It took me a second to figure out what "Catvertising" meant but now that I understand, I think "Catvertising" can take most companies in most industries to the next level of market attraction. However, I believe there are certain industries and/or companies that will purposefully stay away from this type of outreach for reasons to include attracting the 'wrong clientele'.
Using videos as advertising has shown to be wildly successful but would be the right strategy for all businesses? Wouldn't it, shouldn't it depend on their corporate culture?
In truth, part of me wants to just laugh and question whether or not this entire youtube video is a hoax. I personally don't get it in terms of its marketing power for individual corporations; however, I do understand the concept of incorporating animals (specifically cats) from an entertainment standpoint. Ironically, when I looked for further content information on this subject on Google, multiple hits came up. I am already familiar with the icanhascheezburger campaign, but to have Ikea utilize cats in their videos... hmmmm?
That trombone joke had me laughing out loud. Anyway all jokes aside, this is actually a serious strategy that some companies are incorporating into their integrated marketing communications. John already mentioned IKEA's strategy but I wanted to add a little bit more to the discussion on the ramifications of the campaign. The idea was generated in Wembley, England. The local store created an experiment to see what 100 cats would do when let loose in the displays. The making of the one minute advertisement which is also a youtube clip called Herding Cats has over 3 million views. The IKEA cats Facebook page has over 21,000 fans. Seems like catvertising worked out for IKEA at least... but yes I think the success of a campaign like this depends on a company's corporate culture. For example, I would assume that this strategy would not go over well for most banks. Just a hunch.
Why stop at cats? There's a whole world of cute baby animals out there that we can use to our advantage. Cute baby bunny advertising? I'd buy whatever they're selling. And puppies and miniature ponies would work too.
Joking aside, there may be something of value here. Our society is immune to much of the advertising that we're exposed to on a daily basis. Anything new and innovative is appreciated, and many people are drawn to animals. There are cat videos on YouTube with as many at 68,000,000 views (Very angry cat and Surprised Kitty are great if you're interested). While this approach definitely wouldn't be appropriate for all companies seeking to revamp advertising, I feel sure that it could be beneficial for some.
Posts
4 comments:
It took me a second to figure out what "Catvertising" meant but now that I understand, I think "Catvertising" can take most companies in most industries to the next level of market attraction. However, I believe there are certain industries and/or companies that will purposefully stay away from this type of outreach for reasons to include attracting the 'wrong clientele'.
Using videos as advertising has shown to be wildly successful but would be the right strategy for all businesses? Wouldn't it, shouldn't it depend on their corporate culture?
In truth, part of me wants to just laugh and question whether or not this entire youtube video is a hoax. I personally don't get it in terms of its marketing power for individual corporations; however, I do understand the concept of incorporating animals (specifically cats) from an entertainment standpoint. Ironically, when I looked for further content information on this subject on Google, multiple hits came up. I am already familiar with the icanhascheezburger campaign, but to have Ikea utilize cats in their videos... hmmmm?
URL: http://icanhascheezburger.com/
URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/sep/09/ikea-ad-cats
That trombone joke had me laughing out loud. Anyway all jokes aside, this is actually a serious strategy that some companies are incorporating into their integrated marketing communications. John already mentioned IKEA's strategy but I wanted to add a little bit more to the discussion on the ramifications of the campaign. The idea was generated in Wembley, England. The local store created an experiment to see what 100 cats would do when let loose in the displays. The making of the one minute advertisement which is also a youtube clip called Herding Cats has over 3 million views. The IKEA cats Facebook page has over 21,000 fans. Seems like catvertising worked out for IKEA at least... but yes I think the success of a campaign like this depends on a company's corporate culture. For example, I would assume that this strategy would not go over well for most banks. Just a hunch.
Why stop at cats? There's a whole world of cute baby animals out there that we can use to our advantage. Cute baby bunny advertising? I'd buy whatever they're selling. And puppies and miniature ponies would work too.
Joking aside, there may be something of value here. Our society is immune to much of the advertising that we're exposed to on a daily basis. Anything new and innovative is appreciated, and many people are drawn to animals. There are cat videos on YouTube with as many at 68,000,000 views (Very angry cat and Surprised Kitty are great if you're interested). While this approach definitely wouldn't be appropriate for all companies seeking to revamp advertising, I feel sure that it could be beneficial for some.
Post a Comment