While reading the latest issue of Event Marketer, I stumbled upon an article about brand ambassadors entering the digital age, leveraging their social networks on behalf of brands.  It immediately reminded me of something similar I wrote here a year ago, though Sandy O’Loughlin was far more eloquent.

For an industry-wide snapshot of what kind of influence brand ambassadors are wielding – and will be expected to wield – in the social media jungle, check out EM’s article for examples like Yahoo at the Olympics, or Samsung and the Guinness World Record.

Where do you see the role of brand ambassadors going?

It's a social media jungle!

Gillette’s “Uncut” campaign is a brilliantly produced series of short music films featuring four of today’s top music artists/acts. Rather than jamming these artists into typical celebrity spokesperson roles, Gillette opted to give consumers something they couldn’t get anywhere else – a ringside seat on tour with – and in the dressing room of – will.i.am (Black Eyed Peas), All American Rejects, Mark Hoppus (Blink 182), and Tim McGraw.

Give something of value.

will.i.am, Black Eyed Peas

Danny Clinch, whose extensive experience with rock photography and live concert films is apparent, delivers a brief yet intimate look into life on tour in authentic rock-umentary fashion. With delivery ranging from thoughtful to inspired to cocky, the artists invite viewers to experience their private pre-show rituals.

Make it great and people will talk.

Tim McGraw

Not surprisingly, every short film includes shaving in the preparations, but it’s done with a touch so deft it feels completely natural. Consumers who want to dive deeper (and who have the patience for things to load) can learn how to “shave like a rock star” with assorted Gillette (and P&G) brands on the website.

Deliver brand message with authenticity.

All American Rejects

While I’m not Gillette’s target market, as a consumer/marketer/music-lover I’m impressed on multiple levels by this campaign – and I’m talking about it. If more brands considered how to add value to their consumers’ lives, advertising as we know it would be dramatically different.

It’s no surprise that experiential marketing has become a staple in the marketing mix of thoughtful brands – it intrinsically delivers value to consumers. When experiential marketing is designed, planned, and executed properly consumers talk – in person and via social media – about the brand experience, ultimately resulting in substantial ROI.

Generate WOM to deliver ROI.

So congratulations, Gillette!  You’ve certainly captured my attention.  While you probably didn’t design “Uncut” with experiential marketing tenets in mind, it’s clear that we share a fundamental approach to winning the hearts and minds (and buying power) of consumers.  Any time you want to talk, I’ll be backstage getting ready for the curtain to rise.

Mark Hoppus, Blink 182

Fierce brand loyalty is not an easy goal to attain.  Luring consumers to try and/or buy in the usual way – price, coupons, trial, etc. – can work for some categories, but to have truly passionate advocates, the brand must develop products or services that make a real difference in the consumer’s life, particularly by making their life easier.  I mean, who doesn’t want that?

Purex Complete 3-in-1

When the product is ready to hit the shelves, marketers must instill in the consumer that the product is a perfect blend of form and function, and NO other product can match its innovation. I am jaded in terms of marketing and am promiscuous when it comes to brand loyalty – so when I get excited enough to give good word-of-mouth to a product, it’s got to be great.

So…behold Purex 3-in-1 sheets.  It’s all of your laundry products in one sheet: detergent, fabric softener, and anti-static cling dryer sheet.  No more waiting for each cycle and adding the right product.  It gets everything clean and does so with exactly the right amount.   Try it out – you won’t be sorry!!!

Organic social media presence kick-started the WeLikeBike42 experiential brand activation. 42BELOW Vodka’s native New Zealand is known for its sense of adventure and environmental conscience.  In that spirit, the brand selected 42 cyclists to ride from NYC to LA in a massive celebration of biking culture.  After training, a kickoff party, and an appearance on The Today Show, the riders parted ways to conquer a northern route and a southern route.

This video features photos taken by a variety of the riders as well as a couple by Javelin crew members. It’s a stunning display of appreciation for beauty in nature, adventure, and the sheer joy of living.

In major markets along the way, consumers cheered the riders on at parties hosted by 42BELOW Vodka, complete with the brand’s signature Caipiroska 42. Fans could join the journey by reading the individual riders’ blogs and Twitter accounts, and by following the tour at @WeLikeBike42.

Over 58 days riders witnessed some of the most beautiful scenery the country has to offer, pedaled a combined 8,549 miles, and exceeded their goal of getting 20,000 followers on Twitter.  In turn, 42BELOW made a $42K donation to the Alliance for Biking & Walking at the finish line event.

With more than 125K WeLikeBike42.com page views, 4.9 million blog views, radio reach of 2 million, 1.45 million over-the-road impressions, and more, 42 Below’s We Like Bike had an experiential program reach of more than 72 million. This extensive reach would not have been possible without the robust social media presence the riders brought to the experience through their blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr accounts.  Cycling enthusiasts, adventure devotees, and lovers of the vast beauty found across the United States all found something compelling to participate in, over and over.

