One of the most inspiring sessions at the Event Marketing Summit last week was a morning keynote delivered by Paul Kalbfeisch. As the VP of Brand Marketing at Research in Motion, the makers of mega-brand Blackberry, he’s often tasked with finding new and innovative ways to bring his brand to his buyers. His key message: Be Authentic.
This struck me as so innate but at the same time, it seemed almost revolutionary. As consumers, we are inundated with celebrities hocking goods on TV, on the radio, in print and even in person, more often then we’d like. However, more often then not, we’re either struck by the product or by the celebrity but not by how they work together… why not?
Kalbfeisch’s message was simple: at the core of authenticity are values, and if you align the right product with the right icon, you can build a sense of relevance to your brand. As a brand, you have the ability to create a distribution channel of content/culture as legitimate as NBC or Warner Bros.
Blackberry was smart about how they selected their “icons” and found ways to make the connection relevant. This past year, the brand sponsored the Black Eyed Peas concert tour and found dozens of ways to bring Blackberry to the forefront of everything attendees saw, touched, heard and participated in. From experience centers and brand ambassadors to indoor and outdoor activation point build outs, concert goers didn’t always even realize they were attending the Blackberry tour as well as a show for their favorite band. Singer/songwriter Will.i.am even joined in the fun, connecting with attendees by singing the lyrics they BBM (an instant messaging service on Blackberry phones) to him during the show. His freestyle raps represented the time, the venue and the participants, and quickly went viral, ever extending the Blackberry reach. Blackberry promoted the tour on their website and the performers returned the favor by promoting the brand in their lyrics and in commercials.
By combining social media with cultural icons who truly seemed to believe in the sponsored brand, Blackberry was able to distribute their message while avoiding any sense of a hard sell.
Brands like Blackberry aren’t alone. Since Pepsi Nation took hold in the 90’s consumers have identified with brands and used them to track culture, trends and consumer media. This past summer, Kingsford joined the movement by sponsoring the Keith Urban tour, helping connect country loving fans with their idol in a low-key yet exciting environment centered around BBQ’ing (enter charcoal grill loving Kingsford). Several other brands are quickly following suit.
Celebrities do voiceovers in commercials and smile in the pages of magazines for toothpaste ads every day, but what’s truly magical is when you find that connection between brand and icon, a pairing that merges so well you aren’t sure where one ends and the other begins, and both help the other work their way towards the top.