My thoughts exactly... on
VIDEO AND AUDIO MARKETING
Budweiser's Dream Social Video
Bud's using user generated content, social and a love of football for their Dream Goal campaign.
Budweiser UK have a great social media promotion that encourages user generated content, social shares, voting and competition. It alligns the brand with the UK's love of football.
The concept
The idea is simple: film your ground roots game of football and if they score a 'dream goal' upload it! Goals get shared in a gallery on Budweiser's site and the best get seen on TV and judged by famous pundits. Grants worth up to £50,000 can be netted too.
It's hugely effective on Facebook where the comments, shares and likes are in full flow.
You can also see above that Sky Sports have also shared it to great effect. Whether that was a paid for collaboration (I'd imagine so) or just because the content was so good it was worth sharing... it's clearly working. The key audience is being reached.
What's so great?
- It appeals to their core audience
- It appeals to an anticipated audience (ie, young sports fans not old enough to drink, but who can start to love the brand - not that Bud would admit to this I'm sure, but still, it's a reality despite putting an 'age limit' entry gate on their site)
- They get audience created content which drives the clubs supporters to the brand
- It's brilliantly visual so grabs attention in social
- It's short, snappy, REAL and works well without sound on social 'autoplay'
- It's very viral; the content of great goals is very likeable and shareable
- They paid to promote on social, but the organic reach is substantial
- They posted the tweets in the lead up to and during a key FA Cup match using hash tags that meant a wider audience will have seen this tweet organically as well
- They partnered with other relevant companies to piggyback on their audience, such as this...
Here, Bud tie in nicely for a giveaway with another huge brand - EE - Genius! Cameras you can film action with and a phone network keen to promote 4G for uploading/streaming. Look at the social reaction... And this will have been seen by EE's followers as well. Relevant. Smart.
Video on their site
The Dream Goal section of their site is rich in video as well.
- You have additional content where TV pundits are shown giving their opinions on the footage, just as they might for a Premier League goal
- You have a gallery of 'dream goals' to enjoy
- They use ultra-short videos to 'teach' the process of how to get involved (see below). The first one of which is particularly interesting as it demonstrates to people that they should hold the phone landscape to film. Of course that'll make it look better when being shared and ultimately, potentially, on TV! Never take it for granted that people know what to do, especially when it comes to filming. Give them examples and they will follow...
Could you do this?
It's a smart, well executed social video campaign.
Of course it has a huge team behind it, but look at the ingredients that make it successful.
Could you do something like this? Sure you could!
It doesn't have to be on this scale to be effective, it depends on (forgive me) what your goals are.
Also, can you tie in with another brand as they have with Sky Sports and EE? So long as they're relevant, your message spreads further and you give extra value to your audience.
And they're key. Don't forget at the heart of this campaign is the audience.
Who are you trying to reach? What do they like doing? How can you harness that?
Podcast Sponsorship
You don't have to be the one creating the content.
Find a podcast inline with your business and you'll find a passionate, dedicated audience ready to hear your message.
“You don’t have to be the one creating the content...”
Like much of the world, I was a Serial addict.
Gripped by a podcast that became a global phenomenon in the latter stages of 2014, picking up an audience of millions in just a couple of months as it followed the investigation of a real life convicted murderer and a possible miscarriage of justice.
Why mention it?
1. You really should listen. It’s a sublime piece of audio production and storytelling.
2. There’s a lesson here on what businesses can do, because no Serial listener could fail to tell you which company sponsored it from the beginning: MailChimp.
And as Serial's popularity went through the roof suddenly audible, Squarespace (incidentally a web company I only know about because of their long time sponsorship of the Answer Me This podcast) and others lined up to be associated with it.
Yes, sponsorship is a marketing tactic as old as time, but that's because it really is effective.
This could be you too.
I mean, sure if you’re after a global digital audience, this could literally be you - contact the makers of Serial, sign the cheque for series 2.
But what I mean is… you don’t have to be the one that is creating the content.
Just like Mailchimp, you can capitalise on sponsoring somebody else’s.
“Find a podcast whose audience is your audience”
Find a podcast whose audience is your audience.
There is pretty much a podcast for every industry and every interest on iTunes and it doesn’t matter if the podcast isn’t huge audience wise, what matters is that it’s a good fit.
Have a listen and if you enjoy the podcast and like what they’re doing, why not support it? Contact the producers… you won’t pay a huge amount for a podcast that isn’t raking in a huge audience, most will be glad to have your interest if they’re currently unsponsored.
Podcasts can provide reliable audience data (unlike TV, radio and press): it may be a smaller audience, but it'll be engaged and it'll be targeted.
Podcasts tend to be listened to without 'fast forwarding' through the ads (unlike TV and press): your message will be heard, no doubt about it. But remember, it's all about brand awareness.
Don't expect a massive spike in profits immediately you jump on board and above all, stick with it - the best effect is drawn from repetition.
Everyone who has heard Serial from the beginning will tell you Mailchimp’s name, in fact they’ll doubtless know their tagline 'Send Better Email' and be able to lip-sync the voices that say the company’s name at the start of each episode.
Rather aptly, for a post was inspired by Serial, I think sponsoring a podcast has got to be a marketing technique worth investigating for any business.
Upddate - February 2016
Since writing this piece podcasts have the sponsorship of them have boomed. Sponsoring a podcast you'll find companies from small ambitious start ups to the might of Ford.
And I too have my own podcast sponsored. The particular company I chose to go with contacted me, liking the quality of the show and recognising that my audience was also their intended audience.
So, who's your audience?
