A fast-growing online video trend is “episodic webisode” campaigns produced to generate brand-customer engagement. An episodic production we’re closely monitoring here at ProjectNewAge.com features an actor from NBC’s "The Office" in a series of Volvo brand webisodes meant to get some “buzz” about the Volvo C30.
Called Mr. Robinson's Driving School, the webisodes follow Robinson and a nutty cast of crazy characters in their misadventures to become the heir to a local driving school. Mr. Robinson is attempting to prove his worth as a driving instructor in, what else, a new Volvo.
In addition to the many webisodes currently featured on the brand’s microsite, visitors can also check Mr. Robinson’s voicemail from other visitors, as well as send messages to friends to encourage them to check out his driving school.
But it all boils down to bang for the marketing buck, and we’re not sure Volvo will get back an ROI that will validate the costs. All those episodes are very, very expensive to produce. But we also believe episodic webisodes can prove to be an effective tool for building brands and launching new products to Gen Y, e.g., Blendtec’s “Will It Blend” campaign on YouTube and the Mac vs. PC spots.
On behalf of our member credit unions, ProjectNewAge.com will continue monitoring advertisers, big and small, in ’08 as they further experiment with branded entertainment. But all in all, kudos to Volvo for taking the leap and exploring a new marketing vehicle.
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