Practical questions about working with brands
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Berens: Let's get down to some practical questions. I'm going to ask you what is, in essence, the same question from two different perspectives. First, from the video creators' perspective: if you're planning a piece and want brand sponsorship dollars, how do you go about it? What's your advice to the other video creators out there? Do you plan the piece in advance with a big brand in mind? Just do it and hope the brand comes later? Let the brand know ahead of time? Or is the latter too much like asking permission? What about mistakes to avoid?
Fritz Grobe: Tough question. With Experiment 137, we went ahead and made the video that we were driven to make and hoped that the brands involved would enjoy it and perhaps help us in the future.
We debated whether to label the video "The Extreme Diet Coke and Mentos Experiments" or something more generic, say "The Extreme Soda and Candy Experiments." That just doesn't have the same ring. What we went with was the authenticity: we're not trying to get a marketing deal here, we're just having fun, and it just so happens we're having fun with Diet Coke and Mentos. Full stop. We're not going to do clumsy product placement, but we're not going to hide the brands either.
From there, the folks at Diet Coke and Mentos gave us a call and asked how they could help. Their sponsorship allowed us to make Experiment 214: The Domino Effect. It was a model for how well sponsorship can work.
If we had allowed them to dictate the content or over-brand the video, it wouldn't have been the same. And people wouldn't have viewed it the same way. It's a delicate balance of authenticity and branding.
If you're trying to get sponsorship dollars right out of the gate, the challenge is to be heard. If you have built up some web presence, then approaching a brand with a sponsorship idea can be fantastic. And I would hope they would be smart enough to listen.
Brands are now looking for these viral marketing opportunities. If you can't offer them an authentic idea that really comes from your own heart and mind, it's no different from conventional advertising. And as soon as people perceive your video as "just an ad," they'll start tuning out. They won't pass it along to their friends to start that all-important viral spread.
Again, the key word is authenticity. Wal-Mart and others have gotten in trouble by trying to hide their involvement in online projects. I think that comes from a misguided urge to control everything. You can't control an authentic viral spread. You've got to relax, have gentle hands on the reins, and be completely honest.
Both Coke and Mentos handled this side of things very well. We were all up front about our sponsorship deal for the second video. And we were all clear about our continued independence.
Voltz: I agree completely with Fritz on this.
In terms of mistakes to avoid, I think the single biggest danger is making something that looks like a commercial. Avoid like the plague anything like typical TV commercial product and logo shots. There's no need to hide what you're using -- in fact it should be clear -- but the minute the piece feels like a commercial, and that can be the result of something as short as a one second logo shot, viewers are going to stop wanting to pass it on to their friends.
Next: How NOT to approach consumers