Before I leave for BlogHer on Wednesday, I’ll get back to blogger relations and share my thoughts on the recipe for a perfect pitch. In the meantime, though, I wanted to tell you about two marketing efforts that really impressed me this week.
First, Saab’s sponsorship of USA Network show Burn Notice. The second season premiered Thursday night and featured just about the sweetest product placement I have ever seen in a network television show. A good friend is in charge of product placement and sponsorships for a computer manufacturer, so I notice these more now than I used to, but this one was particularly good.
Products are mentioned by name in entertainment products — TV, radio, movies, Internet — either because the producers and writers feel strongly that the brand is important to the story regardless of promotional consideration or because the company has negotiated a sponsorship and product placement with the entertainment vehicle.When it is a sponsorship situation, the brand name mention can often feel stilted and artificial. This wasn’t.
Burn Notice has done a pretty good job overall integrating its vehicle sponsors into the storyline, but the mention of Saab was as sweet as a marketer could wish for. A full sentence describing the Saab convertible that was totally in context and character. Truly, you cannot do better than that.
Next, Stride Gum’s sponsorship of "Where the Hell is Matt?" You just have to watch, but the short story is Matt Harding danced his way around the world, and Stride Gum paid the way. Why is this so cool? Because the videos just make you feel good, and we could all use a bit more of that. And that’s why these videos have gone so very very viral. Well done to Stride for finding Matt and offering to subsidize not just one but two of these remarkable world journeys.
Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.
It’s a model to which consumer companies should pay serious attention. Stride found someone doing something interesting online, decided to sponsor it, but made no demands on the creator. They got it — association with something so infectious would be beneficial to their brand.
I’ll look for the brand next time I pick up a packof gum.
Tags: Burn Notice, Saab, Stride, Matt Harding, viral marketing
That video is very cool. I watch the WHOLE thing (even the Stride sponsorship part) which says a lot since I have the attention span of a knat. Thanks for pointing this out. Love the idea of just helping someone/a group do something they already want to/love doing. Smart. Efficient. Win-win.
I LOVE Matt and I look for the gum, too.