Embracing your citizen marketers
In their book Citizen Marketers, Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba told the familiar story of an ordinary, non-marketing guy who was so in love with the iPod that he created his own commercial and posted it online. That user-generated spot created a tremendous amount of recognition and press coverage, despite - or maybe because of - being officially disowned by Cupertino.
So check out this story in the New York Times. Apple has taken a commercial created by 18 year-old Mac enthusiast Nick Haley and will remake it with the help of their agency TBWA/Chiat/Day. The spot he created, reportedly in just one day last month, has so far garnered over 2,000 views on YouTube. Some of those viewers were Apple employees, who then tasked T/C/D with getting in touch with Haley about reworking his video for official use. The agency apparently has futzed only limitedly with the actual content, wanting to maintain the originals spirit while making it just a bit more professional looking.
The spot will debut this Sunday during football telecasts, "Desperate Housewives" on ABC and during Game 4 of the World Series.
Everyone wants their spots to become viral sensations on YouTube, all the while people are creating their own videos that are achieving that goal with little to no effort on their part. It's great to see someone like Apple - who could use the good PR right now - embracing their passionate users in a way like this. It actually makes me want to make sure to tune in and check out this spot on TV to see how it's turned out.
