Vine is another relatively new platform that marketers are now using. Vine’s concept is very simple, short six second clips which play on a loop and offer the chance for amusing one liners, animations and creative cutaways all in an easy way to film format. Ford have taken the march in this initiative by using top Vine stars such as Rudy Mancuso and Zach King who have over 14 million followers, as well as 5 billion loops on their videos between them. Ford use these Viners to create short skits and humorous videos to endorse their products in a fun unique way. Ford & Ford Europe’s pages have around 70,000 followers and 52 million loops together as of March 2016.
Through the media outlets of the Vine stars it allows scope for the videos to become viral and reach a much larger audience than anticipated.
Back in 2013 when Vine was new to the market, car maker Honda initiated a campaign where they were giving away cars when Twitter users tweeted them reasons for wanting a new Honda using the hashtag #wantnewcar. However, what was unique about this campaign was that Honda responded to entries using Vine. Honda would reply to all the entries and at the end of the event winning entries were picked and each received a brand new Honda.
A relatively simple marketing strategy with low barriers to entry and a high return in growing Honda’s social media presence whilst gaining a following. Although is it hard to measure the success of the campaign, the use of a hashtag was a good way of tracking entries. A negative point is that, this campaign could be copied by other car makers that have greater followings and could benefit more than Honda did.
Below is an advertisement that Honda put out to create attention to the campaign:
However, it is not all gold that glitters in the Vine world as there are areas of weaknesses. Firstly, the older generation that may view these videos may not understand the concept and not realise that it is a form of advertising. Therefore, potentially missing out on appealing to a market which might or might not be their target market. Moreover, 6 second clips may be too short to inform the viewer of the product. Watching a Vine star endorse a specific car brand might not be enough for viewers to be persuaded to purchase it, as there is a lack of facts and figures presented. Also, linking to my other blog How Car Makers are #Winning on Instagram which highlights the non-existent personal interaction with products, which is usually a vital aspect for consumers especially regarding that a car is a big investment.
Lets talk money.
According to Ted Murphy, CEO of social media brand Izea, the cost to companies using these “internet celebrities” can range between $25,000 and $100,000 for each video. Vine stars benefit hugely from this as they create more awareness and traffic for their profile which may lead to further endorsements. Well known brands are more likely to give social media content creators more freedom when producing sponsored content, as they more inclined to know what will attract viewers.
The average cost of a 30 seconds commercial is $112,000 during prime time broadcast TV. In comparison to Vine, it is cheaper per second to air, however this does not take into consideration production costs of filming the TV advert. An advantage of the Vine videos is that they are always accessible to see and can be viewed by anyone ‘forever’ unless removed by the user.
For more of an insight on this topic please visit this link: Meet the Vine Stars Who Turn 6 Seconds of Fame into Big Bucks
Sources:
http://www.hurricanemedia.co.uk/blog/news/gone-in-6-0-secs-5-auto-brands-that-are-winning-on-vine/
trbrautoblog.wordpress.com/2013/07/16/car-makers-begin-to-use-vine-and-instavideo/
http://www.adweek.com/videowatch/buick-ford-enlist-vine-stars-get-intriguing-results-157135
http://adage.com/article/news/costs-ad-prices-tv-mobile-billboards/297928/