Sunday, 20 October 2013

Correction Fluid: The 'Tipp-Ex'-perience


We’ve all seen those ads that play before YouTube videos. They rarely grab your attention, and half the time we can’t wait to skip them so we can start watching that funny cat video. With more than one billion unique visitors a month, YouTube is a popular site advertisers use to reach their target market. So what other ways can brands effectively use YouTube without placing those cringe-worthy commercials before a video?

Sure, they could try and make a viral video, but there’s no guarantee it’ll actually pick up enough momentum to become an Internet sensation. One approach advertisers can take is to create an experience for their audience through an interactive video campaign. One of the best examples of this was done by Tipp-Ex.

Tipp-Ex is a European company that specializes in making correction fluid (better known as white out). In 2010, with the help of creative ad agency, Buzzman, Tipp-Ex introduced their interactive video campaign entitled, “A Hunter Shoots a Bear”. In the 30-second video, a bear approaches an unsuspecting hunter. Viewers are then asked if the hunter should shoot the bear. Simple enough. The real creative part of the campaign comes when the viewer makes their decision.

Upon deciding what the hunter should do, viewers are then brought to a second video, where the hunter says he doesn’t want to shoot the bear. He then reaches out of the video screen and grabs Tipp-Ex correction tape from what appears to be a static web ad, and erases the word “Shoots” from the title. Viewers are then asked to write another action in the blank space and watch as the scene unfolds. With 42 different scenes produced, this made for a pretty engaging video.

 Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ba1BqJ4S2M

To increase the exposure, the agency reviewed and analyzed current YouTube videos to see what was already popular on the site. For this reason, they decided to shoot the video so that it appeared to be filmed on a camera phone, as opposed to being professionally shot. They also included the acronym ‘NSFW’ (Not Safe For Work) in the title of the video, as these videos have a higher viewership on the website. These small details made the video seem more authentic and appeal to the brand’s target market.

Overall, the campaign was a hit for Tipp-Ex, as they were able to successfully increase brand awareness among their target market. In addition to this, it was viewed by 46 million people, shared 380,000 times on Twitter and Facebook, and reached 217 countries around the world. Most importantly, sales of Tipp-Ex increased by 30%. Not too bad for correction fluid.

Apart from turning their video into an experience for their audience, Tipp-Ex’s campaign was so successful because it was unexpected. Viewers didn’t see how the story was going to end, and they certainly didn’t expect to become a part of the video. It’s also unique in the sense that no other company in this product category has done anything like this before. Correction fluid is typically something that people don’t feel brand loyal to. They purchase it because they need it, but don't pay much attention to the brand name. By creating this simple and engaging video, Tipp-Ex was able to stand out from their competition and make themselves more memorable. 

While many brands attempt to advertise on YouTube, it takes something more than just an ad before a  video to grab a viewer’s attention. At the end of the day, advertisers have to create an experience for their audience. By engaging and allowing them to interact with their brand (virtually or not), they will become more recognized and (hopefully) more successful.

Source: http://adland.tv/commercials/tipp-ex-hunter-shoots-bear-case-study

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