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Transportation equipment industry

Marketers Must Learn to Let Go of Control Over Brands Amid Rise of Viral Content

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Advertisers have been cautioned to adapt to a changing media landscape, where consumer-created content on websites like YouTube has surpassed traditional music channels like MTV in reach among some US audiences. To succeed, commercials should imitate viral content by being easy to forward and invite consumer interaction, according to Mark Tutssel, worldwide chief creative officer at Leo Burnett.

Key Takeaways:

  • Mark Tutssel advocates for marketers to let go of control over their brands to engage with consumers effectively.
  • The Leo Burnett agency urges advertisers to create commercials that imitate viral content by being easy to forward and invite consumer interaction.
  • A successful campaign should allow consumers to create their own commercials and comment on brands, even negatively.
  • Inviting consumer interaction can lead to increased brand engagement, as consumers will not go back to being shouted at by marketers.
  • The agency cited examples such as the Chevy-Tahoe car brand, which invited consumers to create their own web commercials, attracting 5.5m people to a website and producing 22,000 entries.
  • A VW Golf advertisement on YouTube.com drew 1.9m people, highlighting the potential reach of user-generated content.
  • The advertising industry is grappling with the implications of virals, which can reach millions of people via the internet, often bypassing traditional media.
  • Paid-for searches, the fastest growing part of internet advertising, may turn brands into commodities, warned industry executives.
  • The Leo Burnett presentation, dubbed Wildfire, highlighted the importance of digital media in tapping consumer enthusiasm for brands.

Statistics:

  • 135m people were reached via the internet and subsequent free press coverage by a campaign designed to look like a homemade internet video.
  • 5.5m people visited a website and produced 22,000 entries after the Chevy-Tahoe car brand invited consumers to create their own web commercials.
  • 1.9m people viewed a VW Golf advertisement shown on YouTube.com.
  • The advertising industry is worth $400bn per year.

Sources:

  • "Leo Burnett urges marketers to take the leap and join the Wildfire" (Contagious Magazine)
  • "Leo Burnett's Wildfire speaks at Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival" (The Guardian)
  • "Cannes Lions 2012: Mark Tutssel, Leo Burnett, on why advertising needs to let go of control" (PRWeek)
  • "Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival" (official website)

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