Viral marketing Archives - YouCom

Yarn Bombing

Philip Wimbledon — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 13:48:51 +0000

Guerrilla Marketing is a form of advertising that can be highly effective. It is where a company uses unconventional and often unexpected interactions with the public that promote a product or service or brand.

Yarn Bombing is one form of Guerrilla Marketing. In short it is where pre-crocheted squares or other large segments of material are suddenly sewn together with a few quick inter-linking stitches to form a colourful change of an ordinary everyday outdoor object (shown above a tree).

Guerrilla marketing uses a series of techniques to establish direct contact with customers. If the goal is to create an emotional reaction in potential customers (which it is) then Yarn Bombing ticks all the boxes.

The ultimate goal of advertising is to get others to remember products, services or brands in a different way than they are accustomed to (because that cuts through the advertising noise). Yarn Bombing such as that shown outside the museum of Comic Art in Frankfurt, Germany on a previously unambiguous sculpture of a moose*, certainly achieves memorability.

In 2013 Toyota commissioned the Yarn Bombing group known as Knit the City to create an outdoor advertising and guerrilla marketing piece. As Toyota are the sixth largest company in the world (by revenue as of late 2018), Yarn Bombing is no longer the province of ‘risk-taking young brands’ but should be considered by all marketing managers.

Knit the City is a group of “graffiti knitting and crochet” street artists founded in London, UK in 2009 and consist of four members known as Deadly Knitshade, The Fastener, Shorn-a the Dead and Lady Loop (which we think is fantastically funny and suits the light-heartedness of this medium).

Miller Lite are another international brand known to have used Yarn Bombing in their marketing campaigns.

Above the Jan Karski bench in New York, USA is a yarn bombing piece that achieved notoriety (though we presume Jan Karski or anyone else wasn’t sitting there at the time of the yarn bombing..).

Yarn Bombing has spread worldwide showing wide-spread appeal which means it becomes a useful platform for a clever brand and one can imagine the above installation** in Alicante, Spain depicting Pepsi for instance (Pepsi being said to be seen as more young and edgy than Coca-Cola).

When you consider that some yarn bombing installations don’t last more than a few hours (once can imagine the owner of the car in Alicante removed it before he/she went to work in the morning), its obvious careful planning is required.

YouCom Media plan and execute advertising strategies based on meticulous planning and focus group testing ensuring your brand is croch(yay) rather than (k)not.

Follow the YouCom Media news posts to see the next developments.

Data source:

* By Superbass – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

** By Joanbanjo – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

Required reference:

YouCom Media News, Aug 2019, London, ‘Yarn Bombing.’

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YouTube Space

Philip Wimbledon — Thu, 23 Mar 2017 19:35:21 +0000

One of these two vloggers would rather be somewhere else… Well now they can with the recent launch of YouTube’s “Space” for promising vlogger stars. YouTube took two years to build a 20,000 sq. ft. facility inside Google’s Headquarters at Pancras Square. For the next generation of Zoella’s, YouTube Space will give them access to top equipment and resource.

The equipment cost for the more established vlogger can easily run into the tens of thousands. At the London YouTube Space, there will be4K live streaming equipment with stages, studies and a 150 seat 4K cinema room. 360-degree cameras and virtual reality cameras are also available. Staff will be on hand to help give advice and top tips for how new vloggers can monetise their video channel.

However, you can only gain access to the new ‘Space’ if you already have more than 10,000 subscribers. Vloggers with more than 1,000 subscribers can still go to production workshops and receive an online course to help them increase their subscriber base.

YouTube’s London ‘Spaces’ is only one of many around the world. Their flagship ‘Spaces’ is in their Los Angeles office which boasts a 36 screen video display. They have the London one just opened in Pancras Square; then there’s Tokyo situated in their Roppongi Hills office; New York, located in the Chelsea neighbourhood of Manhattan; São Paulo in Brazil; Berlin, Germany in partnership with the MET film school; Mubai, India, Paris, France; and Toronto, Canada. With brands increasingly paying more attention to vlogger channels, the YouTube Spaces are big industry news.

Follow the YouCom Media news posts to see the next developments.

