When they saw Coke's video claiming that branded content was now the center of its marketing strategy, professional content providers became understandably giddy.
But my friend, longtime Ragan writer Bill Sweetland, was less impressed: "Some ‘hyper-creative’ type on Coke’s Social Media Strategy Team thought of the phrase ‘linked liquid content’ and then promptly lost his mind."
After giggling at Bill's irreverence (for about two months), I think I created a constructive critique of Coke's bold attempt to get its mind around, and our mind around, branded content strategy. It's my latest at McMurry.com.
At the risk of being superficial (but then, maybe that’s appropriate?), they lost me at the first stroke of the marker. Why? Because I’m already tired of the once-brilliantly-creative visual concept of having someone doodle a presentation. I liked this concept when it first appeared on the interwebs a couple years ago. I thought it was a refreshing alternative to a powerpoint deck. But it’s kind of like how flash mobs were fun for a while, and then they just got embarassing. Now this has become the powerpoint alternative for those who want to seem innovative. I bet there was a big debate about whether to do it this way or with Prezi. But they went with this to say “Look at us, we hired someone who can doodle just like in all those other videos with people talking about creative, innovative ideas, so that makes us creative and innovative too, dontchathink?”
Well, no, actually I don’t think. What I think now is that you aren’t that creative and innovative because you just ripped off somebody else’s creative idea. I know it’s hard to come up with something fresh and new. It’s really hard. I live that hardness every day in my work too. But you’d think a massive company like Coke would have found a way in this case because they are trying to pitch something that is all about creative, original and compelling content.
And I know some will suggest that this marker and whiteboard idea is just an effective way to convery ideas that is becoming kind of “standard”. But it’s not quite beyond the novelty phase yet and instead is in that awkward place where it feels like people still do it primarily to feel hip and edgy. But when everyone is doing it, it’s not really hip and edgy anymore. It’s just an imitation of hip and edgy. If all the kids started wearing leather jackets on Happy Days, it wouldn’t have made them all the Fonz. You’re only the Fonz if you can make the juke box play just by hitting it.
“You’re only the Fonz if you can make the juke box play just by hitting it.”
Damn, Rueben, I gots just one word for you:
Ayyyyyyyyyyyyy.