Splatterpaint – The New Model For Success

Posted by Pinky on Mar 5, 2010 in Blog | 2 comments

HEY EVERYBODY! LISTEN UP. If you want to be successful in the music business today, you need to splatter yourself with paint. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true. OK Go posted a video on YouTube four days ago and it has already been viewed 3.5 million times. And they get splattered with paint. So that’s all you have to do and your video will be viewed millions of times in a matter of days. You’re welcome.

Alright, fine. It’s not true that splattering yourself with paint is all it takes to be famous, but if you follow brand marketing bloggers such as myself over the next few weeks, you are going to see a revolting number of them pointing out that State Farm Insurance sponsored that video, have now been able to reach a massive audience online and did so at a fraction of the cost of a mainstream TV campaign. They are then going to give you the advice that you should do the same. Because State Farm did, and it worked, so that’s how it’s done.

Now I’m not saying it’s a terrible idea to sponsor online content, and I’m certainly not going to say that State Farm doesn’t have a huge win on their hands with this piece. Congratulations are indeed in order for them and for OK Go. But coming to the conclusion that it’s a killer strategy for every brand is as misguided as telling artists to splatter themselves with paint if they want a hit song.

So when does it make sense to sponsor online content? Here are a few suggestions:

1.) Work with a partner that has a track record of popularity online. OK Go is famous world-wide for their innovative yet low-budget productions. MOST of their videos have millions of views. They are as synonymous with YouTube as Madonna was with MTV.

2.) This is not a TV commercial and will not have the same effect. Stay with me here. While it’s absolutely true that State Farm will receive great exposure at a relatively low cost because of their association with this video, we never see their slogan, never hear their pitch and have no idea what they are trying to convey except for the fact that they are cool enough to sponsor an OK Go video – just as Pepsi is cool enough to put Britney Spears in a Superbowl ad and Verizon is cool enough to sponsor a Lady Gaga tour. This will score a brand major “street cred,” but it must be reinforced with a broader message. In this case, we all know what State Farm is because they have ALSO spent millions of dollars on TV, radio, online and print ads. This video didn’t reduce their budget for any of those. It was a part of all of them.

3.) This one’s for you, aspiring artists. You don’t have to make a crazy video with domino effects, treadmill dancing or the Notre Dame Marching Band any more than you need to hire a bunch of half-naked hoes with platinum chains to make your point. If it’s right for your brand, go for it. Launching an elephant out of a cannon could be a hilarious way to gain a few new fans, but you have to have music worth listening to in the first place or it’s just another stupid pet trick. Drugged-up children in the back of the car, fat kids practicing their ninja moves and cats jumping into aquariums are also popular, but they don’t make hit songs and they don’t sell concert tickets. Keep the main thing the main thing, as Stephen R. Covey is so famous for saying.

Get it? It never hurts to keep an eye on trends, take the best of what’s out there and to put your own spin on things. But for goodness sake, don’t assume that because State Farm sponsored a fabulous video for OK Go that it’s the future of advertising and entertainment. It’s obviously a component, but let’s not go missing the forest for the trees.

Happy Marketing!