Firefox and Opera compatible

Client: NBC Agency
Technology Vendor: NBCU, MSN, iChameleon, Neverstop, Savar Media, Rovion Inc.
Launch Date: 4/9/2007

"Where in the World is Matt Lauer" is a "Today" show franchise that has aired continuously over the past eight years. Year after year, NBC is tasked with trying to keep this feature fresh for its 18 to 34-year-old audience, trying to find new ways to engage its viewers and involve them in the campaign.

The significance of this year's campaign stemmed from NBC opting to forgo traditional advertising media and target its viewers online. NBC looked to Rovion's InPerson platform to engage online audiences and increase traffic to the microsite. NBC wanted to establish a connection between its audience and its TV personalities like Matt Lauer.

Rovion's InPerson allowed a way for online viewers to experience a walk-on performance by Matt Lauer and receive a personal invitation to "click on Matt" to follow him on his adventures. Lauer appears on top of all other web content to greet TODAYshow.com users, enabling them to experience the human benefits of voice inflections, facial cues and body language during the web interaction. Once clicked on, Lauer took online visitors to the FollowMatt microsite where viewers could explore his previous trip, receive clues about his current destination and enter for a chance to win a trip of their own.
 
"'Where in the World is Matt Lauer?' is one of the great "Today" franchises. Every year we take viewers to exotic places around the world with Matt," commented an NBC representative. "This year we employed a robust new web experience to augment the trip, using casual gaming, user-generated content, SMS text applications, a great video experience and the Rovion technology to engage the audience further and make the travel experience, and the TV experience, even more fun."
-- Len Ostroff, CEO, Rovion

"Where on the Web is Matt Lauer" has a staggering amount of content to the site. Since my eyes weren't drawn to one particular area on the homepage, I landed first upon Matt's video passport. I ended up getting sucked into Matt's coverage of Sydney, Australia in 1999 and Hong Kong in 2007 -- he's just so damn likeable and I was learning all kinds of interesting trivia on these cool cities -- I couldn't break away from the video content.

Back to the homepage and I stumbled upon the user-generated content portion of the site, "Do you deserve a vacation?" Don't we all deserve a vacation? This quickly became my favorite part of the site. I filtered through a half-dozen sob story videos of people pleading to Matt that they haven't taken a vacation in 10+ years, and discovered the "Sort by Top 50 Videos" functionality. The highlight: an 87-year-old woman, her 60-year-old daughter and their little dog singing to Matt (yes, the dog can talk, if you call screeching a form of talking). Of all of the amazing content on the FollowMatt.com site, why is the crappiest content (poor production quality and devoid of intellect) my favorite part of the site? Because, it allows me to view the real target audience -- everyday Americans -- and get a glimpse into their lives. It's the same reason why YouTube is wildly popular and why Web 2.0 has grown as quickly as it has.

Ultimately, we all have the same basic human needs. We want to feel like we belong to a community where other people "get us" and speak our language. In this case, I didn't necessarily connect on an individual level with others submitting their videos, but I took comfort in relating to my fellow Americans.

Oh yeah, the main element of the site of playing the game "Where on the Web is Matt Lauer" (under the magnifying glass) is cool, too.
-- Ryan Buchanan, CEO, eROI 

Out of the blocks, FollowMatt.com begins with a well-designed graphic interface. A sprawling, travelers-bag look that feels appropriate for a travel-based site. From there, the site breaks down into three primary sections: an online "Where's Waldo?" game called "Where's Matt?"; videos of Matt's travel adventures to exotic locales and a contest promotion for people to upload their own video pleas for a fully-paid vacation.

The "Where's Matt" section didn't do it for me personally, though the game's graphics were strong, with some excellent photoshopping effects. The video contest is a decent run at user-generated content, although truth be told, most people simply aren't that entertaining.

Yet, Matt's Video Passport did capture my interest. I found the videos well-produced, entertaining, of a good length and informative (I had no idea an American 'rediscovered' Machu Picchu in 1911. I thought Easter Island was currently uninhabited.) The video resolution was also good, although if you watch enough YouTube, anything looks good by comparison.

As for the user experience, overall the site was simple and well-structured. Navigations systems were clear and easy to follow.

Marketing-wise, I was surprised at the lack of several obvious Web 2.0 tactics. The videos have no embed code for them. Wouldn't that be a great way to extend the visibility? Just a couple top bloggers posting the videos could dramatically improve site traffic. Nor could I find any use of RSS to track the shows or Matt's travels. That should be a natural for an episodic series. Both of those tactics are relatively simple to implement, as well.

Overall though, the travel videos made a big impact and give users a real reason to visit the site and forward links. The videos are engaging, and made me want to pack a bag and buy a plane ticket. Yet another case for the power of online video. Something online travel companies should be taking note of.
-- Doug Schumacher, president, Basement, Inc.