Microsoft search engine, Bing, was looking to introduce consumers to its map services and gain a younger audience. They were aware that Jay-Z's autobiography, Decode, was coming out soon. The two joined forces and created one of the most creative campaigns to date.
Marketers started out by posting every single page of Decode out in the world. They were on billboards, bus stations, even at the bottom of pools. They did this every day for the entire month prior to the release of the book. What made the campaign even more innovative was the places the pages were placed. Each chosen location was inspired by the words on the page. In a sense, fans could walk through Jay-Z's life, right where it happened.
As the pages were unveiled, Bing tied every piece of the campaign together. Through an online game, fans were able to read every page on the streets. Bing also released clues to the page locations daily through social media. Fans were able to get involved too, and post from their social media sites. They joined together to "decode" the clues to determine the locations. Bing was able to showcase their maps when this part of the campaign took place.
By the end of the month, when all pages had been posted and fans had pieced them together online, the book was on Bing before it even hit shelves.
What made the campaign so successful was that it gave millions of consumers a reason to use Bing. In just one month, Bing was able to join the list of the top 10 most visited sites for the first time.
This campaign was truly innovative. This is the kind of social media integration that should excite those of us who are looking to make a career in gaining business through social media and marketing.
If you would like to watch the campaign video, here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNic4wf8AYg
Enjoy!
Hi, Judi:
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post! I've used Bing, of course, but had no idea they were doing or had done that. You're right, that has to be one of the best - if not the best- and most innovative campaign to date. I wonder how long it took to put everything in place once it was decided upon.
As one who also plans to make gain business through social media and marketing, I AM very excited to read this post and look forward to watching the video.
Thanks for the information.
Carolyn
Hi Judi.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this with us. I think everyone can easily get caught up in a scavenger hunt, and doing this created an amazing amount of buzz and consumer interest for both Bing and JayZ. I think it highlights just how traditional marketing and advertising really is dying out. By involving people and/or giving something away (a book, an activity) you get truly better results for much less expenditure. I wonder how many tasks that project plan had in it?? Yikes! lol
-w
What a great post! I had not heard of this marketing campaign, but it sounds great. The idea of Bing teaming up with JayZ helped market for each side. The Marketing Director at Bing should be getting a good bonus this year! It is very interesting how marketing through social media and the internet has changed and increased so much over the years. Previous to this, there would be a book signing and maybe some information in magazines on new books - I've never seen or heard of such fantastic and effective marketing before.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
That's a really clever combination and it worked really well in this instance. With Bing's reputation as malware and a less than satisfactory search engine they need a series of these promotions to get people excited about using their service. Unfortunately, I'm having difficulty imagining this as more than a one-time gimmick.
ReplyDeleteWow that is an awesome idea! I don't care for Jay-Z and I really don't like Bing. However I have to applaud this marketing campaign! Very creative and also very effective!
ReplyDelete