Monthly Archives: July 2009

Buzzworthy Wednesday Video: Evian Roller Babies

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Well, I missed sharing my thoughts for the last two week’s Buzzworthy Wednesday Video and I apologize to those of you who emailed and contacted me to find out why there wasn’t a video. I had a very good reason…my wife Leah gave birth to our son Eliot Raymond Guerin on Monday 7/13 at 2:18pm. So I’ve been busy loving and caring for them both.

I’m back to blogging now and in honor of little Eliot I chose the Evian Roller Babies which has had over 8 million views since being uploaded three weeks ago. The video shows the effect that drinking Evian water has on your body. Proof that when you take something cute like babies and set it to a retooled old school rap track like “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugarhill Gang…it’s a winning viral video combo. Maybe it won’t always work…but babies, kittens and puppies or anything else with the “cuteness factor” usually doesn’t steer you wrong when writing a script with viral potential.

5 Question Interview: Matthew Mamet from PermissionTV

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So this is a bit of a departure from the traditional 5 Question Blog Interviews I have done in the past…but for good reason. Matthew Mamet is Director of Product Marketing at PermissionTV and because of the cutting edge work they are doing with online video (and our nearby locations) we decided to do a video version of the 5 Question Blog Interview and to utilize the interactivity of the PermissionTV Platform Player. So without further ado…please enjoy.

 

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Question#1: For those who are unfamiliar with Permission TV, can you briefly describe what you do?

Question#2: What specific features does the Permission TV platform offer to help enhance the viewers experience and the businesses opportunity to measure viewer engagement?

Question#3: The race to monetize online video is rapidly increasing among different advertising networks and video sharing sites, some are doing it well others are doing it poorly but everyone is struggling to find a model that works. In your opinion, what do you see as the future for monetization of video online?

Question#4: You recently launched the parody web site “I Want My Viral Video.com” poking fun at how some people view viral videos or their “online video strategy”. What was the impetus behind building this site and what kind of response have you received so far?

Question#5: What is the one hint or tip you could share that most companies getting started with online video fail to realize or include or factor into their overall online video marketing?

Bonus Question (surprise!): What can you share in regards to PermissionTVs new product offerings and what you are working on now?

 

 

Buzzworthy Wednesday Video: LaPoste’s Transformer Macbook

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So this is an interesting one. It was put out by LaPoste a traditional French mailing company and its had over 480,000 views since it’s upload three weeks ago.

Here’s a case of a poorly crafted viral campaign. The video is definitely geared to a youthful audience showing a Macbook transforming into a jet. Timely considering the release of the most recent Transformers movie.

However, when you go to the landing page they created (bear with me…my French is a little spotty), it’s for their new online service where you can fill out a form and send a registered letter and then have a record kept of the contents of the letter electronically on their site for three years. When you get to the landing page there isn’t even a line of text or link to the video to function as a visual reminder for why you went to the site. No engagement.

This isn’t a service geared to the 20 or 30 something, this is a service geared to the less computer literate crowd most likely from an older demographic who may not know that there are other digital mailing services available. This video has no target for that age group in any way, it’s being viewed by mostly teenage boys and Mac geeks. Don’t believe me? Take a gander at the comments.

So many missed opportunities.

While the video is very entertaining and would be fantastic as a Macbook or Transformers viral video, I feel like LaPoste missed the mark with their audience and their objective for creating the video. Still worth watching though.

 

 

 

Buzzworthy Wednesday Video: Banksy vs Bristol Museum

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Banksy is an infamous British graffiti artist who I’d compare domestically to Shepard Fairey only slightly more mysterious as his real identity is still unknown. He shocked all of England with his his social critical work on buildings and walls throughout London and Bristol including breaking into the zoo to portray his works there. Banksy is following in the steps of US graffiti artist Fairey by exhibiting in the Bristol Museum. Only he took over and turned the entire museum into a giant retrospective type installation of his work.

The news was released just over three weeks ago to great fanfare in the UK being covered by the BBC and garnered over 350,000 views on the YouTube video. All a complete surprise as everyone thought the museum was being closed to film a movie. A brilliant marketing strategy both by the artist and the museum in keeping with the artists shocking methods for displaying his work.

In a rare statement, the artist himself says: “The people in Bristol have always been very good to me – I decided the best way to show my appreciation was by putting a bunch of old toilets and some live chicken nuggets in their museum… This is the first show I’ve ever done where taxpayers’ money is being used to hang my pictures up rather than scrape them off.”