Media Agency: Oddcast
Technology Vendor: Oddcast
Oddcast deployed the VHost Studio and VHost workshop products and created "skins" that were in line with ESPNs design direction and branding. Special sports costumes and backgrounds were also added to the product and made available for site visitors to use when customizing their own announcers.
Within the first week of launching this program over 500,000 users experienced the avatar applications via the site and through viral email marketing that was generated by site visitors. ESPN saw this as a resounding success and plans on implementing this for other "big" sporting events.
If we could change anything, we would add an advertising/viral marketing feature that allows consumers to send their creations to mobile phones.
What is significant about this campaign is that for the first time consumers everywhere (from the comfort of their own home) can create sports announcement segments in their own voice that are published to ESPN and played back by site visitors and on television. This allows sports fans to participate (in a unique way) in the "chatter" around sporting events.
-- Adi Sideman, chief executive officer, Oddcast
The search for experiences that can help grow brands and create emotional connection through customization and collaboration is increasingly empowering consumers to empower brands. The tools and technologies behind Oddcast's offering have been pioneering in that they have allowed customization through the exchange of input between computer and phone. The development of experience platforms makes this exchange simple and scalable-ownable by any brand. Or, does it?
The structure of this idea, that creative customization spurs viral value and action, is spot-on. This ESPN piece does it well. It casts Oddcast’s offering in a new context -- create your very own vision of a snap on hair talking head. I had a gas with this. But I wonder if I enjoyed it because I don't find much time in my day to play with experiences like this anymore, and I was reacting to the novelty effect?
Is this really a brand idea, or just one small expression of the playfulness of the ESPN brand? If I step away, and look at all the great broadcast spots and ads ESPN has done over the years, the personality and the tone of the network is very irreverently focused. It is fun, but it is always rooted in a love of sport. This piece is a step or two away from that voice. It can be there, but it is a peer-to-peer, or a me-for-me piece. It is fun, but I am not sure it really changes or builds on how I think of the brand. It is perhaps a few degrees tangential.
I would knock this a bit for art direction and for fit and finish. The UI, the colors, the quality of backgrounds, the text treatment, and the branding all feel a little crude. It is extremely functional, and easy to use, but I would love to have seen a bit more shine and polish in design choices. But it is fun.
This whole area of peer-to-peer customized content that puts the brand at the hub of the experience is an interesting territory. Do we love the novelty of the campaign, or the product? For me, this one was just lots of fun, and when you think about it, that is a lot more than most marketing campaigns out there.
-- Glen Sheehan, Young & Rubicam Brands
When I was asked to comment on creative involving Oddcast, I immediately formulated an opinion prior to actually viewing the creative. It's no secret that Oddcast has been around for some time now and has been searching for ways to enter the online media mix on a mass level.
While I can say that I was not shocked by the creative visually (most everything I've ever seen from Oddcast is different skins or features for those oh-so-creepy-but-cool little bots), I was intrigued by the application of technology in this case. Leveraging the powerful reach of March Madness among such a diverse demographic was an excellent match for their technology.
It's no wonder hundreds of thousands of visitors participated. ESPN was the perfect place for such an effort. After all, sports fans will do anything to show their loyalty to their team. Allowing users to record and upload their own personal voice messages was a nice touch as well.
In the end, applying their technology to huge, timely events such as March Madness has, in effect, enabled Oddcast to prove they can be a player in the online media marketing mix.
-- Mike Molnar, account managing dir., Glow Interactive, NY