Online content created by consumers isn't just bad home movies any more. With the availability of great, easy-to-use tools, the consumer has upped their game beyond the "Funniest Home Videos" realm. And with that, expectations have rose, as well. There are amazing photos, videos, programs, apps, stories and more being posted by talented everyday people. This is good for everybody, especially marketers who want to tap into these talents.
When we created our first online videos, a lot of people were concerned that we not make them look too good. Look at what's popular on YouTube, they said, the consumer responds well to the authenticity of the lower production values. Well, as it turns out, they were responding to the authenticity of the people and what they had to say, not of the low quality methods. Seems high production values work just fine if you have real people telling compelling stories.
How marketers use consumer content has changed as well. It's gone from finding content and using it to sponsoring the next generation (Stride gum/Where's Matt?) to creating contests where quality content is created for the brand by consumers (Doritoes Super Bowl ad) to collecting stories and helping the consumer tell it (see below).
A good example of this last methodology is a series of videos we shot for Covenant Health System in Lubbock, Texas. Each features a very real, very compelling story told by the person it happened to. The laughter is real. And so are the tears. Even though the films were shot and edited by us, this is still consumer generated content – it's real people sitting on a couch in front of a camera telling their stories, without scripting or special effects. Yaffe/Deutser also created a special website, www.covenantstories.com to showcase the videos. Then, on the official Covenant site, we have a link for more people to submit their stories that could be used in the next round of videos.
How do you see consumer generated content evolving? Are you using it for your brand or your client's brands? It will be interesting to see where this trend goes next.
Mike McClure, ECD and fan of the consumer.
