How do you capture the hearts and minds of millions? How do ensure that people will talk about you forever and fully experince the essence of your brand? You create a story with all of the elements of Red Bull?s Super Sonic Skydive. It?s easy to look at Red Bull?s sponsorship of Felix Baumgartner?s 23-mile world-record skydive and think ?that?s too much of a risk.? But, a good story doesn?t need to be risky, it just takes time,?dedication and a willingness to change the world in some way. It takes a willingness to become part of a story, part of history, as a brand. Here are three elements of creating an everlasting story and a look at how Red Bull?did just that. Wondering how this can be applied to your business? We?ll also look at how another company, Digi International,?deployed the same strategy on a smaller scale.
1. Don?t just tell a story, make people feel as if they are a part of the story.
Give people something meaningful to talk about and?instil a feeling of global connection.?
Last week, on the day that the jump was originally scheduled to take place, everyone in my office gathered around one computer watching Red Bull?s live stream of the event. We all shared a mutual excitement around watching history take place. We were watching not to just see Felix Baumgartner break a record, but to see someone from our generation change the world forever.
On Sunday, October 14, we were able to witness the jump take place in real-time. While it happened, we?shared our feelings, thoughts and opinions online. Whether on Facebook or with the?#LiveJump?hashtag on Twitter, we collectively became a part of the story through social connection.
?#livejump?is so incredible. Red Bull forever owning the market of extreme sports. And crazy. Monster might as well try to own knitting.? ?@BrianCSteele
2. Create a story that others can make their own.?
Good stories are meant to be told over and over again in different ways. Put effort into making it seamless for others to share.?
Even though Red Bull had a whole website designed and dedicated to the jump, they enabled other media outlets to share the live stream. In fact, they made it incredibly easy for anyone to grab the embed code and share live video footage. Major news outlets like Mashable, CNN and USA Today covered the jump.
By providing copious amounts of information, Red Bull made it possible for media outlets to make the story their own. Access to that information didn?t just massively increase buzz and the reach of the story, it ensured longevity as people continue to find their own angles and share their own stories around the event time and time again.
If you?re going to put time and effort into becoming an ingural part of something, make it something that people will talk about forever. In the case of the jump, photos will forever be shared, the video will sacredly be referred to and the moment the world collectively watched Felix jump to the earth from the edge of space will be etched in our memories forever.
Digi International & Connecting Light: A Smaller Scale Success Story
This August, Digi International, an M2M company based in Minnesota, became a part of history in a similar, yet less risky, way. I tell this story to show you how Red Bull?s strategy can be applied to any brand. Digi?s products became the sole technology behind the longest art installation in the world. The art installation, Connecting Light,?consisted of hundreds of large-scale, light-filled balloons transmitting colors from one-to-another, creating a communication network spanning over seventy miles. It?was completely powered by the company?s technology? XBee radios, ConnectPort Gateways and the iDigi Device Cloud.?While there was a risk of the project not working, no ones life was on the line as Felix?s was.
The project hit on all of the elements listed above. In less than two days, the Connecting Light Twitter account gained over 200 followers. During the two-night installation, hundreds of people shared their experiences, comments and information about Connecting Light online. A live stream on the website made it easy for those who could not come out to a viewing point along the wall to see its vast scope. And, a function on the website even allowed remote audience members to send messages to the deployed weather balloons that made up the art installation. The project was an incredible combination of connection, technology and art. It made people feel like they?ve never felt before.
The Bottom Line
Think of all of the great stories that you remember. They all spark emotion, they make you feel connected with the other people that know the story and you vividly remember the first time you heard it. It?s not easy to become a part of these kinds of stories as a brand. In fact, it?s not easy to persuade stakeholders that the time and effort necessary to do so is important. Red Bull isn?t reporting back how many sales they?ve made from the Stratos jump. They may never know exactly how much the time and effort put into the jump increased revenue. But, we can guarantee they?re a brand we?ll continue to hear about and be familiar with for our entire lifetime. Becoming a part of history is more than short-term ROI, it?s about the future. It?s about making the impact on the world that the founders had in mind upon starting the business. It?s about finding something that fits perfectly with the essence of your brand. And, as always, it?s less about you and more about them.
From revolutionizing the way large corporations communicate, to working as the founding employee of two successful digital media startups, Liz teaches companies to use community building, both?internally?and externally, to reach their fullest potential.?Working with such inspiring companies, in environments that almost never include cubicles, she also encourages workers to think? View?full?profile
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