At the beginning of the Emerging Media course that I’m currently in, we had discussed how technology allows marketers to deliver their message digitally to consumers. But now more than ever consumers are able to help brands build buzz by creating their own user-generated content that supports the brands we love. Just spend some time looking on YouTube and you’ll find several ads and movie trailers that were created by the fans. Many of these fan-made spots and short films appear to be produced with such high quality that they rival spots produced by some of the nation’s top advertising agencies and movie studios.
One notable video that I am compelled to share is a fan-made short film by Dan Trachtenberg that is based on the ‘Portal‘ video game franchise which debuted in 2007. This video is so good at reconnecting me to the Portal universe, that I’m going to have to pick up a copy of Portal 2 which was released last year. You see, marketers do benefit from fan-made digital content that supports their brands. Check out this amazing video “Portal: No Escape” for yourself. Since its upload to YouTube in August 2011, it has had over 7.8 million views. It’s viral buzz at its best.
Marketers are reaping the benefits of having consumers with such creative talents by urging them to produce home-made commercials for a chance to win a cash prize and their spot to be aired on television. If you’ve watched the Super Bowl over the past few years, you’re likely to have seen some of the best fan-made spots promoting Pepsi and Doritos. Through their annual Crash the Superbowl contest, PepsiCo provides an outlet for talented fans to create Pepsi and Doritos brand TV spots to air during the BIG GAME. So, what do the brands get out of it? — An arsenal of fun spots promoting their brand with relatively little to no big budget production costs and most importantly lots of buzz. This “Man’s Best Friend” Doritos ad has gone viral with over 2.5 million views on YouTube since it was posted in January.
Views from Six-Foot-Four 