Ok. This one has been bugging me for a while (yes… grumpy James is back). Putting existing marketing content (aka television commercials) into social networks such as YouTube is not social media marketing/viral marketing. It’s recycling. ANZ is the latest to tout their ‘viral’ campaign via Creative mag (hat tip to @nextbrett from Digital Oz for alerting me to it). Check it out below:
A fine production I must say, although I shudder to think of the budget that went into it. But a viral campaign… no. It’s a TV spot that’s been thrown on to YouTube. One of the core messages that resonated with me from reading ‘World Wide Rave‘ recently is that real viral marketing occurs when consumers organically share something of real value to them. Commercials don’t create real value. Branded messages don’t create real value. When they are shared it’s generally because they’re funny, or in this particular case, because of the production quality. But what next…?
Do consumers absorb the message? Perhaps. Do they buy the branded message? Not if you’re a bank. Check out some of the comments on YouTube and the Creative post:
- It’s a great commercial, well executed, but unfortunately, it’s a whole lot of spin. I am a small business owner and my dealings with the ANZ do not reflect what the ad is saying.
- That’s a lot of time (and money) spent showing us what ANZ are not. It intrigued me enough to want to watch it to the end but not send it on.
- It made me feel interested cause my bank manager is VERY HARD to get a hold of. I mean, really hard.
- Very entertaining, I can tell it is not cheap, a good idea but it didn’t end well, I believe the fact that ANZ is not a very ‘likeable’ bank it makes the story hard to believe.
- I’ve been with ANZ? for years. They used to be an awesome bank…. the best, really…. but lately, they really suck
- I love the ad but I hate all banks and that will never change.
Commercials don’t alter consumer perceptions. Actions do. If ANZ was intent on changing perceptions about how they service small business, why not create a resource that’s actually worth sharing. Like a free podcast with tips for small business management. Or… as a novel thought… why not use some of the massive advertising budget to simply employ more people dedicated to servicing the market?
Isn’t it better to show people you’re actually dedicated to servicing small business rather than trying to convince them of it…?
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Yessss, Preach.
You hit it home right there. And furthermore even if the intent was to convince consumers with ANZ their small business is being serviced with dedication – attempting to do something “viral” is nonstrategic. For ANZ Small Business to attempt or claim viral status is unfathomable. What benifit would small business owners see in ANZ becoming an internet meme?
Well justified rant as usual James…
Imagine, if say… a bank invested that production and media budget on helping small business’ get back on their feet after the GFC or introducing ground breaking SME services… would be much more virulent.
James, I completely disagree mate, however will discuss over a coffee.
@Magnolia are u from ANZ?
Lucio
@Grant – Yeah. I found the viral angle for ANZ baffling. Who the heck doesn’t know who ANZ are? And does a YouTube vid reach the average small business owner…?
@Brett – Novel idea. You’d never make it in the banking game…
@Lucio – C’mon. You’re free to disagree here. Speak your mind my friend.
James, I have been thinking on and off about viral vs value and how they fit together.
As you wrote “consumers organically share something of real value to them” … I am a bit on the fence with that line of thinking, especially if you use the word “real”.
What is the real value they get from a viral video? Is it purely entertainment? If so, then that is cool but for a value exchange to occur the brand needs to get something in return.
What real value do they get if their video goes viral to a whole bunch of people who are not their target market? Maybe they’ll forward it on? But really we just start to move to the old “spray and pray” mass mail and email days and hope that our content finds the people that need the value.
A good example is the video about the cowboys “herding cats”. Friggin hilarious video and it is one of my favourite sayings but I cannot remember what brand made that viral video.
I had a thought a few weeks ago of “why you don’t want your video to go viral” but never wrote the post … you might have just inspired me to resurrect it.
@ Grant H Smith yes it is unfathomable because why the f&*# do I care that ANZ are for small business? I don’t own one and I am unlikely to forward this to my friends who do and say “oooh, oh, look, ANZ are for small business, you need to see this ad”.
most online ads and youtube vids are tv commercials, or cut down tv commercials. they aren’t made for the net.
I dont think at the moment for most companies, it justifies the cost of making a separate ad for online. likewise for podcasts – doesn’t justify the resources involved. Why would anyone listen to ANZ Small Business podcast?!
they’re probably already making millions from doing their current activities, so dont see the need to change it up.
take it to the bank…………..
@Oyst – Entertainment as an outcome/objective of a viral may well be legitimate for a retail company. Indeed, it may well align with their branding. But an entertainment driven viral from a bank doesn’t really resonate with me. Do people look to a bank to be entertained…? Nope.
Totally agree on your statement about the shotgun approach. Look forward to your post on the topic.
@Matt – Why would anyone listen to an ANZ Small Business podcast? Because few small business owners are financial experts. That’s why they have accountants. ANZ has IP that is of value. A podcast would be a way of targeting the niche with something of value to end customer.
don’t think podcast would work. i dont know many SME’s and i deal with a lot of them in my current role, that would have the time to listen to it or understand how to use a podcast (generalising here).
video series, branded, like 3-4 min segments put onto youtube or on their site, IMHO would be better and more consumable.
Agree Matt. I’m not tied to the idea of a podcast. It was merely an example of a sharable product that could provide real value to the small business market. A YouTube video series is probably a far better idea as it’s more likely to be used by small biz owners than a podcast.
Great article mate and I think you make a good point. I think alot of people think problems can be solved by putting lipstick on the pig when the problem is the pig itself.
ANZ is a bank that attempts to look good for small business but they really are not.
Many friends in business across Canberra and Sydney who are their wits end with this company.
Poor service, unresponsive and difficult to deal with.
Mutton dressed up as lamb – they will never change unless the whole organisation is shaken up and the ‘old dinosaurs’ of the banking past are given a redundancy package.
I am sure all of the big banks are the same. Best going for the smaller ones who actually care if you are a customer or not.
Interesting thoughts, but I believe everything is about efficiency. All things are related. One thing effects the next. It may seem far off from the post but think about it.
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