While checking out the always-fun Project Rungay blog, TRESemme provides a great example of how to leverage TV sponsorship into an engaging, ongoing presence with viewers via the blog channel they're dedicated to. Best of all, it demonstrates how a microsite can become a valuable asset when it provides a fun, controlled context for user-generated content.
The microsite itself is very good and follows the fantasy league formula sports sites have been enjoying for some time. With a simple registration, users can play along at home, picking their winners and losers every episode.
Even better, the banners merely present the winners and losers as votes are tabulated on the site live -- creating the same feeling of community and updated content that the blog audience is attracted to. In some ways, it even adds value back to the blog. Since these two sites share users, when a person visits the blog, there's a chance they could see their own name.
TRESemme delivers on this promise of entertainment not in the campaign sense of clicking and being directed towards an offer, but with user-driven content revolving around the show, adding another online experience to the small collective of web content that provides another perspective for this dedicated audience. New content is presented every day without a single paid employee lifting a finger.
But wait, there's more. The icing on the cake for TRESemme is the "Grab this widget" feature that directs users to include the banner content on their Facebook page, iGoogle start page or Friendster. Also included is the ability to embed the widget onto web pages with copy-and-paste code, as well as a "send to a friend."
Again, with no content mountain to climb, TRESemme has not only added to the experience of the blog user, it has added more sites to its ad network without investing one additional dollar.
Is it fun? Is it useful?
The takeaway from all of this is to make sure your widget stays simple and answers "yes" to at least one of the two questions above.
By giving an audience widgets that make their lives more fun, interesting, convenient, or useful, your brand will be on its way to far more free real estate and exposure than you ever expected. No overthinking necessary -- and certainly no mountain of content, resources and bureaucracy to climb on your way.
Just take a look at Apple's top 10 widgets. You'll see Homer Simpson, a lava lamp and a 3D racing game. If it's fun and fast, hundreds of thousands of users are willing to give it a download and bring your brand to their fingertips.
As one senior brand professional said in a meeting just yesterday, "We have to stop trying to squeeze all of our data into a widget and just have fun."