2009 Has Been The Year Of User Generated Marketing

PR Log (Press Release) – Sep 30, 2009 – Once upon a time creative directors would decide on a strategy that would default to an elaborate and expensive TV campaign at its core. But with the emphatic rise of social networking there is now a fundamental shift in the way companies are interacting with their customers.

This shift is driven by the fact that the traditional approach no longer cuts it with today’s technologically savvy consumers and that new age media sites such as You Tube, Facebook and Twitter allow consumers to easily interact with brands. For an advertiser this opens up a whole array of new creative possibilities including the ability to tap into an endless supply of user generated content.

In an attempt to capitalise on these new marketing techniques there has been a flood of online based competitions this year with at least 6 recently being promoted through various channels. They Include;



   * Kraft www.vegemite.com.au
   * Carlton Dry www.teamdry.com.au
   * Queensland Tourism www.islandreefjob.com
   * Johnny Walker www.localtolords.com
   * Doritos www.doritos.com.au
   * Subway www.subway.com.au


Kraft’s release of their new Vegimite alternative this week has lit up talkback switchboards and filled forum and blog sites around the country. In this particular example of user generated marketing Kraft allowed the public to name their new product and not surprisingly selected the most controversial of entries. Naming it iSnack 2.0 they put the old saying to work that “Any publicity is good publicity” with the universal disapproval of the name creating a tidal wave of publicity.


Getting your customers to participate in your marketing activities has a number of benefits not least creating an online ‘buzz’ that can generate considerably more value than a traditional TV campaign. It has long been known to marketers that brand interaction is the Holy Grail, it’s measurable and when it’s conducted online it is free.


Some of the numbers associated with the above campaigns are staggering; Queensland tourism has received over 35,000 videos with enough coming in the final hours to crash the server and deny thousands of hopefuls submitting their last minute applications, this created further free online and offline publicity (good and bad).


What does this say about the relationship between online marketing and traditional forms of media? With the above examples all had considerable TV budgets that are now designed to promote the competitions and drive awareness to the online campaign. Main stream media generates awareness and drives traffic to a website, while the online campaign generates long term value, consumer interaction and PR.


The marketing landscape is changing, consumers have access to powerful production equipment - they are technologically capable and willing to interact with brands through the online channel. With economic conditions improving companies are looking for value for money in their marketing activities. Online marketing campaigns have become known for their measurability and high return on investment and with money being channeled away from marketing budgets expect to see online marketing activity only increase.


So if you’re looking at your marketing budget in 2010 and wondering how you’re going to create a wow factor campaign for your brand, you’d better think digital.