Case Study: Ted Williams

I should have known it would be a matter of time before someone used the “golden voice homeless guy” Ted Williams as an example of either the impact of social marketing or using the internet to land a new job.  I only wish I wrote the article before Douglas Idubgoe.  His blog lists “5 Social Media Lessons Your Business Can Learn From Ted Williams.”

You’ll have to click over to his article for an explanation; these are just highlights:

The Scotty Network

The Social Network, a film about Mark Zuckerberg and the launch of Facebook, opened nationally today amidst much chatter – because of the questionable ethics surrounding Zuckerberg, and because it’s a pretty good movie.  Scott Wise, owner/founder of Indiana based Scotty’s Brewhouse with 6 locations, also recognized it as a promotional opportunity for his chain of restaurants.  Scott, along with Bruce McClain and the rest of his team, are not afraid of taking chances promotionally.  This is the same crew who encouraged patrons to submit videos of themselves high-diving and kicking field goals to win gift certificates or play “Scotty’s Survivor.”  VIP patrons can earn rewards, using a loyalty program administered through Aloha POS software.  And, it’s the same Scott Wise who has embraced social media marketing perhaps more successfully than any other retail establishment in the state.  Scotty’s has three of the top ten Indiana check-in venues on Foursquare.  He personally has more than 5,000 followers to his @brewhouse Twitter account and has become a popular speaker on the subject.

So, it’s only natural that Scott would embrace the release of The Social Network for his company’s gain.  Presenting … Scotty’s Network, a two-minute video spoof of the film’s trailer starring Scott, members of his team, his restaurants and social presence, and local celebrities like Dave Smiley and Paul Poteet. 

[Click-through to watch the video at the end of this post and read more about The Scotty Network viral promotion]

Guster Turns Video Production Over To Fans

Pop/Rock band Guster are helping promote the October 5 release of their new CD Easy Wonderful with a fan-produced video contest.  The band is producing a video for all 12 songs on this release and posting to the video page of their website … well, except for the video for Track #6, “Bad Bad World,” which they’re leaving up to their fans. 

This is a great way to get their fanbase interested and involved with their new music; however, by instructing would-be-music-producers to just email their video for the band to privately judge, Guster has missed out on a fantastic marketing opportunity with potential exposure to a new audience previously unfamiliar with the band..  User Generated Content such as this can be a very powerful marketing tool, and great additional content to drive web traffic.  In the case of Guster, simply by allowing fans to determine the contest winner instead of behind closed doors …

Want to actually be moved by a commercial?

Here’s a great example of creative, inspiring, even emotional advertising for a product never mentioned by name.  It proves great writing and production, even in commercials, can still be good content.  It’s worth the time spent to craft both your message and medium in today’s marketing world.  I bet this becomes a viral smash with … well, I won’t tell you who … just watch the video.

Viral Video goes Local

LIN TV, owners of television stations around the country including WISH/WNDY/WIIH Indianapolis, have just announced the debut of a user-generated video upload site called IndyTube.tv …

Official Press Release

It’s exactly what you might expect it to be — a YouTube for Hoosiers. It’s easy to use and promises “15 minutes of fame and hours of fun.”

In conjunction with the website, LIN TV announced plans for a weekly 30-minute television program highlighting the best user-generated videos. The show is hosted by WZPL’s Dave Smiley starting Saturday, March 15, on MyNDY-23.

Everybody wants to feel like they’re party of a community. Everybody wants to be famous, no matter how brief. But, the likelihood of fame off YouTube is unrealistic. And, that will be this site’s key to success. It won’t be as big; but, it doesn’t have to be!

Check it out.

Brawndo!

Thirrsty?  Need some energy?  You need some Brawndo – The Thirst Mutilator!  Thanks to Hammer for letting me know about this product:

 

Okay, now that you’ve watched the commercial, you should know that Brawndo is a REAL product!   And, they’ve given us a fantastic example of the way successful viral video marketing works.