What do Red Bull, Volkswagen, S1Jobs.com and Digdeep Streetwear have in common? For a few people reading this, the answer is clear: Danny MacAskill.
In case you haven’t seen him, he’s the incredibly talented Scottish bike rider who performs amazing stunts with such ease and confidence that he seems to defy the laws of physics.
The question is why would these diverse brands associate themselves with this rider? The quick answer is that no matter who you are, you can’t help but watch in amazement as Danny calmly and deftly rides in urban and rural environments while hopping, jumping and flipping with ultimate grace and fluidity. No doubt each of these brands have target audiences that have similar profiles and age demographics. Like many gifted athletes/entertainers, he draws an audience and keeps them captivated for more than enough time to make an association with these brands. And the fact that these viral videos are on Vimeo and YouTube makes them even more cost effective as well as engaging.
The Red Bull connection makes sense since the energy drink is well known for sponsoring extreme sports. Red Bull is without a doubt one of the best examples of a brand that has, for the most part, shunned traditional media in favor of sponsorships and clever distribution to create a following that continues to dominate the 16 – 29 coveted (primarily) male audience. The short film “Way Back Home” is a tribute to the art of filmmaking and subtle marketing that squarely focuses on Danny’s amazing riding abilities while showcasing the beautiful Scottish scenery in the background – and only once showing the actual drink. (The film shows Danny briefly drinking a Red Bull, although you can’t see the label, and it also shows his helmet.)
The one minute Volkswagen ad is a little more overt with the cars strategically placed throughout Danny’s ride through the streets of Lisbon and ends with him putting his bike in the back and getting in the car. Interestingly, the comments on YouTube include “I’m more interested in the bike than the car” and “great biking. ugly car.” Which may not make VW too happy but still provides great exposure to be associated with such awesome talent.
The S1Jobs.com extended spot prominently features Danny’s riding all the way to the end where it simply states with “love your job”. The implication being that people should find a job they’re passionate about just as much as Danny is about his riding. A YouTube commenter sarcastically stated: “Okay, dammit clever marketers, WTF is S1? I simply must know what product or service they provide now haha.”
And finally, the DigDeep Streetwear spot has Danny wearing different apparel and branded T-shirts in a number of shots. He’s also wearing the Red Bull helmet which certainly isn’t by accident. The YouTube comments for this spot include “Absolutely fantastic, this guy is my hero! Love the gear he is wearing!” The awareness of DigDeep is solidified with each new viewer.
Like any emerging sports personality, Danny MacAskill draws viewers and captivates them with his magical abilities much like a Cirque du Soleil performer or LeBron James as he entered the NBA a few years ago. His magnetism rests with the way he makes seemingly impossible stunts look easy and care-free. The online videos allow for both good and bad comments which (overall) provide positive awareness and brand association as well as an opportunity for a conversation with the target audience. In a nutshell, it’s smart buzz-marketing delivering worthy content.
Why is it when we’re in the midst of a “crisis” we tend to think this event is somehow unique in human history? At first there is a tendency to panic and then, after way too much hand wringing, the vast majority of people eventually pick themselves up and move on. It’s only months (or years) later with the benefit of hindsight that historians are able to clearly see who the innovators were based on their courage and ultimate success while the rest flailed about in fear of change.
This scenario could easily be about politics, war or business since a “crisis” is often the result of a human endeavor that involves similar emotions, reactions and ultimately – solutions. In this case the subject matter isn’t about the auto or banking industry or even the manufacturing sector that’s under siege, instead it’s about the advertising industry. At this very moment, while many insiders are worrying about their agencies, a few brave souls are charting new paths to success while also employing basic principles that still work.
Shift in Advertising Industry
A recent Fast Company article about the future of advertising did a clever job of evaluating and assessing the current state of the business. Clearly, the old business model is on the way out and that sentiment can be summed up well with these two gems: “In the ad business, the relatively good life of 2007 is as remote as the whiskey highs of 1962.” And as Brian Collins, a former Ogilvy exec, stated, “People who [still] think that way are supremely well equipped to work in a world that no longer exists.”