If you have any interest at all in social media I’m sure you’ve heard about the Southeastern Conference banning any kind of social media at its college sporting events.   If not, look here for a thorough summary.  When I first read about it I thought it was a  joke of some sort…but it’s for real.

The policy states that ticketed fans cannot “produce or disseminate (or aid in producing or disseminating) any material or information about the event, including, but not limited to, any account, description, picture, video, audio, reproduction or other information.”

Wow.  SEC, you really want people to go to your event and then never refer to it in any way?  You want them never to talk about the experience or share their excitement, perhaps inspiring others to attend in the future?  Good luck with that…you’re going to need it.  People are going to talk, and you’ve just ensured that they’re going to talk about your policy rather than your revenue-creating events.

Fortunately, most brands are more aware of (and embrace) the role consumers play in the overall marketing landscape.  As experiential marketers, our job is to deliver meaningful experiences that get people talking, and to make it easy to talk about it in a social media arena.

Welcome to Fail, Population You

At Javelin we constantly receive resumes, head shots, and audition tapes from people looking for brand ambassador gigs – whether we’re hiring at the moment or not. The competition is stiff, and it’s challenging to stand out in a sea of highly qualified candidates.

If you want to make yourself exponentially more valuable than other equally qualified brand ambassadors, have a robust blog and active Twitter account. As experiential marketers, you inspire consumers to talk about the brand/experience/benefits, so why not provide extra value to the agency and the client by adding into the mix your personal voice, complete with behind-the-scenes, on-the-road snapshots of the “Brand X experience”?

Still not sure? Currently Javelin has a team of 42 cyclists riding across America to promote 42 Below vodka, a pure, eco-conscious brand from New Zealand. Most of the riders have active Twitter accounts from which they are tweeting updates about the scenery, promotional stops, funny people they meet along the way, and the joys and rigors of riding 80-100 miles per day. More than half of them have personal blogs where they’re writing about their experiences in more depth. These people lead interesting lives they share with the world regularly, not just when they’re on tour, and as a result they have a readership base. Have a look at http://eatsleep42ride.wordpress.com/, and at some of the other rider blogs that are linked to it.

42 Below Riders

Sure, it’s not essential to have a blog or to Twitter, but in this economy don’t you want every advantage you can create for yourself? We look forward to reading about your adventures in life!

P.S. This should go without saying but if you’re going to offer these things up as a competitive difference to agencies, use common sense in regards to what you write and use spellcheck.

Coca Cola has developed an interactive vending machine that allows consumers to learn about promotions in the location the machine is placed, select a beverage to purchase, view the bottle digitally from all angles, and view advertisements all at the same time.

The interface is similar to that of an iPhone.  Eventually consumers will be able download music, ringtones, etc.
This is a really neat design and would be great to do with other types of vending machines.  However, it may be a bit of an overload for someone who simply wants to purchase a 20 oz Cherry Coke.

I am interested to see how popular they become during their trial run.  I am also curious as to how much more sodas will cost when purchased from one of these machines.  I will let you know next time I make it out to the St. Louis Mills.

The extreme growth of Facebook and Twitter over the past several months has garnered a lot of attention and buzz, but the most interesting article I read was by Chris Matyszczyk, a creative director who advises major corporations on content creation and marketing. He is described as bringing an irreverent, sarcastic, and sometimes ironic voice to the tech world.

He explores the impact that the aging of members of social media sites will have on advertisers on those sites.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-10215837-71.html

Although the social networking sites will continue to explore new, innovative ways to generate advertising dollars, essentially he predicts the greatest success will be found if they provide advertisers with something recognizable as traditional, monetizable advertising.

The trends Matyszczyk points out in this write up expand beyond the inherent advertising opportunities within the social networks, but into many other marketing disciplines including continued growth for experiential marketers.  As an agency we continue to stress that once a brand has made the investment in an experiential marketing campaign to engage their target consumers; it is critical to continue the conversation with these new people.

As I continue to see more and more reports of these increased adoption rates of social networking communities by consumers in a wide variety of demographics; it is clear to me that this will provide another channel to continue these conversations.   On par with many experiential marketing campaigns, these consumers are now able to choose their level of interaction and engagement within a familiar environment.  Just some of the early examples I have come across include “Fan Pages” and “Groups” where like-minded individuals are able to gain access to the latest updates, information, news, etc. about products, services, retailers, entertainment, and just about anything else imaginable.

http://mashable.com/2009/04/13/facebook-brand-marketers/

Experiential marketing does the best job of speeding up the consumer trial process, however maintaining contact with these potential new long term consumers and preventing “drop off” after the engagement must be the next step.