This past Friday, I received an email from TOMS shoes. The subject: No Longer Just Shoes. It went on to say that “The next chapter of One for One is coming. June 7th 2011.” I’ve been of a fan of TOMS shoes for quite sometime, so I definitely clicked on the embedded video.
TOMS: The Next Chapter from TOMS on Vimeo.
And the video left me curious.
I still have no idea what is happening on June 7th, and to be honest, I can’t wait to find out.
My alma mater recently did a similar campaign. While many thought it might be for new uniforms, no one knew for sure. The videos were rapidly shared amongst my fellow alums as people discussed and speculated about the upcoming change. Here is one sample of videos (there were several more).
Now, I’ll be honest and say I don’t actually like the new ASU uniforms, but I definitely checked in on the day “the announcement” was made as the anticipation had built up. Many of my friends from college spent that evening debating about the new look. There was no doubt about it–we were engaged.
And so that is what was on my mind when I received the TOMS email. Why don’t our student organizations utilize more of a “launch” campaign for some of our events and programs. Instead of just doing the standard morning announcement or mailer, couldn’t we do a bit of a youtube campaign similar to what TOMS or ASU did? Yes, the ASU one cost a bit of money, but look how simple (and yet equally effective) the TOMS ad is.
J.J. Abrams of LOST, Star Trek, Alias, Cloverfield, etc fame made a nice presentation for the TED conference in March 2007 during the run of LOST. He describes his love of the unopened mystery box and our craving to know more. It’s obviously an effective medium for storytelling and it can also be an effective medium for advertising.
So try it out on something this next year. Pick up an event or a new product. Provide a countdown for it. Build up the buzz before the launch. And then LAUNCH it.
It’s true that not everyone may like the actual event or product (again, I don’t like the new ASU uniforms), but if done correctly, you’ll definitely have your audiences talking and that is more than a lot of us can honestly say right now.
Build the launch.
(oh and when you do, please email me a link. I’m super interested to see this play out in a school setting)
Special Note: You may have noticed this blog is a little bit different than some of the other ones I’ve been writing recently. This is the third entry of a new type of blog post, The Toolbox. Don’t worry, I’ll still share stories and insights. I’m just going to try to regularly dedicate a blog entry to highlight new tools, technologies, resources, and/or approaches that affect the way you can serve and lead on your campus and/or in your organization. If you think you’ve got a great toolbox idea to share, please let me know at pm@pmaurer.com
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