it via window dressing.  Rather, prove to your audience that you are for real by making your CSR effort internal and sincere and not just for the public’s eyes only.  This means that from the ground up in the company, the CSR must be a 24/7 subtext of the business.  Employees, management, hell, even outside vendors have to live it.  Be this genuine and your content effort will do a lot more than get past the BS meter.  You will be believed, trusted—and remembered.

If good brand storytelling is about hitting emotional touchstones, I can’t think of a more emotional campaign than matching up brand CSR and the things that your target audience genuinely cares about.  Per the post, women do need soap—but they choose Dove because the brand (via their self-esteem, female oriented content efforts) literally cares about all of the other things that women care about in their daily lives.  Dove passes the sniff test because, in fact, they care….inside and out.

The opposite.  Look at some of the failures where brands have disingenously jumped on the healthy or green wagons.  When a brand’s message is no more than profit driven “fashion”, they can smell the rat. We won’t be fooled or green washed.

There are lots of “green” organizations for example.  But which of them deserve and earn our trust?  The ones you can believe because they have proven credibility.  Case in point?  We recently did a video celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Friends of the Earth.  It was a labor of love and we know the content is going to help this Godfather of environmental activism because they are, demonstrably, the unrelenting, uncompromising organization that was there before anyone would listen and is still in the thick of battle now that we know we’re killing the planet.  Our company (hence my vendor argument) lives this way.  It was a creative and passionate marriage that we hope continues for a long time.

It’s tough out there.  In a prior post we talked about the new “Simplifiers” who don’t want to be sold “stuff”, but rather, offered personal, important experiences.  So how does a brand differentiate itself and earn the attention it needs to prosper?  Don’t “sell”.  Present something people need / want  and place it organically in the context of the bigger picture.  Connect with the things in our every day lives that matter.  Do so honestly and with integrity.  It’s human nature.  Common cause, common experience equals community.  I don’t want to emotionally connect with soap, but I might with the soap community that cares.