Targeting the Internet: SmartWater Their Viral Campaign
I love the taste, look and so called "health" benefit it provides.
I'm also am a big fan of Jennifer Aniston.
She's funny, pretty, successful and as a celebrity manages to keep a low key and healthy lifestyle.
Having said that, I don't always believe that celebrity endorsements make a difference. But sometimes when you combine a good product like SmartWater with a well known and well liked A-lister like Aniston and then dive into the social media pool, it can make for a really big SPLASH.
According to Charlene Li & Josh Bernoff, authors of the Groundswell http://www.amazon.com/Marketing-Groundswell-Charlene-Li/dp/1422129802
There are techniques for talking with the
groundswell, some more effective than others.
#1 on that list - Post a viral video and that's exactly what Aniston & SmartWater did. In doing so, they even "poked" fun at the notion of going viral and received OVER 5 Million hist on You Tube.
"SmartWater and their Viral Campaign"
By: Sara Watson on March 10, 2011
http://blog.brightcove.com/en/2011/03/targeting-internet-smartwater-and-viral-campaigns
"Brands are starting to get on the social media bandwagon, and are tapping into the mores and modes of the Internet in an effort to update the way they reach and connect with consumers. "
Take a look at SmartWater...
"Their latest campaign features Jennifer Aniston, along side of lip-synching You Tube star Keenan Cahill. Aniston plays the "out of touch" average American over the age of "30" here with aplomb, hesitantly taking advice from her Geek chorus of geek advisors on how to make a video that "turns into a virus." She provides the meta-commentary about what does well on the Internet."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByFxn98wkVQ
In going "viral", another "Smart" thing that Aniston & SmartWater did was to know their Social Technographics Profile of their costumer:
#2. According to the Groundswell - Age makes all the difference, brands that appeal to customers ages thirteen to thirty-five MUST engage in social media & networks because their customers are already there...
What is SmartWater & What Age Group Drinks It?
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#3. According to the Groundswell - Companies should use Social Networking sites to talk to their prospective customers, SmartWater does the Smart thing and dives into many social networking platforms...
Tweets All / No replies
- ever think of smartwater when you hit the “refresh” button?
- our bottle’s half empty today in memory of pluto the planet.
#RIP - this president's day, drink smartwater. it's not the official drink of presidents, but it should be. pic.twitter.com/VPBkb9fSPW
smartwater 
According to Coca Cola, parent company of SmartWater,
Smartwater® is the #1
selling premium water brand
As a result of over 5 Million hits on her You Tube video and with the Smart use of many Social Media Platforms...
http://www.etonline.com/gallery/87364_Smart_Pics_Jennifer_Aniston_s_Secret_Revealed/index.html
Was SmartWater's "Viral" Video a Success?
BECCA // March 16, 2011 // Advertising // Comments Off
For decades, celebrities have been paid a fortune to promote a specific brand or product. It used to be plain and simple – a celebrity promotes a product, you go and buy that product. Now, not so much. Celebrities can’t just say a product is the best and expect you to purchase it. Consumers want to be entertained. To do this, some companies that currently use celebrities to endorse its brand are creating YouTube videos, all in hopes of making the video go viral.
Last week, a video Jen Aniston made for SmartWater launched. It was titled: Jennifer Aniston Goes Viral – SmartWater. While its true that you can’t force a video to go viral, SmartWater proves that you can combine many elements of other successful viral video with the intention of creating creative that is so good, your fans will spread it for you.
The video that SmartWater created shows Jen and her team of three guys coming up with “viral” ideas to help convince consumers that SmartWater is the “smartest, best tasting water that’s out there.”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc47LcvIxyI]
In no time, it was an instant hit. In just one week alone, the SmartWater video has generated over seven million YouTube hits.
How did they do this? They did this by being systematic in their approach. They did their research on what would catch their target market’s attention. They couldn’t just create this video without a particular audience in mind. They needed people they knew would watch it and then share it. The most common videos that are shared via YouTube, Facebook and Twitter have one or all four for the following components:
1) It’s full of humor.
2) It has a good looking girl/guy.
3) It’s short, fast-paced and to the point.
4) It has music.
SmartWater incorporated all four of these components into this short three minute video. Some of the carefully crafted ways they incorporated these four components are:
• The dancing babies. We all remember the dancing baby aka Baby Cha-Cha from the Blockbuster commercials in the mid-nineties. This quickly became a huge internet phenomenon and was one of the first ever viral videos. Jen and her team then had the children dance provocatively all in the efforts to get more views. Sparking a conversation, especially a controversial one, is a great way to increase the number of views. Humor and music, check.
• The Double Rainbow Guy. He became a hit overnight. Sure, it helped he was featured on Tosh.O (a television show on Comedy Central that makes fun of people/ideas in internet video clips). They spoofed him as the parent of the dancing babies and encouraged him to drink SmartWater so he wouldn’t hallucinate those double rainbows anymore. Humor, check.
• In the closing of the video, they suggest naming the video “Jen Aniston Sex Tape.” This is smart for two reasons. At first I just though it was because sex sells. Then, I read an article in the New York Daily News and Shari Weiss made an excellent point – consumers will have a field day with this title, but so will the search engines. As of now, there are over 33 million search results for “Jen Aniston Sex Tape.” Hot girl and humor, check.
The overall concept behind this is great. It was interesting, funny, fresh and has definitely achieved SmartWater’s goal of wanting it to go viral. Its also sparked a lot of chatter about Jennifer Aniston, but what will this actually do for SmartWater’s brand? Will sales increase? I don’t think so. I have to disagree with Sara Marie Watson. She compares this to the Old Spice commercials,which so far has generated a 107% increase in sales of its body wash. The Old Spice videos show what the body wash will do for you. The SmartWater video doesn’t provide any information on what it can do for you.
What do you think? In the long run do you think this was a smart move for SmartWater and Jen Aniston?
Excellent post Kim! Your analysis was very thorough and Smartwater's campaign clearly fits so much of the Groundswell criteria we've been reading about. This is a brilliant campaign, and I agree that Smartwater's design is sleek and catchy. In my opinion, although I had not previously heard of this campaign or seen the viral video, using Jen Aniston in a humorous way was a very smart move for Smartwater. She is a classic, timeless star who can lure people in, especially with her sex appeal. Choosing Jen Aniston in combination with the tech geeks was a great way to market Smartwater since the target audience tends to be a younger crowd and the brand has a stylish reputation. I already love Smartwater, but Jen Aniston makes me more inclined to go get some!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your comments Madeleine. I agree with your analysis, having Jennifer Aniston promote SmartWater makes me more inclined to get some too!
ReplyDeleteI like the way you arrange the pictures and videos. Your post is eye-catching. Jen Aniston is absolutely a smart choice for Smartwater! Thank you for sharing, Kim!
ReplyDeleteHi Yolanda,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your comments!
I have 2 words for her: GROW UP.
ReplyDeleteThis is the everyone gets a trophy generation having a temper tantrum at 30 years old. Life can actually be unfair.