Old Spice: social media campaigns

Days before the Superbowl in 2009, Old Spice aired this video "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" that went viral featuring former NFL wide receiver, Isaiah Mustafa. It became so popular that its echo effect spawned a social media campaign following in 2010. Mustafa, the "Old Spice Guy" answered questions through Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites via personal video messages. Some responses were within minutes of receiving viewer's questions. You can read more about it in this article on how they staged this and personalized 187 video responses (mostly humourous) to viewers, including to celebrities such as Alyssa Milano, Demi Moore, and Ryan Seacrest, etc. These interactions and open dialogue with customers ultimately helped position the Old Spice brand as fresh and young, successfully changing their image from a "grandpa" brand to capture new customers.


Old Spice returned this year with "Superbowl ads" going viral online days before Superbowl and officially launching them on Monday February 6, the day *after* the Superbowl. Due to their successes in past to build up their brand, Old Spice does not need to spend $3.5 million to get people's attention.  The result is a low cost effective way to advertise online, which they have "pioneered" to perfection.


Old Spice has teamed up with other Proctor & Gamble companies, Bounce and Charmin, in the first ever co-branded commercials that feature Old Spice's loud and muscular Terry Crews literally "crashing" into the quiet and peaceful atmosphere of normal Bounce and Charmin ads.

Old Spice Body Spray's "Smell is Power" ad campaign

Some articles online dubbed this year's Superbowl commercials as bland and boring. I have watched quite a few from www.superbowlcommercials2012.net and would have to agree. However, a trend of sorts that seems to be emerging is co-branding advertising. GE (General Electric) had a TV spot and in the end they co-branded with Budweiser while Chevy co-branded with Twinkies. According to marketing specialist, Barry LaBov, he reveals that when two brands team up together, it places them in very strong marketing positions enhancing both brands. So here: What a concept to marry brands together and become this powerful force! But does it work? Yes and no. It depends on the brand partner and if they are a good fit with the company's products, values, and image.


Here in the Old Spice example, they are in no way competing with the Charmin or Bounce products. In fact, the brand marriage is trying to capture the women in the household. Old Spice has targeted and appealed women through The Old Spice guy commercials in 2009 and 2010. Assuming they have gone out to purchase Old Spice for the men in their lives, the association of these co-branded commercials created with Bounce and Charmin may propel  them to purchase those household products as well, while shopping at the supermarket or drugstore.


Old Spice has been innovative in leading the way with low cost advertising syncing online tools such as viral videos, Twitter and Facebook to help them re-position their brand and present their image to a new and younger generation of users.

Sources:
http://www.reelseo.com/old-spice-bounce-charmin-ad/
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/318975
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/new-type-of-branding-in-super-bowl-xlvi-ads
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/how_old_spice_won_the_internet.php

Viral Marketing = Mucus Spraying

This new video was uploaded on February 4th, just a day before the Superbowl. I find the information relevant to our e-marketing conversations in class. Joe Green, Mark Zuckerberg's Harvard roommate equated viral marketing with the spraying of mucus (how the flu virus spreads to be exact).

Formula:

Frequency x Proximity x Potency x Incubation

How does the flu spread?

(How often someone sneezes) x (# of people showered with germs) x (Probability of those people becoming infected) x (How long it takes for them to start infecting others)

How does content spread?

(Who's talking about it) x (How many people they've shared it with) x (How potent is the message) x (How long after someone shares it is it ultimately viewed)

If the above variables are optimized with one of the below checklists, it will make it an easier task for the content to go viral.

Checklist:

-          Answers a question or evokes an emotional response

-          Addresses a hot topic that people are searching for or talking about

-          Title, description, and video thumbnail are compelling & generate clicks

-          Video is short and sweet ideally 2 minutes or less – if not annotate

-          Gets off to a strong start propelled by paid, owned, and earned media

-          People feel compelled to share for four reasons – tap into at least 1

-          Eliminate things that would make people reluctant to share