Okay, so we’re all aware that the advertising industry and consumer behavior is facing a huge tidal wave of change with all kinds of new technology and two-way customer conversations – all of which were practically non-existent a few years ago. However, there seems to be too much shouting and noise about what’s wrong in advertising and for that matter, with life in general. Change happens to all industries and therefore it should be no surprise that the ad agency business is having its turn.
With all the innovation in play and complexity around us in today’s world, it may appear almost counter intuitive to suggest that the fundamentals continue to be the engine of progress while we (the willing and able) adapt and adjust to new media, a new consumer/audience landscape, new competition and the access to fewer marketing dollars to invest. Yet, this is the proven principle, age old or not.
While the advertising business model is facing much chaos and change – with that burden comes both panic and opportunity. Therefore one can whine on and on about everything that is wrong or just go about the business of finding solutions. Getting back to basics is evident all around us – it’s a matter of how we deliver the message and converse and engage with our customers that has altered the playing field so quickly. Just think if someone were to ask you what an App was in early 2007? A what?
The FC article details the dismantling and obliteration of the traditional ad agency model but also shares pertinent examples of how some enterprising industry vets are finding new ways to accommodate the vast and unpredictable changes currently happening.
Do popular brands help define who we are? Do they help provide the visual and iconic clues that define an era or specific moments in time? And do brands need to stick to one image or campaign in order to be successful as representations of moments in time?
Brands that stand the test of time are the ones that are fully ingrained in consumers’ minds. Al Ries of Advertising Age recently wrote an excellent article that argues, “Once a brand is established with a clearly defined marketing position, the brand’s owner should ask a fundamental question before making any significant changes. Why tinker with success?”
Mr. Ries also states, “the way to build a brand is with a consistent message over an extended period of time.” The end result of creating a consistent message is what’s known as building brand equity. Brand equity is created over time through marketing, PR, advertising and more recently social media, and is constantly reinforced by gentle or sometimes over-the-top reminders (ads) that together serve as a ubiquitous force that’s woven into our collective conscience. In other words, we become so familiar with the brand that we recognize it as being a normal part of popular culture and our everyday lives.
A brand’s true usefulness is in how it helps us to participate in culture… brands represent aspects of today’s America: modernity, hope, intelligence, optimism, blindness and decay. These brands are culturally useful to us when we use them or even just have an opinion about them. Because our association with them says a lot about who we are. Significant brands are never just relevant to a category, they contribute to culture at large.
Marking Time with Familiar Brands
Familiar brands from Apple and IBM to Kellogg’s and Colgate-Palmolive often form the backdrop to our daily existence and over time become the icons that help define the present and our past. As we mentioned in an earlier post on technology, “look at any old photograph and it’s the clothes and “products” around the subjects that truly dates the photo.”
Making Films Look Contemporary
And what about movies that take place in present day? Present day is only deemed “present” for a limited time, then the film becomes a representation and a reminder of the past. If you think way back to Stephen Spielberg’s 1977 classic, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind or 1982’s ET the Extra-Terrestrial, these two films were contemporary for the day and each contained scenes where many familiar brands were in view. Yes, what some may call shameless product-placement, was in fact Spielberg carefully setting a baseline for normality. In Close Encounters we see Barry Guiler’s (the little boy) refrigerator filled with familiar brands including pull-tab Coca-Cola cans spilling their contents and later we see a McDonald’s and Shell gas station that all seem to validate the “typical” landscape of Midwest America in 1977. At one point in ET the audience sees the title character looking inside a fridge that also contains several well-known brands such as Coors beer– all of which reinforces the notion that it’s just a normal American household. Of course using Reese’s Pieces is one of the most famous uses of product placement and will forever be associated with ET and the early 80′s.
The point is, Spielberg wasn’t looking to incorporate these well known brands into the script only for the product placement fees, rather, they played an integral role in creating a sense of the familiar and even framing a banal comfort zone for the viewer so that when each of the film’s extraordinary events later took place – they appeared that much more intense. Spielberg employed the use of everyday products and their core brand equity to help deliver realistic scenes that the audience would immediately (maybe even unconsciously) recognize and therefore accept as being ordinary.
