The latest Old Spice ad campaign was already getting plenty of buzz with their creative and humorous commercials. Their YouTube channel is getting millions of hits, and their Facebook page is rapidly growing. But the company has embarked on an incredibly brilliant marketing campaign that utilizes a variety of Social Media platforms and tactics.
Their latest commercial, which you can find at that YouTube channel, had more than 5.5 million views at the time of this writing.
This week they began using Twitter to have the Old Spice Guy (Isaiah Mustafa) respond to celebrities and random people alike with custom made videos. One of the best is this response to a guy who asked if the Old Spice Guy would do a wedding proposal for him (She said, “Yes” by the way).
Here are 13 things I love about this campaign, and why I think it is brilliant:
1) It’s fully integrated -The messaging and branding work across all channels. You see the TV commercials. They’re available on YouTube. All Social Media channels are involved, with YouTube at the center of the campaign. No matter where you look, you are reminded of this particular campaign and it’s messaging. Too many businesses and brands treat social properties apart from their regular marketing plan. Here, Social takes center stage and everything works seamlessly.
2) It makes full use of the power of Social Media – Many treat social media as if it were no more than an extension of their website, spitting out information. Here we have the true meaning of social. The ability to engage and build relationships, while giving your “fans” the ability to share. All those Social Media buzzwords? It’s got ‘em: word-of-mouth, viral, etc. In fact, I first found out about it when a friend left a message on my phone, knowing that it would be something I’d be interested in. There’s that word-of-mouth again.
In this great article from ReadWriteWeb, we learn not only how this was done, but that two social media specialists were at the center of the campaign from the start. My friends are talking about it, and sharing the videos, on both Facebook and Twitter.
3) It’s interactive – This campaign lives and dies on engagement and interactivity. The company took a little bit of a gamble, but it paid off. Ever run an online contest and have no one sign up? Or only a few people? What if no one had started asking questions of the Old Spice Guy? Not surprisingly, people have eaten it up, and thousands are sending him messages on various platforms hoping that they are one of the chosen few who get a video response. Even celebrities are wearing it like a badge of honor. And they’ve even created a voice mail generator so that you can have the Old Spice Guy create a customized, downloadable voice mail message for you, complete with your own phone number!
4) It builds community – What Old Spice has done is find a quick way to build their online communities. With more than a half-million fans on their Facebook page, and more than 50,000 on Twitter, Old Spice is clearly onto something. Most of those fans came within the past few days, and a good number of them will stick around. One of the fastest ways to build community is to get influencers on board. By selecting certain celebrities with huge Social Media followings (like Ashton Kutcher), they’ve almost guaranteed a rapidly growing fan-base.
5) It has gone beyond their expectations – I’m sure that the folks who came up with this campaign truly believed that they had something that would go viral. But I doubt they had any idea how big it would become. One of the best exchanges was a series of videos sent to actress (and super-Twitter user) Alyssa Milano. The exchanged included the actual delivery of a note and flowers to Milano’s door, as evidenced here on her blog. Milano alone has nearly a million followers on Twitter and she has willingly become part of the Old Spice campaign…for free (Though she is benefiting from the publicity as well) and has responded with her own video. I’m pretty sure we haven’t seen the last of these two…
6) They’ve reached cult status - Not only are they building followers and a fan base, but this campaign has reached cult status. This is one of those campaigns that will be discussed for years. It has taken on a life of its own. I’ll be curious to see how Old Spice capitalizes on this campaign and moves forward in the weeks and months to come.
7) It builds for the future – That large community that’s building on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube? When this campaign ends, most of them will still be there. Sure some will leave and some might stay and lose interest. But, Old Spice now has a great audience for their marketing messages down the line.
8)It’s near real-time – The folks at Old Spice are taking comments from people on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube and responding fairly quickly, at least within hours. This takes time because you need writers, props, and production time. But I bet they could decrease the amount of time to respond rather quickly. And with many of the responses coming via Twitter, it definitely feels real time.
9) It uses Inbound Marketing to draw attention to their outbound marketing – Using Social Media and Inbound Marketing doesn’t mean that you necessarily stop your outbound and traditional marketing efforts. But as mentioned earlier, this is a fully integrated marketing campaign. On it’s own, the television campaign was probably successful. But now many more people are aware of it, and many of them feel connected to it. The inbound marketing maximizes the value and increases the ROI. Most of us look for ways to avoid watching commercials, but Old Spice has us wanting more.
10) It’s SEO magic – I’d love to be checking out the Google analytics on the main Old Spice web site; I bet they’re getting tons of traffic and inbound links. They are also probably getting a lot of time spent on the site as they have filled it with all sorts of downloads and interactive goodies. I’ll be interested to see how some of those analytics have changed over the course of this week. And the traffic to the YouTube and Twitter pages was so heavy at times that users often got server errors.
11) It is a PR bonanza – Everyone is talking about it. Not just consumers, but bloggers, journalists, traditional media outlets. It’s even on the national news. Old Spice is getting reach far beyond that which they would have gotten with just a simple TV buy. And the best part is after the production costs are taken care of, the social word-of-mouth is free!
12) It’s incredibly creative – Not only is the video concept creative, but everything from start to finish. Even the updates on Facebook have the same attitude and sense of humor found in the commercials. As the new videos are released, I watch them all and every one of them is funny. The entire package is pure creative brilliance.
13) Everyone Wins – Obviously this is a win for Old Spice. At least in terms of engagement and awareness. I can’t help but think that it will have at least some positive effects on sales, at least in the short term. But…we as viewers/consumers win: we are being entertained. I know several friends who say they got very little work done as a result of the campaign. A very welcome diversion. It’s also a win for Isaiah Mustafah, as his fame has soared. And yes, even a win for Alyssa Milano.
Plus, this is a serious win for Social Media. Many who have been sitting on the fence will now realize that Social Media can not only be a part of a marketing campaign, but an integral and central part.
This online Social campaign only lasted a few days, but it is something that could be brought back. And it is something that can and will be copied. Think of the possibilities: how about a live TV commercial, streamed online, well placed within a major spectacle like the Super Bowl, World Series, or even the final episode of a popular reality series. Or even the chance to somehow digitally place yourself inside the commercials with the Old Spice Guy. Who knows? The sky’s the limits!
Certainly there is a great expense involved here, and a lot of work. But can something like this be duplicated on a smaller level? With an inexpensive Flip MinoHD video camera, I think it could. But the idea is not to merely copy or imitate, but to innovate. Old Spice has taken both inbound and outbound marketing to a new level, and it will be interesting to see how the rest of Madison Avenue and Main Street respond.
How can you show true innovation in your Social and Inbound Marketing? Are you generating the kind of publicity that money can’t buy?
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