Viral - Permission - Marketing

Take a look at this video that suddenly has vaulted to the top of YouTube's "most viewed", snagging 1.4 million viewers last week - all of whom...

Clicked on the "play" button themselves- and forwarded it to friends.

This was a spot that was put together for Levis by Cutwater, the cool San Francisco advertising company that created the famous Ray-Bans video with the guy catching sunglasses on his face.

This is what Seth Godin is talking about in "Permission Marketing" - a paradigm in which we are no longer forced to sit captive while old media waste our time with ads that are neither interesting nor relevant. Instead, we willfully, even cheerfully watch ads that are provocative, fun and stimulating.

What are you doing with your marketing? Are you mired in the same old "interruption-based" media, doing the same old ads that most of the viewers ignore? Because if you are not actively dreaming up ways that you can get the permission of your customers and prospects to market to them, you just might be facing your own fight for relevance sooner rather than later.

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Comments

[ShannonRenee]

Great video, how many times did the flying, jumping, falling guys bust their butts before they got it right?

To your point, what does this add tell us about the product, the quality of the jeans, their fit, their wearability, etc.? It's fun to watch, but how does this convince me to buy Levis. Is it supposed to convince me to buy jeans or just show college guys doing what college guys do? Which brings me to a larger point, if advertising is becoming less about the product and more about the "tricks" to capture attention, then, does the product even matter, thus assuming consumers choose brands/products by some other method other than advertising?

[Karen Swim]

Frank, it's nice to see men jumping into their pants instead of falling out of them with the horrid baggy pants style. LOL! Once again you have crafted a post that is both clever and thought provoking. It also proves that consumers don't hate marketing and advertising. When something strikes a chord, people are happy to watch, share and discuss. The marketers challenge as you illustrated is knowing their target audience and creatively engaging them with relevant content.

[Frank Martin]

Shannon, my best guess is that these guys imperiled more than life and limb in the filming of this video! These were not really "college guys", but were "performers", and the video was not "homemade", but professional.

You raise some excellent questions. My thinking is that this video is not designed to persuade; it is designed to capture attention and place the product (and the company) in the coveted position of being talked about. Their goal was to generate eyeballs and positive buzz. It's not going to make YOU buy Levis, but might make you give them a look next time you're buying jeans. Or maybe it will just make you talk about the ad, which will bring attention to the company.

The sales conversion process is a bit daunting to be captured in any single ad. I think a lot of companies don't get this and try to do everything in one confusing shot. But before ANYTHING can happen, we have to get the attention of the customer. Without that, we are preaching persuasion messages to a great void of nothingness. IMHO, this "viral" ad may drive traffic to the sales counters to the web site and ultimately to the bottom line. BUT, do hope they will measure to see whether that is true.

Thanks again for the thoughtful comments and questions!

[Kim Dushinski]

Great post. It is important to remember that marketing must change with the times. The GenY / Millenials are very distrusting of anything that seems like "advertising" to them. They think differently and marketing must adapt.

[JP Micek]

The great charlatans of 17th Century Europe used to put on a show - clowns, music, vaudeville-acts - to draw a crowd BEFORE presenting their elixirs & tonics. The show had nothing to do what they were selling. The only purpose was to get the crowd relaxed, laughing, & open to suggestion.

This video is a modern day example of Tribal Seduction (something that Shannon in her comment seemed to miss.)

Product focus = aggressive feel
Seduction focus = entertaining, easy on the ears & easy to pass on

[Nancy B]

This ad worked in my case... I was flying past on triple fast forward on the DVR and the color of the shirt caught my eye first and then the flip-book quality ( at that speed) made me stop. I enjoyed the music and scene cuts much more than traditional ads.

It may not have the same effect as Citizen Kane... but it does feel like a new landscape!

[Louie Laurent]

Levi's has recognized that the product has lost its cool factor. The brand is struggling to maintain relevance to a younger audience more interested in Hip Hop fashion or designer jeans than the traditionial Levi. Their move to create buzz is more a move to bring back the cool. It is about selling product. People don't buy fashion because of the strength of the stitching, material or even color. They buy it because it fits their perception of who they are. Particularly with jeans.