Advertising campaigns can cost a great deal of time and money, and as such, they come with many risks and challenges for all involved. For the agency operating in a cut-throat market, one bad campaign can see the end of an account, for the agency team the risk is to their livelihoods and reputations … and there are the same or similar risks on the client side — loss of job, organisational standing and reputation. But with risk comes reward … accolades, awards and fat bonus cheques await the winners.
With all this, really, there is little wonder that the emergent forms of marketing receive little attention from those who carry and control the big advertising budgets. Afterall, the potential fallout from a mis-step in the realms of social media could cause an impression that lasts long after the campaign is forgotten — these days our glories AND our blunders can live long lives on YouTube and marketing blogs the world over.
So when I stumbled upon this site, I was filled with admiration for the daring as well as the passion of its creator. BringBackTheLove is a site dedicated to documenting the risky development of one of Microsoft’s latest campaigns. It is clear that Geert Desager is not only taking risks with Microsoft’s brand, but also his own career. Not only that, the "campaign" appears to be something more substantial than a TVC or two … Geert seems to be shooting a movie. Perhaps the shirt should read "Potential Movie Goer" or "Joost Subscriber".
For those who love behind the scenes details, Geert plays his cards close to his chest … however, they are now in post production, with a plan to launch towards the end of the month. I for one, am hoping to see a few peeks over the coming weeks (who says I am impatient?)!
Oh, and Cam … I think you will find this post particularly interesting!
Thanks a lot. I was just wondering why you say I play my cards close to my chest. I’d love to know how I could be more open… in a way that’s one of the aims of this campaign and if you miss something I will do my best to disclose more.
Geert
Hey Gavin – I had a chance to see the casting vids just before the shoot (I’m a colleague of Geert) and they look promising.
I wonder if Geert knows our Luc (Mindblob).
This doesn’t seem that risky to me. They get the cache of doing something on the edge. And if it doesn’t work out, how many people will know?
Thanks for sharing this!
And good luck to Geert!
Ha! I saw that last week, I think, when I stumbled upon Bob Garfield… who apparently coined the phrase originally. I had no idea. 🙂
Geert … I don’t necessarily mean disclosing more — probably more context, more story about the story. Maybe it is just me, but the whole making of/diary aspect of what you are doing could be fascinating.
Hey Roger … I was thinking the same thing about whether Geert and Luc know each other. I guess my thinking around risk was the personal risk to Geert’s career.
I don’t know Luc but thanks to you guys I just discovered his blog (it’s mindblob.typepad.com no?), it’s really good. Concerning the remark on more story… I know but time is not on my side but you’re absolutely right!