Time Warner Goes Hollywood With Viral Ad Marketing Strategy

Bernie — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 09:46:27 -0400

Time Warner Cable (TWC) is looking to take a page from Britney Spears and Paris Hilton with a new viral video marketing strategy called Fame Star. The new marketing strategy allows customers to create fictional biopic videos of themselves, chronicling their rise to fame, and subsequent fall. It’s a play on the Hollywood pop culture scene, represented by popular tabloid “journalism” outlets like Access Hollywood and People Magazine. Users can create their own videos and share them with friends and family. TWC is hoping for a huge “viral” hit that could potentially reach millions of consumers. TWC products and brands are referenced throughout each video. There are also direct marketing tools on the Fame Star site, including TWC comparisons to Verizon FiOS and AT&T U-verse.

It’s an interesting strategy – one that is representative of the times. Service providers are constantly evaluating and executing strategies that try to leverage web 2.0 and the “long tail” phenomena, with mixed success. It’s no secret that reaching consumers through traditional marketing and media buys is increasingly difficult. When viral campaigns catch fire, they can reach millions at a fraction of the cost of traditional media outreach. The truly successful ones are few and far between. Give TWC credit for trying. As the famous hockey player Wayne Gretzky said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

Embarq LaunchesYouTube Channel

Bernie — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 10:35:04 -0400

Embarq announced the launch of an Embarq YouTube channel, which will feature instructional videos for Embarq services. Embarq says the strategy will “bring customer service to the customer.” As of this posting, the Embarq channel had 17 instructional videos for things like Embarq email, the eGo phone, and several promotional videos about RescueIT, their residential tech support service. "The YouTube Channel is another way for us to show our customers that we are here for them," said Dan Alcazar, Embarq Consumer Marketing Officer. "From this site, we can use videos to provide them with step-by-step instructions while actively listening and responding to their questions and concerns." Embarq is promoting the new channel through a user generated content contest, inviting customers to upload a “48 second” video demonstrating their unique talent. Kind of reminds me of David Letterman’s “stupid human tricks.”

With this new YouTube channel, Embarq joins most major service providers, including AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint, to name a few, who have YouTube channels. They’re all trying to figure out how to tap YouTube’s mass appeal for their own gain. Embarq’s twist on it is interesting. I didn’t do an exhaustive search, but I didn’t see other service provider examples of a customer service angle. Most are using it strictly for promotional purposes. Of course Embarq is too, but using the customer service hook seems to be unique, for now.

Long Tail

Time Warner Goes Hollywood With Viral Ad Marketing Strategy

Embarq LaunchesYouTube Channel