August 13, 2006Yo, yo...where my wasps at? |
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Via Silva, this is a long-form content piece for Smirnoff Raw Tea. What impresses me is the extent of product mentions (which I feel many advertisers seem to either forget...or play down due to some kind of apologetic subservience) and more importantly, 525,000 views and counting.
Over half a million views is not a viral O' the day blip...this is serious viewage my friends. It certainly rivals many cable networks AND if you chose to weight this based on a) permission based, b) credibility from friend recommendations and c) it's length (2m15), we're talking that voodoo cliche, "engagement"
The only nagging question is the ROI one. Now I'm not talking about a stupid binary "99 bottles of raw tea on the wall" sales metric...and certainly not one that would ever be bound to one particular component of an assumed larger integrated plan, but I do feel that we need to start challenging ourselves to demonstrate and validate the business impact of "viral"/communal/CGC et al.
Now if we did that, well then that would change everything, wouldn't it?
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Comments
Hey Joseph,
this is a great little viral, but smirnoff totally dropped the ball in it's response. Go to teapartay.com and it takes you to a generic smirnoff site, with a "teapartay coming soon" banner. What an amazing waste.
As I said I think that companies have to be ready to respond when a viral takes off, they need to be ready to participate in the ensuing conversation, inevitable mashups, and the cultural reaction. A viral is just the opening volley, it gets people attention for a moment, it's what you do with that attention and interest after the fact which is where the magic is at. Can you amplify, reflect, mashup, to continue the conversation.
It sits very well with the the "experiment, measure and respond" i posted about previously.
Posted by: Karl Long
Brilliant points Karl. It's almost a double-whammy if you think about it...companies unprepared for virals on all fronts (Good/Bad/Ugly)
No response mechanism in place
No crisis management in place
No pop culture activation in place
Almost as if they DIDN'T think this would be a success which underscores lack of confidence/conviction/integration/etc.
jJ
Posted by: jJ
"Almost as if they DIDN'T think this would be a success which underscores lack of confidence/conviction/integration/etc."
Definitely looks like an integration issue, two different silo'd groups, accountable to different bosses. Probably means the top person (CMO or VP) was not as engaged, or committed to the project, and the web group moved slower than the people creating the ad. Such a shame, I think it's a good ad, and as you said, open about it's mission of plugging the smirnoff tea product.
Cheers,
Karl
Posted by: Karl Long
Wow, talk about blowing it. From the teapartay.com site you are automatically redirected to smirnoffice.com, with the aforementioned "coming soon" - I have no idea what "raw tea" is and given Smirnoff Ice's rep, I'm not going to want to come back and find out.
This is a perfect example of what I was talking about - interactive creative lagging behind general shops. It's not a bad idea- basically "let's rip off "Lazy Sunday" but for WASPs, you know, tea party" and while it is hilarious in places, it feels more like a rough cut or junior spec piece.
What's interesting here is what the response would have been if this was shot with a bigger production budget and tighter writing/editing. Would it have been as popular? Or is the amateurish nature of the video what gives it its charm?
Or to put it another way- is the ROI of a general agency budget worth it?
Posted by: Alex Cross
"and the web group moved slower than the people creating the ad"
karl, in some "general agencies" like bbh there may or may not even BE a "web group". you are right to say the issue is one of intergration, but it could also be stemming from an "ownership" issue where "traditional creatives" don't want to share the project with interactive counterparts, which might be a separate interactive agency. the CMO or VP shouldn't let this happen, though.
Posted by: cbarlow
Dude I fell in love w/ the song the first time I heard it....
Lets have a tea partay.....
lol
Posted by: ♥~Taylor~♥
