Sometimes, non-tech companies find themselves the source of geek obsession. In San Francisco, one of these companies is Samovar Tea Lounge.
The question is: how to embrace it?
In the case of Samovar, they put a personal appeal to the tech community in their actual menu, called “Tea and Technology.” It’s a simple gesture but one that communicates Samovar’s technology philosophy and also how fans can extend their Samovar experience outside of the cafe through digital mediums, such as their e-newsletter, Twitter and videos on their site.
It’s amazingly smart and a good example of a company that is really tuning into who its customers are beside the obvious (in this case, tea enthusiasts).
Check out the video, which also includes an ode to summer at the end that I made for all of my wonderful viewers.
(Update: I disabled my iAd so it wouldn’t interfere with reading/viewing of all posts that came after it. So, if you’re late to the game to reading/watching this post, I’m sorry.)
AdTech 2009 was honestly a disappointment. I work in marketing, and maybe I’m ultra-sensitive to cliche marketing speak and ploys, but you can only take so much messaging about connecting, engaging and delivering and “booth babes” until you start to tune things out.
Still, I did find one company that caught my eye, Innovate Media, which creates a type advertising most of us have come across, but know little about.
Innovate creates virtual spokespeople who literally walk onto a Web site’s homepage to greet you or tell you about the latest promotion. (As you can see, I got the chance to test it out for myself!) I’ve seen virtual spokespeople more and more over the last few years and Innovate is one of many companies doing this. In my perusing of its competitors’ sites, however, I found Innovate to have some of the best production quality.
My thoughts on using virtual spokespeople in marketing are mixed:
While virtual spokespeople put a moving, talking human behind a Web site, they also can interrupt the browsing experience, especially for frequent site visitors. Although an advertiser can technically choose for a virtual spokesperson to play only on demand, they usually do not.
(Update from Innovate Media: Apparently, advertisers do have the option to set a cookie to prevent non-user initiated video replays on repeat visits.)
In certain marketing campaigns I think virtual spokespeople can be a great fit. Innovate did a promotion with Mad Men, for example. Don Draper or another man in a finely tailored suit talking directly to me? Heck yes. My dentist popping on the screen and telling me about healthy flossing habits? Not so much.
So those are my thoughts and I’m eager to hear yours. Here’s my actual conversation at the show with John Cecil, Innovate Media’s president:
One of Ford’s most successful cars, the Ford Fiesta, is finally coming to the U.S. in 2010
With car sales slumping, Ford realizes it must find a way to build significant buzz
Ford launched a campaign, dubbed the Ford Fiesta Movement, that encouraged people to post videos on YouTube about why they should win a Ford Fiesta for 6 months. Ford gave bonus points to “digital influencers” (essentially, hip 20- and 30-somethings with Twitter, YouTube, MySpace, Flickr and personal blog followings)
Bliss was one of the winners (applause!), which Ford calls “Agents.” Now her and the other Agents, including a handful from the Bay Area, will embark on 6 months of having a sweet car, as well as being required to participate in Ford-organized monthly “missions” they must document and push through their own online networks.
The Footprint of the Ford Fiesta Movement in the Bay Area
With several Agents at our doorsteps, apparently “digital influencers” are a dime a dozen in the Bay (who knew?!). Our local Agents:
Thomas Knoll and Whit Scott, who both work for Loic Le Meur’s video startup Seesmic. (“Digital influencer” box: Cha-ching.) Here’s their winning video:
Other local Agents include Oakland-based independent filmmaker Beto Lopez, and Noah Kagan, a previous Product Manager at Facebook and Director of Marketing at Mint.com.
From an Agent’s Spout: An interview with Bliss
Bliss was kind enough to answer a few of my questions about the campaign. I was particularly interested in her thoughts on – more or less – being a living marketing tool for Ford for the next 6 months. IZEA, Magpie and now this Ford campaign are really pushing us to ask questions about the ethics of online marketing campaigns based on payment, sponsorship and – now – loans.
I should preface this with the fact that Bliss is hilarious. Ford’s not censoring her, so I’m not gonna either!
Q: What initially compelled you to enter?
I am really good at winning things and I felt compelled to press my luck. Once I committed to the (relatively painless) application process I realized that I would also love finally having a car in Boston so that I can do things like drive to Target and Costco for tampons and memory foam mattresses, respectively.
Q: What are your feelings on being gifted a car in exchange for creating 6 months of content for Ford? Some people say the Agents are, essentially, being bought off.
I don’t think I’m being gifted a car…I think I’m making a trade with Ford. I get a car for 6 months, and in exchange they get featured in my creative content for that same timespan. I love writing. I love taking photographs. I love making creative media. I love driving. I love going on adventures. For me it’s a win-win-win-win-win situation, and those don’t come along very often.
Q: What has been communicated with you by the campaign’s organizers about the content you can create? Are there any limitations?
My main responsibility is to create 2-5 minute monthly videos about the “missions” I choose to go on. Beyond that, I think there is a general expectation that I drive a lot and promote the car on Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, etc. The only limitations that have been expressed to me are to “be honest” and “be myself.”
Q: One thing Ford has heavily messaged to the press is that a key purpose of the campaign – beyond building buzz – is to get feedback from the Agents on the car for future development. What mechanisms has Ford put in place to get feedback from you?
I might have a better answer for you after my two-day agent training on April 19th and 20th. I know all of the agents give monthly feedback on the vehicles, but I don’t know exactly what that feedback mechanism looks like yet.
Q: You are now representing a major brand. What about your personal activities online? Have there been any instructions about censoring yourself in any way?
I think Ford truly gets it. They spent years investing in trucks and SUVs at the expense of their small cars. Then all of a sudden, gas prices rose exponentially, environmentalism became cool, and everyone and their mother wanted to own a Prius. Sometimes a brand has to be struggling for survival in order to take the risk of reinventing itself. Ford is definitely taking a risk with this campaign, but my guess is that it has already generated way more consumer touch points that a 20-second prime-time ad, and the Movement hasn’t even technically begun.
Q: So, let’s be real, if you don’t like something about the Fiesta, are you really going to voice that online?
I blogged about accidentally peeing all over the bathroom floor at my office, so I will certainly blog about a lackluster turning radius or seats that make my bum sore. Ford thoroughly vetted all of its agents (take note, McCain), and selected people who are open, honest, and in many cases, downright inappropriate. One of the application videos was actually entitled, “Caution: Asian Driver.” The agents, as a whole, seem to LOVE sharing every aspect of their lives with the interwebz, thus I’m guessing that there will be no lack of honest real-time vehicle feedback all over their Twitter streams. I just hope that if they Tweet while driving, they aren’t driving anywhere near me.
A 6-Month Lab Test: Can a major corp can really let go of control?
Interesting stuff from Bliss. Do you think Ford is going to pull it off? It seems Ford is taking a big chance by not censoring the Agents and giving them barely any direction on the content they are required to create around the Fiesta. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing how this campaign progresses and if Ford will retain its initial intention of letting the Agents do and say anything they want…and with their logo stamped all over it.
If want some additional background on the campaign, I highly recommend you read Allen Stern’s really intriguing post about this on his blog, which includes a video interview with Scott Monty, who’s heading the campaign for Ford.
I'm Amy. I work in tech PR, love business, tea and the Web. This is my little corner of that Web where I post my musings, experiences and videos about working in tech in San Francisco.
Sometimes, non-tech companies find themselves the source of geek obsession. In San Francisco, one of these companies is Samovar Tea Lounge.
