Earth Day and Social Marketing
Happy Earth Day, everyone!
I was greeted this morning with the following email this morning from Matt DeVille, G.1440’s Creative Director:
Happy 40th Earth Day. I just found my inner Burt. Check it out http://www.findyourburt.com/gallery/453.
So, being a dutiful co-worker, loyal friend, and just plain old confused, I followed the link. What I found was a cool little social marketing site put up by Burt’s Bees, a maker of natural & “earth-friendly” skin care & beauty consumer products.
User’s upload a photo, or activate their webcam, and their image is overlaid with the iconic bushy white beard found on Burt’s Bees mascot/logo. After you’ve created your “inner Burt”, you’re encouraged to share this newly quirky version of yourself… Just like Matt did with me this morning.
It’s not a new idea, but it’s a great application of social marketing. The tie-in to Earth Day is loose, and the application takes far too long to load (and I’m using the crazy high-speed connection at work – it must be awful at home!) but the concept is solid: tie users to your brand and encourage them to share it.
The key with this social marketing campaign is that users are essentially sharing themselves – after being touched up by the brand. It’s far easier to encourage a user to share a funny picture of themselves than it is to ask them to share a video or article that’s all about you…
So, if you’re on a high-speed connection and in the mood to be amused, check out the link above. Once Matt’s inner Burt loads, you can make your own and let the social Earth Day celebration begin!