Red Bull's Danny MacAskill's Imaginate

I'm always a fan of Red Bull, not so much the drink, but for their creative way of promoting something. Always challenging norms and doing things creatively. In this video, it shows Danny MacAskill riding to what seems like something out of Toy Story. Very entertaining for a 7+ minute video which already has close to 5 million views on YouTube to date.

The best thing about Red Bull is they do not need to even advertise the product. Everything is done to what Red Bull does best - promoting their extreme sports ambassadors. Love how they also seeded the Red Bull-Infiniti F1 car in the video. This is what a branded content video should be. Think of Project Stratos and you can clearly see what I mean.

 "...Our approach towards communications is that we don't really talk about ourselves too much. Rather, we focus on what we do - the events we create and produce and the athletes we support - versus who we are." - Patrice Radden, Director of Corporate Communications, Red Bull.

Social Media Revolution

Just exactly how big is social media? Well, it's pretty hard to imagine, but social media is now part of our everyday lives. You are immerse in it, exposed by it or using it either conciously or sub-conciously.

Just to illustrate, here is a video written by international best selling author and keynote speaker Erik Qualman (@equalman). It's part of a series of social media videos that are the most watched in the world. You'll be amazed with some of the stats. Enjoy!

About Erik Qualman
Erik Qualman is an American author of Socialnomics, Digital Leader and Crisis. He is also an international keynote speaker speaking on Gen Y motivation, digital leadership, digital media and future trends.Wikipedia

BeerBeary: Jaz Beer Viral Videos - Part 2

A couple of posts back, I posted some viral videos done by Jaz beer to promote beer drinking tips and tricks. Again, they did a very good job to promote the beer brand here where the main target audience is obviously male beer drinkers. It's very cleverly done as they don't over promote the product. All I can say is a hot girl and beer somehow always seem to go well together.

Episode 4: How to Freeze a Beer in 10 Seconds!

Episode 5: How to "Bottoms Up" a Bottle of Beer in 11 Seconds!

Episode 6: How to Brew Your Own Fresh Beer

BeerBeary: Jaz Beer Viral Videos

A colleague recently sent me some links about some local viral videos which I personally think has been really well executed. The videos feature a girl speaking in local Cantonese about beer. In the first episode, she talks about how many beers before one fails a breathalyzer test. I bet not many people know (not even myself!) that all it takes is 2 bottles of beer to exceed the local alcohol limit of 0.05%.

In the second episode, she teaches one how to cheat on a breathalyzer test during a roadblock after a night out. I really can relate to the fact that all the methods shown are commonly used by drinkers to make them think that they can cheat the breathalyzer test on their way back home. Key message at the end of this video is that no matter what method you try, you can't cheat on the breathalyzer test and is always better to call a cab, or ask a friend for a ride home if you have drank more than you should. A clever way to entice you watch the video to begin with.

In the third episode, she give tips on how to open a beer bottle without a bottle opener. I think that this is probably my favourite video because I find it useful and not to mention, you can show off to your friends as well.

In summary, I think these videos are brilliant because of:

1. Local content which people can appreciate and relate. The way the girl presents it makes it seem natural and unscripted to a certain extend.
2. Clever product placement and branding. Very minimal and not "in your face", but yet people notice the brand.
3. Content is surprisingly educational. Who would have thought you can educate the public about the dangers of drunk driving this way.
4. The hot girl...obviously

The "Perfect C" Viral Campaign

I was researching through some online viral campaigns to get some ideas that I stumbled across this brilliant viral video campaign.



If you don’t understand Cantonese, the video above shows a young girl who is pissed off at her ex-boyfriend for dumping her 3 months ago. Before they started dating, he used to pay for everything, and once they got together, they went Dutch, but she was still cool with that. The final straw was when he dumps her because her breasts were too small (AA cups). Later, she went for a boob job and now has C-cup breasts and taunts him that no matter what he cannot get to touch or get anywhere near those C-cups ever again.

Now, I must say, this is a very “hook, line and sinker” style of marketing. It build so much talkability and hype that it generated 700k+ views in just a matter of 10 days. The girls’ main intention here is obviously payback for him stereotyping girls with small breasts…or at least that’s what they want you to think. The second part of the video shows the ex-boyfriend who “responds” to her video.



Noticed I used the word “they”? “They” as in the company.

Now in retaliation, the ex-boyfriend looks a bit annoyed at what she has done (who wouldn't?). However, he does not believe she has C-cup breast and asks her to prove it. He says the only way she can get C-cup breasts in 3 months is if you take this (he then whips out the product that “they” were trying to sell). The Perfect C Breast Enhancer! That’s the product. At the end of the video, he even tells you where to get it by giving the website. Brilliant marketing don’t you think? It really shows that online viral marketing really does work!

By the way, the website is http://www.perfectc.com.hk/

David Armano on Brand U.0

David Armano, Senior Vice President of Edelman, talks about Branding U.0 and branding on a personal level.

Key points:

• "A brand is a person's gut feeling about a product, service or organization." - Marty Neumeier
• Branding is about building trust and interactions.

• Everyday people like yourselves are brands - publishing, creating content - having the ability to share and influence others. Celebrities like Oprah Winfrey who is highly influential, are brands.

• Everyone on the web has influence.

The 5 B's of Buliding Brand U.0

1. Be Ubiquitous: Create multiple streams of "you"
   - If you're really serious about building a personal brand, you got to figure out which one works for you. If you're going to be on Facebook, how are you going to use that? If you're on LinkedIn, how are you going to use that?
2. Be Social: Effectively manage your "social systems"
   - You got to figure out how to effectively use these social network and these tools to create our own social system, that aligns with our personal brand and make the most of it.
3. Be Interesting: Write, photograph, share, give
   - Share what you know. Write and share the things that you see to make it interesting.
4. Be remarkable: Do something worthy of a remark
5. Be yourself: Let your personality shine through
   - Personality has to be true to who you are as an individual.

Sources:
http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/about-me.html
http://www.slideshare.net/darmano/brand-u0-presentation