DO RE MEME

9 inch axiom – Memes

‘Organically attaching to an existing idea (meme) that people care about will give you viral legs’

meme: (pron. ‘meem’) A contagious idea that replicates like a virus, passed on from mind to mind. Memes function the same way genes and viruses do, propagating through communication networks and face-to-face contact between people.  

In order for your integrated marketing to be meaningfully relevant, your message needs to hit the RIGHT3 (The right people in the right place at the right time).  One way to create relevance is to attach your marketing message to an existing theme or as its called in the web 2.0 world a ‘meme’. The idea is to attach to an online theme that has people already buzzing in order to gain some viral legs.

A SWEET CASE STUDY: Haagen Dazs

Honey “Who Shrunk the Bee Population?”

I was just reading in Time magazine an article about the declining bee populations and its effect on the almond industry.  In case you are not aware, there is a growing epidemic called ‘Colony Collapse Disorder’ threatening the bee population.  Things could get dire.  Urban legend has it that Albert Einstein predicted that without bees the human race would survive for 4 years. Add in the fact that scientists have no idea why it is happening.  Global warming, cell phones, bad diets, fungus and vampire mites are just some of the theories.

Enter Haagen Dazs.  Haagen Dazs uses honey, fruit and nuts in roughly 40% of its products. They are directly affected by this curious phenomenon.  Last May they launched an integrated campaign urging consumers to ‘Help Save the Honey Bees’.  Check out the flash website.  A+ effort by the brand team at Nestle.  They launched a limited edition flavor called Vanilla Honey Bee and pledged $250,000 towards research. They blended traditional paid media with earned pr / social media.

DANCES WITH BEES

Check out this viral video that helped launch the website.  The backstory on the dancing is that bees engage in elaborate movements when they return to the hive.  The dancing communicates the location of the food source to the other bees.  Big food source = massive moves. 

Today’s Lagniappe - trivia and a lesson in execution

Trivia – Where does the brand name Haagen Dazs come from?  The answer is that there is no origin.  It is a fiction . . . a made up name to convey a Scandinavian heritage.  

Lesson in Execution – 2008 marked the release of the long awaited ‘Chinese Democracy’ by Guns N’ Roses.  The album was over 10 years in the making and the subject of much online banter about its potential release.  Dr. Pepper picked up on the ‘meme’ and made a pledge to buy every American a Dr. Pepper should G N’R release it before the end of 2008.  Axl and his bandmates accepted the challenge and welcomed the support of the Doctor.  

Fast forward to November and ‘Chinese Democracy’ is released.  As I stated in my last post, FREE is a very good FOUR letter word.  Dr. Pepper underestimated the number of requests and the pure logistical issues surrounding making good on its promise.  They got slammed in the press by GN’R and by fans for problems with redemption.  A lesson that execution counts.

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