Lindsey’s Daily Deal: YouTube and Television are Related, Stop on a Dime and You Might As Well Face It

By Lindsey Campbell, Captains of Industry

Hey Captains’ readers,

Here’s your Thursday Deal:

1. YouTube and television are related

We Captains have been climbing atop our marketing soapboxes for a while now and preaching the good word about websites.

“They’re like TV channels!” we shouted. “Companies can simultaneously entertain customers and drive home key messages about their brand all for a price that is lower than airing a 30-second TV spot!”

And thankfully for our voices, a lot of companies have started to listen. In fact, Bill Green of Make The Logo Bigger blogged that the BBC recently released a report about how big tobacco has moved most of their advertising onto the internet. This is mostly due to the fact that their ads have been banned from most traditional advertising venues. The study also showed that “impressions from videos on YouTube containing cigarette references are just as dangerous as TV and print ads.” Even though the FCC has made its best attempt to shield people from tobacco advertising, it seems big tobacco will stop at nothing to be seen and heard by the target market.

But there’s good news for young lungs. The beauty of online video channels is that people need to ACTIVLEY search for content. Unless big tobacco is providing videos on how to die faster, I’m sure that there won’t be a lot of active searches for their product. The bad news? No one will see ANYONE’S advertising messages unless they actively search for them.

What’s an advertiser to do? Create content that helps/entertains/invigorates your consumers, of course. That way, when they’re searching for something related to your product, the content for your brand won’t just come up, but will actually provide your consumer with some kind of service. This will create a strong bond between consumer and brand and also reinforce the benefits of your product.

Hopefully the nature of online video channels will inevitably make dangerous products like tobacco obsolete, and awesome, healthy products become bigger power players in their industry.

2. Stop on a dime

Everyone knows that Toyota has been through the wringer this year due to their faulty break systems. EVERYONE. Which means that their competitors also know. Car brands that could never even come close to Toyota’s success in the past are now perking their ears up like a pack of wolves that just caught the scent of a wounded rabbit.

The first brand to make an attempt at a take down? Nissan. According to David Griner of AdFreak, Nissan makes their “brake override technology” the star of their latest commercial, “Dime.” The opening shot is of a dime on the ground, and in the background, you can hear a vehicle accelerating in speed. Once the Nissan car closes in on the dime, it stops immediately. While the car is doing its demonstration, the voiceover explains how the U.S. Government is requiring brake override technology in all vehicles, and how Nissan thinks it’s a great idea as well, so they went ahead and did it. But, here’s the kicker, they did it 6 years ago.

Oh snap, Toyota! Talk about kicking ‘em when they’re down.

What do you think about Nissan’s latest spot? Pure genius or an unnecessary kick in the pants?

3. You might as well face it

You’re addicted to Facebook.

There’s a difference between eager user and outright addict. How do I know? I am one. I’ll admit, when Facebook first came on the scene, I resisted for an entire year. It wasn’t until one of my punk friends decided to take matters into his own hands and created my profile for me, that I finally surrendered and begrudgingly joined the social media world. Six years later, I basically convulse if I haven’t checked my homepage for the latest news feeds every hour on the hour. If you’re worried that you, too have become addicted to The Book, take this quiz provided by AdRants. To start you off, here are the first three questions:

1. You check your Facebook every hour of every day
Whether you’re checking the comments on your wall post or have an ongoing chat with a friend that just can’t wait, checking your Facebook this much should be illegal.

2. You can recite wall posts, newsfeeds and friends’ profiles
Not only is reciting Facebook information a sign that you’ve OD’ed, but it also shows that you have spent way too much time perusing your friends’ profiles, also known as “creeping.”

3. You upload photos before the night is over
Uploading pictures in the midst of a party or vacation you are supposedly enjoying, screams Facebook addict. We know you just want your friends to feel like they’re right there with you, but for goodness sake, give yourself a Facebook break.

Until tomorrow,

Captain Lindsey