Advertising tactics of the conversation age: Spotlight tactic

While communication becomes more conversational, new marketing and advertising tactics arise to build upon consumer conversations and social media infrastructures. Instead of being designed to be ‘cool’, ‘funny’, ‘controversial’ or just ‘have reach’, campaigns tend to be designed and crafted to start conversations and keep conversations going. Agencies BBH, CP+B and Boondoggle even adapt their internal processes to stimulate thinking in campaigns that are worth sharing.

One of the tactics emerging is the “spotlight tactic”, with a really simple structure:

  1. Do something authentic and true to company values with high conversation value.
  2. Gather visual proof (mostly via video on YouTube).
  3. Use more traditional and/or reach media and PR to put a spotlight on it.

So: let a brand act remarkable (DO something) and use communication to highlight that fact.

It might be best to illustrate this with some campaigns who use spotlight tactics:

Coca Cola Happiness Machine

Simple: how can we bring some happiness to the Coca Cola target demographic? Bring some random acts of kindness where they spend a lot of time, their schools.

More on how Coca-Cola created the happiness machine on Mashable.

High conversation value: a machine that produces small pieces of happiness.
Visual proof: case video.
Reach media: Coca Cola Twitter account, Coca Cola Facebook page.

KLM Surprise

Again: a simple concept. KLM surprised random passengers with small and personal gifts. More on KLM Surprise on the case page.

High conversation value: small, personalized surprises.
Visual proof: case movie, pictures of surprised passengers.
Reach media: KLM twitter account, KLM Facebook account.

Heineken Champions League Match versus Classical Concert

The mother of all spotlight tactic campaigns.

High conversation value: pull a prank with a small group of people (1136) while the whole world can watch.
Visual proof: case movie.
Reach media: Sky Sports (1,5 million peope live).

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There Is No Indispensable Man

There Is No Indispensable Man
by Saxon N. White Kessinger, Copyright 1959

Sometime when you're feeling important;
Sometime when your ego's in bloom
Sometime when you take it for granted
You're the best qualified in the room,

Sometime when you feel that your going
Would leave an unfillable hole,
Just follow these simple instructions
And see how they humble your soul;

Take a bucket and fill it with water,
Put your hand in it up to the wrist,
Pull it out and the hole that's remaining
Is a measure of how you will be missed.

You can splash all you wish when you enter,
You may stir up the water galore,
But stop and you'll find that in no time
It looks quite the same as before.

The moral of this quaint example
Is do just the best that you can,
Be proud of yourself but remember,
There's no indispensable man.

[Via]