Some Day We’ll Find It: The Content Marketing Rainbow Connection
I’ve expanded into video this year. As you’ve probably noticed, it’s a very popular form of content marketing.
I’ve developed my own version of stop motion animation. I use the Kizoa platform
(an online video editor) to construct the videos.
All I really need is a good storyline and my imagination. No need to scout for shooting locations– I can create my own settings. My videos look different, and that makes them stand out.
I did a Valentine video for Coca-Cola Journey back in February. It was well received,
so I submitted a storyline for St. Patrick’s Day. Editor Jay Moye liked the idea. Here’s the result:
Content marketing is the art of engaging customers and prospects without trying to sell
to them. It’s an interesting challenge because you want to feature the brand without implying, “You should buy this.”
I think this video succeeds because of the brand’s surprise appearance at the end. All that green, and then, boom!– the famous Coca-Cola red.
More importantly, it extols the brand in a way that’s so outrageous and over the top, you have to laugh: it wasn’t gold the leprechaun was after, it was something much more valuable: ice-cold Coca-Cola!!
No one’s tried to sell you anything. You’re simply surprised, delighted, and amused, and you can’t help feeling good about the brand.
The ending also works because the surprise is not immediate. The camera “pulls back,” so to speak, and you finally realize exactly what’s at the end of the rainbow.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Is video an important part of your content marketing strategy?
Do you try to feature a mix of both branded and non-branded content?
Did the ending here surprise you? Have you ever seen a sheep driving a taxi??
Hope you’ll leave a comment.
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Hey there Mark. I’ve never been involved in advertising, but I do have a couple of thoughts.
First is this: does content marketing apply to Japanese advertising? I think it does, and apparently, Japanese advertising agencies are masterful at this art. I’ve heard it described as “setting a mood, or feeling”– and some American audiences seem to scratch their heads on what exactly the commercial is supposed to be about, because the content seems to have very little to do with the product.
Second: my daughter is exploring animation, and I think she’s getting pretty good.
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Hi, Jak! Good to see you, and please excuse this tardy reply.
Until I read your comment, I had never given a moment’s thought to Japanese advertising. I’ve just spent some time reading about it: absolutely fascinating, but not particularly easy to summarize.
Apparently comedians are now an integral part of Japanese culture– which was news to me. This comedic influence is reflected in some truly off-the-wall television ads; you can see some good examples in this post. And for pure wackiness, I’d have to recommend this Toyota ad— definitely not the sorta “car ad” we’re used to seeing during football game commercials here in the States!!
Other factors: space is at a premium in Japan, and advertising is everywhere– it’s hard for an ad to stand out. Japanese education tends to be skills-based with less emphasis on creative thinking, so western-style conceptual advertising doesn’t connect as well in Japan.
Also: in Japan, it’s not unusual for the same advertising agency to handle competing brands— different car manufacturers, for example. (That’s a shocker: here in the U.S., of course, competing brands have different agencies.) Which means a Japanese agency isn’t going to be motivated to produce an ad which will greatly boost one client’s market share, at the expense of the agency’s other clients who compete in the same market. That seems very much in keeping with the Japanese tendency to “fit in,” rather than “stand out.”
Anyway, enough of that. Glad to hear your daughter is doing some animation, it seems to be a very promising field at the moment. Always good to see you, Jak– thanks, as always, for your kind support!
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Yes, it seems like advertising, although somewhat influenced by the West, is very reflective of the collectivist East Asian culture!
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well funnyman, you made an Italian suffer through something very unpasta-like, but I dare say (shh, don’t tell my folks Vito and Carmella) I thoroughly enjoyed – in fact if there is a bubbly beverage at the end of the rainbow – I’d wouldn’t mind drinking it in Ireland;) your ad has convinced me!
this was fabulous Mark, you truly harbor a plethora of talents – far and wide – above and below
(just don’t go too far down or you’re in my territory;))
happy weekend to you
am:)
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Unpasta-like?? O’Nonsense! Sure’n everybody knows the Irish invented green spaghetti! I can’t think why I forgot to include it. Shoulda had the taxi stop at a ristorante for some take-out… 🚕🍕🍕
Vito and Carmella–? Hmm. If I had to guess I’d say County Clare, tho Galway’s a possibility, and even County Mayo at 12-1, with ham on rye… 🍔🍺🇮🇪
I’ll be thankin’ ye, my dear AM! Yer a sweet colleen, an’ no mistake, and I’m gonna send over a carrier pigeon with a big plate o’ corned beef and cabbage to help keep you going, as you churn out that dark and fierce and brooding Irish poetry of yours. Bless me, it warms me heart, or is that the Guinness talkin’?? ☺️🍺🍺🍺🍺🚕🚽
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Ooo…video! Wonderful news! Love your take on stop action animation and how terrific your style looks as video (your images always seem alive even though they aren’t moving). You’re right: I was “…surprised, delighted, and amused…”and I can’t “…help feeling good about the brand.” I’d grab a bottle of Coca-Cola right now if I had any in the house!
BRAVO!!!! 👏
Re the taxi-driving sheep: LOL…in person? No, not yet! But if I ever ride with one I’ll make sure I sit in the baaaaaah-ck seat. 😉
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Ha! My dear RK! Your comment was so good, I’m gonna call a taxi, stuff the trunk fulla Reese’s Pieces, and have a sheep deliver ’em to your door! Not the same as findin’ a potful at the end of a rainbow– but close enough!! 🚕🏆
Funny thing: I hadn’t planned on a sheep taxi driver, but after doing the opening sequence, putting a baa-baa behind the wheel just seemed like a good idea. You gotta watch ’em, tho– they’re not above takin’ you around the block a few times, and tryna pull the wool over yer eyes… 🐑👀🐑
Really glad you enjoyed it, and sure’n I be thankin’ ye fer ladlin’ out the kind words thicker’n Mrs. Murphy’s chowder!! And yer baaaaah-ck seat quip made me laugh and cry, “Woolly– bully!” like Sam The O’Sham!! (or was it Teddy O’Roosevelt??) 😊
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https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=hockey+night+in+canada+punjabi&view=detail&mid=E9AA32EDE69C665A144AE9AA32EDE69C665A144A&FORM=VIRE More in how to engage/sell ice hockey to East Indians in Canada
http://www.npr.org/2016/05/27/479696652/hockey-night-in-canada-punjabi-edition
Another example in addition to that Canadian Tim Horton’s coffee commercial with Chinese-Canadians..
Creates inclusiveness in family, in Canada:
https://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/2015/02/20/punjabi-hockey-broadcasts-bring-families-together.html
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Hi, Jean! Many thanks for keeping me posted on Canadian cultural developments! Probably old news to Canadians, but brand-new to me, so thanks!
I knew hockey was big in Canada, but after checking out those three links, I can see it’s a lot bigger than I thought– something that helps unite the country and functions as a common bond, regardless of people’s ethnic backgrounds. Baseball used to fill that role here in the States– the “national pastime,” at least when I was a kid– but football and basketball seem a lot more popular now.
“Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi Edition”– that’s gonna keep me smiling for awhile. And I have a much clearer understanding of why hockey is such a good fit for content marketing in Canada– thanks for sharing!
P.S. For any young kid who’s reading this, who couldn’t care less about sports, and who has other interests: that’s perfectly OK. Be yourself. Always. Skills and abilities and being cool take many forms– like being an artist, for example!! : )
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Good advice to any kid. Because of my concussion accident (I’m fine now.), I don’t have much desire to watch football. Basketball is fun to watch.
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