Digital Media
Nestle Gets Viral … The Kit Kat “Hoax”
The chocolate bar in question
Have you seen the Kit Kat “commercial” starring none other than Jesus himself? Well, not really himself, but something in his image.
It seems that Nestle Amsterdam made a viral “commercial” of an “anonymous Dutch Guy” who took a bite of a Kit Kat bar and an image of Jesus mysteriously appeared in his teeth marks. They produced this on the heels of a week’s worth of media coverage of multiple Jesus-icon discoveries and sent it to two media outlets in the Netherlands. Look, another Jesus in an inanimate object!
Well, the two media outlets ran it, and subsequently the video was picked up all over the world in a matter of days. This was a year ago on Good Friday, and the hits on YouTube continue, as do comments via Twitter, Facebook and in the media. People are still laughing … still insulted … but still talking.
The success of coverage obtained, the viewership and the online dialog generated by this fake commercial is part of the “digital media will kill traditional” onslaught. Yet for world-wide viral appeal, there must be an edge, and typically corporate-America is too frightened to produce something this provocative. Making fun of Jesus on Good Friday? I don’t think so! Poking fun of religious icons in Europe, particularly in the Netherlands is a big nothing. In the US, it’s taboo. Yes, the web is worldwide … but is it a cultural leveler? And if not, what is the ultimate fate of US creative?
Interestingly, most of the online discussion isn’t ripping on the sacrilege, but rather voicing offense over faking the image for purposes of marketing (which never happens in the traditional world, right?) and hoaxing the public with a fake news story.
The case study is fascinating. View, and use your own judgment.
Omnipresence Theme Permeates DMA Discussions
The need for marketers to be everywhere was a theme that threaded through most every discussion at this year’s annual DMA Conference and Expo. Martha Stewart articulated it for everyone in her keynote remarks that ushered in the event stating, “we want eyeballs and we don’t care where we have t
o go to get them.”
Not surprisingly, harnessing digital media lead the conversations on how to become increasingly omnipresent. With 96% of all Millennials reporting that they are members of social media outlets and women over 50 being the fastest growing segment on Facebook, marketers have been quick to embrace the channel while openly admitting that we’re still pioneers working to understand the space.
Increasingly, “Voice of the Customer” research is being used by both B2C and B2B marketers to help determine which digital conversations to engage in and where. In discussing the needs of the customer, they are also uncovering their online whereabouts. This valuable information helps marketers, engage more appropriately, project a more authentic voice and prioritize online destinations and the connectivity tools to implement on their websites.
If you’re still wondering where to ramp-up your quest for omnipresence, CBD panelists Pam Evan of IBM and Bart Zehran of E-RM stated it best during our presentation on Millennials as the new B2B buyer, “first, get right with Google then make sure your website works as hard as possible to engage prospects and customers.”
