Music Video as YouTube Ad

Hello, friends. I know it's been a while since I posted. However, I can't help but share this ad I saw on YouTube last week:

I was on YouTube to watch a music video that a friend had shared with me. Before the video started, an ad began to play, per usual. However, this ad was different. This ad was a full 4:18-minute recording of the Brian Evans song "I'm A Traveler". I had never heard of Brian Evans before. But I certainly like his style. He has a smooth, jazzy/big-band sound, and I'm a sucker for swing music. Was his video set to play for users who had previously watched videos by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tommy Dorsey, Nat King Cole, et. al.? I don't know. But quite possibly.

Regardless, I'd rank Brian Evans' YouTube ad as one of the best examples of content-as-advertising I've seen in a while. If you're an artist who is trying to build a following, one of the biggest struggles is finding opportunities to get people to listen to your music. People can't remember you, can't like you, can't choose to buy your albums and concert tickets, if they haven't heard you. So why not use a YouTube ad - for which, unlike television spots, you pay only based on the number of people who watch the video, not on the length of the spot - to introduce people to your music? And what better way to introduce people to your music than to actually play one of your songs?

And as a viewer, I love it. I would much rather watch an ad that entertains me - whether with great music, great comedy, or a great story - than one that simply promotes a product for which I have no interest. This Brian Evans video happened to match my musical tastes, and Mr. Evans has just converted this total stranger into an fan - one who will likely be purchasing his album in the very near future.

Making Customers Feel Important

During part of my time in college, I served as an office assistant in my school's College of Business Administration. A handful of other student workers and I took shifts organizing paperwork, printing mail lists, ordering supplies, and - perhaps most fun - greeting visitors at the front desk.

On one of my first days at the front desk, a visitor walked in and asked directions to the office of some professor or other. As per my training (our dean was a businessman, and big on customer service), I was friendly, courteous, and ensured that she found the person she needed to find.

However, one thing was missing from my otherwise brilliant customer service: attentiveness.

I had been working on a clerical project on the computer when the visitor arrived, and I continued to be distracted by it while I "served" her. Certainly, I greeted her with a warm smile, but then I resumed reading my computer screen while she spoke. True to the culture of my Texas school, I responded courteously ("Yes, ma'am! Of course, I'll be happy to help you..."), but then I clicked the mouse button once more before I served her. Absolutely, I gave her directions to the appropriate office, but I turned my gaze away from her even before she said "Thank you."

What was wrong with my customer service? I did not honor her. I did not attend. My body language drowned out my polite words and warm smile with a louder message: the message that another task was at least as important - if not more important - than serving my guest.

If you want to build relationships, to delight customers, to cultivate their love and loyalty, you cannot act that way. When you serve customers, you honor them with your full attention. You look them in the eyes. You let nothing distract you from what they are asking you to do.

When you serve customers, you adopt the mindset that serving them is the most important thing you could be doing at that moment.

And when you make customers the most important part of your business - and show them by your actions that they are - then you're taking the first (and often missing) step at building the relationships that will lead to the fan-based marketing and the sales you desire.

A Holiday Act of Kindness

At this time of year, when marketers bombard customers with cries to choose their brand for holiday shopping ("50% off Holiday Special!" "Gift Cards for the Whole Family!" "Last Chance for Free Shipping - Guaranteed by Christmas!"), it's understandable why some might confuse our holidays - the "holy days" for our families, churches, communities, and societies - as days invented by marketers to buy and sell and make a buck.

And so, it's nice to see marketers who seem to remember that Christmas, Hanukkah, and our other December holidays are meant as times of giving, of gratitude, of love, of humility, of rejoicing in what our Creator has done for us.

In that spirit of giving, MINI Canada extended some holiday cheer to otherwise frazzled shoppers in this recent marketing campaign:



At shopping malls in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, ad agency Taxi 2 tied three-foot red helium balloons announcing "Your Mini Is Here" to all of the MINI Coopers in the parking lot, helping MINI-owners to easily find their vehicles by quickly scanning the lot.

This stunt achieved three things:

(1) It drew attention to the MINI brand. MINI-owner or not, if you shopped at (or drove past) one of those malls on those days, you noticed bright red balloons plastered with the MINI brand, proudly celebrating each MINI.

(2) It honored each current MINI customer. Marketers sometimes spend so much time and energy attracting new customers that they neglect their current customers. MINI flipped that on its head by lending an unexpected helping hand to each current MINI customer at the mall, and rewarding their MINI-ownership.

(3) It brought joy and laughter to all observers. For the MINI-owners, other mall patrons, passers-by, and us watching the video online, this zany surprise relieved the stress of shopping - or of everyday life - with a few laughs and good-natured merriment.

Bravo to MINI. If a company is going to invest marketing dollars on a PR campaign to raise brand awareness and sales, they may as well invest in a campaign that raises people's spirits also.

Advice from an Alzheimer's patient

One of the best pieces of marketing advice I've ever received came from a woman with Alzheimer's disease.

At one point during my college years, I spent a morning volunteering at an Alzheimer's care facility, visiting with the residents. One elderly lady there - we'll call her Lois - was particularly engaging. We chatted for the better part of an hour. She told me (several times) about growing up in the 1940s, about her husband and kids and grandkids, and about a blanket she was knitting.

She asked me, too, about my life - about my family, my college major, and my career plans. Upon hearing that I was a business major and planned to start a marketing career, Lois became very serious and offered me a piece of advice from her experience. She told me, "Pay attention to the details. The details make the difference. The details are what counts."

Of course, it wasn't until much later that I realized that her words were ones of wisdom, not just the babblings of a senile woman.

