How does a brand like Virgin continue to WOW the user?
By giving the user what they want, when they want it…usually before any of their competitors
VirginAmerica announces wi-fi capabilities on their planes and they change the game. There are several competitors doing it but it just feels better coming from Virgin.
So, here I am writing this post from 30k in the air on a NYC to SF flight with wi-fi capabilities and there is no going back. I hopped onto facebook, saw Peter Ha from CrunchGear was doing a live vid from his VirginAmerica flight, hopped on UStream and watched some of it….that is, after walking the aisles to see if we were on the same plane. Check out the footage here: USTREAM FOOTAGE
Then I meet the passenger next to me, none other then one Benny Fischer from LimeLight and he explained this new CBS Sports NCAA app he helped support with LimeLight where any iPhone user can download the app and pay $5 per game to watch it live from your phone.
The technology is amazing but what blew me away is is not only explaining the app, he is showing it to me via wi-fi. We’re 30k in the air watching live streaming NCAA bball games between margaritas!
How do you break through the crowd in a sea of commercials?
How do you surprise, engage and still get the message across?
I absolutely love this commercial featuring ninja cats, great music and all tying around one message. Complete with a nice roundhouse kick, looting of fish and the old “follow the light” trick, this commercial made me smile and got the message “packed with a lil action” across.
It also made me do something I never do, I posted it on my facebook and think I may have to send out in an email. Tell me what you think.
Let’s go back to Nike in 1984, still a rising brand but struggling financially, they sign an NBA player by the name of Michael Jordan.
Mind you, this is before Michael Jordan was “Jordan” or “Air Jordan”…he was just an up and coming player who Nike saw the future in. They were right and the Nike brand was changed forever. Forever embedding Michael Jordan’s personal brand with Nike as well. Decades later, Nike is still developing the Jordan brand, still capitalizing off of it and most importantly, still developing / strengthening the relationship with the consumer.
As you know, Nike has never looked back, signing one amazing athlete after another, including Lebron James. As I watched “The Chalk”, Nike’s 15 minute commercial featuring Lil Wayne and a host of other Lebron fans doing one of his many signature moves, I realized Nike doesn’t miss a beat with the way to promote both the Nike brand and the athlete’s brand. Pure emotion, pure fun.
You’ve probably asked yourself that at least once….
Seth Godin’s latest book Tribes probes this question and the ideology of tribes. The ability for us to transcend our position in the company and our preconceived notion is put forth by Godin through numerous examples, forcing us to rethink what we’re doing, forcing us to lead our tribe.
In the realm of branding, of marketing, of social media outreach, his thoughts are a call to arms we should all heed. I take that back, in ALL industries, his thoughts should be transformed into actions.
Why aren’t there more leaders?
Why don’t people get beyond that fear to speak up?
Why don’t we realize now that change IS the status quo?
My favorite line, “Defending mediocrity is exhausting.”
Ed Cotton takes Godin’s thoughts and poses questions towards today’s marketing, ad and social media communications – if there is a line between them.
Cotton is dead on with the need for leaders to not only come up with new ideas but to stick with them. I’m probably offering him no justice, read it yourself at Influx Insights.
It took a while to get back here. Between 3 flights a week, a major life change and a slew of new clients…there hasn’t been much time to write for Brand Believer.
However, that is about to change. I erased all prior blogs and will work on developing Brand Believer once more.
