Video is a powerful, powerful marketing tool. But all that power will bring no benefit if you fail to use it, promote it, and share it. That also includes integrating it with your other marketing efforts – both online and offline (or traditional).
A case in point appears today with the reporting in the Wall Street Journal of entertainer Justin Timberlake taking on the Creative Director role for Callaway Golf Co., a golf equipment company.
Timberlake was named to the position in late December, but it became newsworthy this week with the opening rounds of the Farmers Insurance Open, a PGA Tour tournament.
Callaway plans to be releasing some Timberlake produced (or inspired) commercials of pro golfers doing some “kickassery” stuff on the Vegas strip. This includes golfer Alvaro Quiros hitting a ball some 310 yards over the Bellagio fountain.
Timberlake was hired to bring some “rock-n-roll” to the golf brand (the quotes are from Timberlake as reported in the WSJ Jan. 24, 2012). According to the article, the golf brand’s average customer is 55 years old. Adding Timberlake, it is hoped, will enable the company to tap into the youth movement of tour winners that include last year’s U.S. Open winner Rory McIlroy.
Timberlake isn’t a bad choice. The soon to be 32-year-old was part of a team that purchased MySpace and rebranded it as MySpace TV. He also has his own YouTube channel with more than 113,000 subscribers. And he has a staggering 8 million plus followers on Twitter.
But what is staggering is that despite Timberlake’s supposed social chops and Callaway’s commitment to connecting with a young market, there is nary a mention of the new commercials on YouTube, which is really the only player in the game. You can find one of the videos (with Quiros) on Bradley Fikes YouTube channel, garnering about 770 views most of which occurred before the New Year.
I don’t know who Fikes is, but he isn’t Callaway. And he isn’t Timberlake. Someone from either Callaway or Timberlake should have known about the pending WSJ article and been ready to leverage its million plus circulation. The article has more than a quarter page of real estate in the paper’s Marketplace section, including a Timberlake photo with Callaway clubs. And it is more positive than negative in nature!
Someone from Callaway, Timberlake or the ad agency that put together the commercials should have been ready to promote them in some fashion on YouTube, on Twitter and elsewhere.
This isn’t rocket science. Look at Papa John’s Pizza and its current Jerome Bettis and Peyton Manning campaign. We saw a sneak peak of the ad during the NFL’s conference championship games this past weekend. But Bettis is also promoting it during interview spots on ESPN and the Dan Patrick Show. If you go online to YouTube, you can see also watch a related video featuring the Pepsi Max guy telling Peyton to move out of his chair. Results: the original ad shown on YouTube has more than 40,000 views, and the related video has more than 17,000 ads.
The results for Callaway and Timberlake – based on my inexact and brief research – about 20 mentions on Twitter (searching for Callaway and Timberlake). That is pitiful.
Callaway reportedly has promised investors it would spend an additional $25 million this year in marketing (They spent $30+ in 2011). Seems to be wasted spending if you let opportunities like the one presented today pass by.
Fore!