Required reference:

YouCom Media News, March 2017, London, ‘YouTube’s Spaces for vlogger stars’

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Paid To Walk. Bitwalking

Philip Wimbledon — Mon, 25 Jan 2016 11:32:45 +0000

Imagine being paid to walk. Every time you walk to the shops, walk to work, walk to school, walk anywhere, someone pays you money. Well that’s what Nissan Bahar and Franky Imbesi have created and it’s taking the world by storm.

Their mobile app counts and verifies each step you take, earning the walker 1 BW$ for approximately 10,000 steps (about five miles). Immediately you can see it won’t earn you vast sums quickly, but hey you’re paid just for walking to work which you’re going to do every day anyway..

The mobile app reports the speed and type of movement as measured by the ‘accelerometer’. However, the total amount a person can earn in one day will be capped at approximately 3 BW dollars (nearly 30,000 steps). That’s potentially 90 BW dollars a month (£65 approx.). The Bitwalking team have also developed algorithms to prevent users operating multiple accounts.

In 2015 and early 2016, there has been a trend for fitness trackers with Sony, Garmin, Fitbit to name a few all producing wrist bands that monitor how far you’ve walked. The Bitwalking app just goes that one ‘step’ further by offering an extra incentive to keep fit. In 2016 a Japanese electronics manufacturer is already working on a Bitwalking wrist band that will let users earn without needing to have their mobile with them.

There are many potential advertisers and partners for such an idea. Shoe manufacturers will be quick to come on board, health insurers (think of the advertising campaigns by Prudential life insurance), environmental firms and anyone courting publicity (Virgin are already linked to Bitwalking). Imagine the data insight potential advertisers could have access to, which alone would generate the real-dollars needed to get the scheme off the ground.

Concerns over privacy of individual users walk patterns were answered by the co-founder Nissan Bahar who stated “That won’t be for sale. We may explore offering advertisers the opportunity to focus on different groups depending on how active they are, but we won’t pass on any information relating to individual’s movements.”

Employers could be invited to participate where their employees are encouraged to be healthier and the Bitwalking currency that they earn could be converted then paid in their salaries.

It’s estimated that western world users would earn on average 15 BW dollars a month. It is unlikely users could swap BitWalk dollars for real money but they would be used to buy goods much like the barter system in place before money was invented. Businesses that offer free coffees when you buy nine drinks (think Café Nero) could very easily get on board.

Franky Imbesi says “For some Bitwalking will be a free cup of coffee a week perhaps offered by local businesses to encourage people to explore their local shops. For others it could be a game changer, transforming their lives by enabling them to earn and trade in the same way with the rest of the world.”

That is a major point of appeal in the developing world. Poorer individuals where people have to walk far to go to work or to school or just to collect their daily water, could all see real tangible benefits. In this way the western world that has long taken part in philanthropic charity events to help those in need, could help the poorest in the world. Some charity donations never reach their intended recipients due to charity overheads, corrupt local government officials or local gangs who steal food and other goods funded from Western charities. But if Western companies working with Bitwalking could provide goods that users can exchange for their Bitwalking dollars, those poor individuals would directly receive the benefits.

The online store will sell goods for the same price in BW$ as US$. Now the 15 BW dollars per month doesn’t seem so low. $15 is approximately £10.00. There could be many goods bought for say three months’ worth (£30.00) and all from just walking.

Keeping the virtual shelves of this online store fully stocked will be one of the first challenges for the new idea, but so far, so good.

Of course with such a new platform it isn’t available to download in the app store. It is invite only but YouCom Media hopes you succeed and you can try your luck via the link below;

[APPLY].

Follow the YouCom Media news posts to see the next developments.

Required reference:

YouCom Media News, Jan 2016, London, ‘You Can Be Paid To Walk.’

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Great Video Marketing

Philip Wimbledon — Wed, 12 Aug 2015 08:55:47 +0000

73 percent of people are likely to purchase a product or service if they’ve watched a video explaining it beforehand.

Videos are increasing in popularity every day and with more smartphone usage than ever before, they look set to see exponential growth. Yet many advertisers do not have a video on their business directory listings for example (contact our Direct Response team for advice from their content marketing ideas).

