Having spent the last 17 years using direct mail as a renewal and acquisition strategy, with acquisition rates as high as 7% at one point and renewal rates well over 30%, I’ve learned a thing or two about relevancy.
My brand experience comes with an exponent. I’ve worked with clients such as Nestle, Coca Cola, GMAC and Procter & Gamble. I like to tell myself I’ve have a bit of brand perspective. Truth is, I have enough perspective to give me a birds eye view.
Makes me wonder, why are these well “funded” national brands struggling to be relevant?
Sure, these brands are doing better than most, but is there really any doubt that they could do so much better?
Take Disney – wouldn’t a “How to Look Like A Princess For a Day” video series be incredibly interesting and perfectly relevant to their core audience?
Check out this user generated video on youtube with almost 800,000 views!
CINDERELLA: Disney Princess Inspired Makeup Tutorial Icy Blue False Lashes
How hard would it be to hire this user, xsparkage, or outsource a professional to create a fun series like this, except with links to the actual makeup, dress up clothes, accessories, etc?
Hats off to Betty Crocker who has started to do this with their series of “How to Make A Cake,” which I think is perfectly genius.
Apparently I’m not alone, so do nearly 80,000 other people whenever a new cake gets uploaded to youtube!
How To Make An Inchworm Bug Cake and Bug Cupcakes
Pretty easy to imagine quite a few cake mixes leaving the shelves because of this series, right?
What about the auto industry?
There are quite a few top videos around cars. Just two minutes on YouTube and I was able to find user generated videos that pulling in 100,000 to 12 MILLION views.
Do you believe General Motors could reposition their brand as more cutting edge and consumer friendly simply by using one of their models to conduct any one of the following experiments?
And don’t you think they could take a wild leap from the stodgy and traditional brand box by doing some event based PR/Marketing that showcases local dealerships doing live demonstrations of similar “experiments.”
Bring in your trade in worth $2,000.00 or less and we’ll give it a makeover you’ll never forget!
Wouldn’t that improve customer experience since one of the negative aspects to buying a new car is trading in your old one that’s worth a handful of dollars more than nothing?
Have fun with it, get people engaged…the dealers could even take a video of it and submit it on the customer’s behalf. The top video views gets a new car.
Statistics easily suggest if they downright prove it – these strategies are worth testing
As reported by King Fish Media in their 2009 Survey on Marketing, Media and Measurement:
- 86% of respondents’ companies are currently creating or plan to create original content for their customers and prospects in the coming year.
- 81% believe that brands and companies can create content that is as engaging and informative as content created by media companies.
- 74% feel that original content and media are most effective for generating marketing ROI.
- 70% are spending more today to reach customers and prospects directly with branded content than they did three years ago.
REV Tip of the Day
Take calculated risks that are entertaining and at times invoke a Visceral response. People take action most when their emotions are engaged!
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No other media brand has dared to create such open interaction with its readers and event participants. Marketing Plan
In addition to the predefined Flash video encoding profiles, you can save and load your own custom encoding profiles. Direct Marketing