Take It Face To Face

…that viral marketing is awesome.  I have no idea who’s behind the growing legend of Leroy Smith but I cannot wait to learn more.

Another recent viral advertising campaign was Gatorade’s “What’s G?” campaign, which launched during the Super Bowl.  Gatorade strung viewers along using simple, star-studded commercials defining the unkown “G”.  The commercials were huge hits on YouTube and created the coveted “buzz” marketers strive for.
Charlie Murphy, aka Leroy Smith, you are well on your way.  At first glance, the site appears cheesy, poorly made, and over the top.  Then you see the video game, several instructional videos, recorded song, petition (actually a tool to gather your information), social media accounts, iPhone application, Dave Chappelle (yes, that’s him in the videos), and realize this character is no joke.

Leroy is so far from a joke that, in less than a week, he has stirred up 649 Facebook friends, 443 followers on Twitter, and closing in on 20,000 views on his YouTube channel.  If Leroy continues this pace, he will be a full-fledged marketing pandemic long before the brand behind his existence is revealed.

For the time being, we have to just watch, friend, and follow Leroy to find out what’s going to happen next…

Where have you seen successful viral campaigns?  Who do you think created Leroy Smith?  Does this post make you feel more motivized?

And I wish I had more hands so I can give this ad campaign four thumbs up.

Ok, I understand the markets in Europe is a different thing, I get that. To be honest I can’t see how this is effective marketing anywhere. I simply can’t find a way to justify this for selling soda.

I am all for taking risks when it comes to marketing. I think being creative is a great way to get your product or brand noticed but at some level all of your messaging should come back to what you are trying to say about your product. From what I can gather from this TV spot Orangina is about Puck like animals and adult entertainment.

After a quick stop to the Orangina website I found out there is an entire campaign dedicated to this Island of Dr. Monreau. I understand that in French ‘Its Pulpy’ has a double meaning, but that double meaning doesn’t make me want to buy soda.

If you visit the Orangina website you can see that the Animal Island theme is part of a HUGE cross platform promotion including; events, street teams, and probably one of the coolest websites I have ever seen. While I have spent a good deal of time in Europe I must reiterate, I am not Orangina’s target market.

I am however aware of the immense popularity of Orangina in Europe and can’t argue with the fact that they must be doing something right. If you notice in the YouTube video the spot we have highlighted is the UK version of the commercial and has the tag line ‘Its Juicey.” Not quite the double entendre of the French saying but still good.

Orangina has yet to crack the US market when it comes to popularity. I think the company has great brand equity and amazing loyalties, but US consumers are not subject to any of their marketing tactics. If Orangina was to try and make a push into the US market what would you suggest?

I would suggest a good street team campaign based in some of the major cities coupled with a good partnership at a food chain restaurant like Baja Fresh or another a-typical restaurant.

What are your suggestions? Have you ever tried Orangina? I would love to hear how you would help Orangina gain market share in the US.

Cynopsis.com delivered a news story today about the announcement of an integrated partnership between TiVo and YouTube which speaks greatly to the on-going development of digital media, or Interactive media, as the interface of choice for delivering content direct to consumers in an interactive and exciting format. I for one am thrilled at the prospect of perusing the vast library of YouTube video via TiVo while my online-news addict husband browses the web (thereby eliminating my ability to view YouTube videos online using our computer).

It is no secret that YouTube has proven to be an incredible platform for companies, organizations, and others to reach consumers, particularly when a video goes viral. Of course, going viral is strategic and doesn’t always just happen - though it has (most everyone has seen the Mentos/Diet Coke experiment video filmed then delivered to the masses online via YouTube, which has been replicated dozens of times and drawn more brand attention to Mentos than could have possibly been imagined). I dub that accidental advertising gone wild!

Either way, this joint venture will allow companies to consider adding brand content to YouTube video as a much less costly alternative to traditional television and radio spots, while still having the benefit of having the content delivered on a broadcast TV (i.e., TiVo) platform. If I can see the dollar signs, I know others can too.

Other cool ramifications include extending marketing reach to smaller companies who don’t have budgets for more costly television and radio spots. YouTube/TiVo will definitely allow these companies to reach a broad range of consumers, delivering valuable brand information and content, that they might otherwise have not had the ability to reach. By choosing to utilize the social video network YouTube provides, companies can save money and gain a greater public presence.

Given that recently many media news sites have speculated that traditional media platforms for marketing and advertising are not recession proof, it is expected that expenditures for those platforms will decline. So far, the only channel that has proven to be recession-proof is digital media. In fact, the use of digital media as a way to reach consumers is one of the only marketing and advertising formats that will continue to see vast growth in a declining economy. When such a campaign is designed by creative experts who specialize in digital media, and when that campaign is implemented strategically, companies will see more bang for their buck - $$$$$. Who doesn’t want that during a recession???