Secrets of great video marketing

Begin.

This is the hardest part for a brand, but if you begin creating video content, you’re already moving forward. Videos are a proven effective way for customers to remember your product and engage with your brand.

Graphic Savings

Animation videos look professional yet are a fraction of the cost of a top brand’s video budget.

Insertion.

YouTube and Vimeo are widely used. Others also exist which just like YouTube offer people the ability to search as they might on Google. Twitter is a great outlet for your video. Short clips work best using apps like Vine. More Info.

Popularity by association

If you can get a known celebrity to endorse your product or brand within your video, you gain instant access to their followers and fans. By that rationale it doesn’t have to be an A-list celebrity either (good luck with those), it could be a D-list celebrity. TOWIE stars are widely known within a particular demographic and will want the publicity that your product and advertising might bring.

Keep them short

People no longer have time for anything. Customers need to understand your marketing message within 2 minutes maximum. 30 seconds is ideal. Video is more an awareness and interest medium to direct traffic to your website or to call your company.

Social Media

Publishing the video on YouTube and Vimeo as previously mentioned is the first step, next you need to tell people about it. Social media with a Tweet link or on Facebook, is the ideal opportunity to do so and there are numerous advertising opportunities to promote your tweet or page to non-followers.

Cultural divide

Videos (particularly an animated video) won’t need a language option, anyone can view it. If necessary you could add local language captions later.

A.I.D.A

A boring video is just that, boring. How many customers are you likely to bring in if you only explain your product in the video? Create awareness, but most importantly create interest and desire to engage.

Life cycle

A video can last. Don’t be afraid to reuse it.

Copy cat

Don’t be afraid to copy something that’s working for another brand. Particularly if not in your sector. If The Priceless campaign emphasises MasterCard payment as the best way to pay for “everything that matters.” It is one of the most recognisable campaigns and has enabled MasterCard to build and maintain strong brand value and trust among consumers. Priceless ads run in 110 countries and in 51 languages, and focus on using a MasterCard card for what matters most in life. Has your sector got something similar?

Diversify

The MasterCard Priceless platform houses everything from their renowned Priceless adverts to consumer-based card promotions and competitions. Once you have a successful video, use social media to assess traction and then utilise it within other media and merchandising, signage etc.

Follow the YouCom Media news posts to see the next developments.

Glossary:

A.I.D.A – Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action

TOWIE – The Only Way Is Essex

Required reference:

YouCom Media News, Aug 2015, London, ‘secrets of great video marketing’

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Data Dead-Drops

Philip Wimbledon — Wed, 03 Jun 2015 10:37:57 +0000

You’ve just found data you shouldn’t have access to. Men in grey suits are coming to kill you. What do you do? YouCom identified a new viral craze with the answer. Data dead-drops.

Imagine the scene. Highly sensitive files, the sort of data that Hollywood tells us attracts men in grey suits ready to kill. Where do you offload it? A new viral craze has the answer. A media artist, Aram Bartholl, created ‘data dead-drops’. USB sticks embedded in walls all around the city, all around the world. Peer-to-peer file sharing in the physical world in true Banksy style.

YouCom has found the idea is spreading, growing to 1,500 dead-drop locations worldwide. It allows for anonymous, offline, file-sharing as a new kind of social network. If you have some homework or coursework for a friend, leave it in the wall by the side of Starbucks. Possibilities are endless and a new form of media sharing is born.

USB flash drives are embedded into walls, buildings and even curbs! Accessible to anybody in public space. Aram Bartholl invites everyone to take part and drop or find files on a dead drop. Each dead drop is installed empty except a readme.txt file explaining the project. If you want to install a dead drop in your city or neighbourhood follow the ‘how to’ instructions and submit the location and pictures.

To find out more, watch this upbeat video https://vimeo.com/16620712 or follow these instructions https://deaddrops.com/dead-drops/participate/

And don’t forget to Tweet YouCom Media about what you uploaded and where.

To reference data from this article, please use: ‘YouCom Media News, Mar 2015, London, ‘Peer-to-peer file sharing goes viral.’

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