A frequent topic on this blog, and with my clients, revolves around the conundrum of giving ideas, content, video, tools, etc. away for free online all in the name of branding, publicity and increased sales. And here it is coming up again – this time in the form of a story about JC Penney, viral marketing and how they just don’t get it.
A colleague of mine, Ron Miller, has written an amusing and very smart article about the situation for Daniweb.com. Apparently, JC Penney recently aired an ad that was a bit cheeky and insinuated that teenage sex was good, fun, okay and something, perhaps, to aim for when dressing in your JC Penney garb…and now the company is totally freaked out and trying to cover their tucasses (sp? what is the plural of tucas?) They’re busy trying to say that they never authorized the ad and certainly don’t condone teen sex. According to Miller:
What JC Penney failed to understand is that this ad did them far more good than harm. The people they want to reach saw it and were talking about JC Penney. When was the last time this 20th century company had any buzz on the internet. How about never? As for the people who think the video condones teen sex, chances are those people aren’t watching YouTube.
And this concept of intensive brand protecting vs. viral marketing can be found on Facebook as well. One of Ron’s friends recently made a FB gift of a Nerf toy…and joked that she could possibly get in trouble for using the name without legal permission, that Hasbro might insist that she and others stop using their name and product. Ron wrote:
…they would be stupid if they do. Can’t beat the free publicity of Facebook. I realize you can’t let just anyone mess with your carefully crafted brand, but companies have to realize that there is a bright line between protecting your brand beyond reason and letting a fan champion your brand for free. Fact is, my friend is making a tribute to Nerf toys.
Last night I watched the Oprah about YouTube – featuring a handfull of people who are now bazillionaires, or somehow infamous, because of their YouTube videos. Does it matter that Esmee’s YouTube videos have been downloaded millions of times for free? No, because Justin Timberlake found her and signed her to his record label (and she got to sing with him and touch him). Does it matter that 2 million people watched a ridiculous couple do a rather lame version of the final dance from Dirty Dancing via YouTube? No, because they got to do it again on Oprah, and Patrick Swayze showed up and (and they got to dance with him and touch him).
Bottom line: free can be good, viral is queen…do not underestimate the power of putting yourself out there and seeing what happens.
Read Ron Miller’s entire article here.
Viral marketing is exactly what we’ve done by releasing five free training videos for freelance copywriters. So far it’s worked brilliantly.
Never be afraid of “giving away too much.” :-)
Ryan – thanks for this stunning example of how it works so, so well!
Julie
The article says giving it away for free works, but I’m still unsure if that’s actually sustainable for most businesses.
Giving stuff away is only a real strategy if the product actually has a hook, otherwise you’re just burning cash to acquire users who won’t stick around. It’s wild how many startups think “free” is a business model rather than a marketing expense.
JC Penney freaking out over an ad that actually got people talking about them is peak 20th century thinking. Viral marketing means letting go a little — see free period tracker for why that free buzz is worth way more than the safe, boring ad they probably wish they’d run.
JC Penney’s panic over that ad is funny because it proves they don’t understand that free buzz is actually free money for them. The real problem is that they’re spending millions to protect a brand nobody cares about instead of just letting fans own the story like that Nerf girl did, and honestly most of the outrage is just people trying to find anagram solver tool to support viral marketing instead of just watching the content.
It’s wild how companies panic over “viral” stuff instead of riding the wave, like the JC Penney ad that probably did more for them than any traditional ad ever could. Honestly, giving people free access to your brand is the smartest move if it sparks that kind of conversation, so don’t be afraid to let fans champion you like the Nerf example. Delta Executor Download