The details. That final bit of wordsmithing that changes the tone of an email from demanding to friendly. The watchful eye that prevents lapses in continuity during filming. The slight design tweak that makes a package easier to open.

Sending a handwritten note after an introductory meeting with a new client. Providing scented lotion in the ladies' restroom. Walking a visitor to his destination, rather than saying, "down the hall, up the stairs, fifth door on the left."

The university admissions counselor who delivers acceptance packets to local students in person. The auto mechanic who tops off the vehicle's fluids for free while it's in for other maintenance. The barista who signs her name to each customer's to-go cup.

Any organization is expected to perform their core business correctly. Meet the customer's needs, and they will be satisfied. But it is these additional bits of attention and courtesy that turn a satisfied customer into a delighted customer. That turn an average experience into an exceptional one. That turn a casual shopper into a brand evangelist. That turn a good company into a great one.

Pay attention to the details. The details make the difference. The details are what counts.

Tis the Season to be Jolly

This morning marked the first snowfall of the season for Abilene, Texas. In honor of this momentous occasion (and not only momentous, but momentary - the snow will be completely melted any moment now, although we appreciate it while it lasts), here are a few fun holiday campaigns to warm up your week:

(1) Hot or Not Snowmen - Target Brands, Inc. presents hotornotsnowmen.com - a collection of photos of the world's most eligible snow-bachelors, and invites viewers to rate each one as "Hot" or "Not". (Bringing back junior high memories, anyone?) Once you've rated one snowman, the next photo appears, providing potential hours of snowman-viewing cheer. A sidebar allows you to share the site with your friends on social media, or to check out Target's Weekly Ad for brand savings.

(2) Santa Yoda - The LEGO Group is promoting its LEGO Star Wars collection with a starfighter-load of holiday-themed fun at the legosantayoda.com microsite, hosted by none other than the jolly Jedi master himself. Visitors can share holiday video e-greetings starring their favorite LEGO Star Wars characters (my favorite involves carolers interrupting a quiet evening at Vader's house), upload photos for the LEGO® holiday scene contest, and add to their own LEGO Star Wars holiday wish list. For every e-card shared, LEGO will donate one new LEGO toy to the U.S. Marine Corps' Toys for Tots program.

(3) NoiseTrade - NoiseTrade.com isn't specifically holiday-focused, per se, but as a purveyor of free, legal music, it naturally has Christmas albums at the top of the list this month. NoiseTrade enables musicians to build their fan base by providing their albums free to consumers. This free marketing model draws many artists who are just starting out, but also features a few more well-known bands, such as Thousand Foot Krutch. If you want to break up the Christmas music with something mellow and folksy, check out my friends Josh Powell & The Great Train Robbery, who just released their free EP last week.

The thing I love about all three of these sites is how they share a bit of cheer (Internet fun, videos and contests, music) with customers, for free. Their first step at building relationships is to give. Certainly, giving entails risk - your recipient might never return your love. Your customers might feast on your free content, and never return the goodwill by purchasing anything.

But it might also lead the way to a beautiful friendship, with customers who think you're fun, kind, decent, and generous, and who are eager to support you and to introduce you to their friends for years to come.

The Time Traveler's Golf

It seems that Dutch customers aren't the only ones celebrating history with Volkswagen.

Volkswagen UK, in honor of the 35th anniversary of the Golf GTI, has done a little something special to outfit one 2011 Golf:



Not sure if VW engineers studied under Doc Brown, and it appears they may have made some upgrades (their flux capacitor seems to engage well before reaching 88 mph), but regardless, their return to 1976 has certainly taken us back to 1985.

A visit to Facebook.com/VolkswagenUK allows fans to follow the continuing adventures of these time travelers in their VW Golf, as so far they've witnessed other significant events in the history of Volkswagen and the United Kingdom. Fans can follow the time travelers' updates, watch video recordings of their progress, and even listen to the radio stations of days gone by.

Well done, Volkwagen, in connecting your audience to yet another pop culture icon - this time, by outfitting a 2011 vehicle with 1985 technology. We'll be following you as your Golf comes back to the future.

Giving a Push, Gaining Momentum

Twenty years from now, when a biographer asks UK band Summer Camp to tell the secret of how they gained such fame, the band members might answer that it's all because of make-up.

Not because of anything distinctive about their own make-up, à la KISS, but because of a promotional partnership with UK retailer Boots' cosmetics brand, 17. 17 Cosmetics selected Summer Camp as the first band featured in its latest campaign, which pairs an exclusive song by an up-and-coming band with each of 17's new cosmetic products.

Consumers receive access to the music video for Summer Camp's new single "You Might Get Stuck On Me" by liking 17's Facebook page, which also shares information about the band (an "indie-electro" duo who are "totally inspired by movies like The Breakfast Club and 80s American teen culture"), and offers a free download of the song for those who share the page with their friends.

"You Might Get Stuck On Me" was written by Summer Camp especially for the 17 campaign, and is being co-branded with 17's new Magnetize Nail Polish, which is fitted with a magnet. (Get it?)

The campaign is an example of how helping one b(r)and get started can help build momentum for two brands.

For any new band, one of the biggest challenges is spreading exposure and gaining a following. By partnering with an already-established brand (retailer Boots and their cosmetic line 17), Summer Camp gets its music in front of potentially hundreds of thousands of customers, who might become fans. Boots, in turn, increases its relevancy and "cool-factor" by becoming a music maven who introduces its young customers to the next major artists (giving customers the prestige of being some of the first fans of the next great band, should the band go on to achieve success).

Thus, a little partnership brings worthy content to consumers, and improves brand awareness and reputation for both partners. Sounds like a hit to me.