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MarketingSherpa Summary:
Ok, so any brand with as big a fanbase as Elvis is almost guaranteed some viral success. But, this campaign's clever "Roll Your Own" personalization feature makes it a Viral King. Plus, kudos to BMG/RCA for allowing the campaign to stay live for more than two years now instead of treating it like a one-time pop hit. They know great viral campaigns have loooong lifetimes.
Agency - Sudden Industries
Client/company - BMG/RCA
Brand campaign was conducted for - Elvis
Launch date of campaign - Feb 2003
Target audience/demographic - Teens & young adults
Campaign Goal:
BMG Records wanted an online component of their much anticipated Elvis Presley release, "Elvis 30 #1 Hits," that marked the 25th anniversary of the death of "The King of Rock & Roll." Because BMG wanted to target a younger fan base, Sudden developed a marketing strategy that celebrated the impact of Elvis' music and innovations in a way that engaged both the aficionados and the new generation of music fans.
Creative:
A site including "Roll Your Own" Elvis Presley music video player that allowed viewers to create, share and rate personalized music videos to a number of Presley hits. The application was built in database driven Flash.
Seed Strategy:
The campaign marketed through both the web site, online grassroots, online media and all offline distribution channels, through URLs.
Buzz Generated:
The buzz generated by the application spoke for itself, as all traffic and buzz activity was tracked and reported to the client from within the application. During the first year of the launch the application averaged 1 NEW VIDEO CREATED EVERY MINUTE OVER EACH 24 HOUR PERIOD!, an unbelieveable number.
Specific (Goal-Related) Campaign Results:
Viewers were spending more than 30 minutes asession with the brand, and every video created was viewed by at least 5 other people within the RYO community. After more than 2 years, the application is still getting hourly use (worldwide), and is seen to be a significant factor in the overall ongoing marketing success of selling Elvis to a new audience. "Elvis Number Ones" has sold over 12 MM copies worldwide to date!
Biggest Learning:
Though this viral app was created to attract a younger, more web savvy audience (which it did),we were surprised that the app was so popular with older audiences as well. Based on general fan communication with the label, it was found that the older Elvis aficionados were very active in spreading the word themselves.
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