As part of its effort to build up excitement over the upcoming release of
alternative rock band Everclear’s new album, Capitol Records New Media has
tapped iMedium to build a “sticky” online promotion.
iMedium used its “visual interaction technology platform” to design an
interactive picture that lets fans access content — including videos, a
song from the album, a band interview, and a band radio station — during
the six weeks before the July 11 release.
In addition, because of its design, the dynamic promotion (called a ViBE)
can be hosted by fan, radio, retail and lifestyle sites. So a fan can put
the promotion on his or her Web site, and help to drive traffic to the
promotion.
This “viral” technique has been used quite often with entertainment
content — such as music or movies — wich which fans have a strong
identification. Because of their affinity for the product, fans are likely
to host the promotion on their Web site, or send e-mail with the URL, along
to friends. This e-mail functionality is also built into the Everclear
promotion.
“With iMedium’s visual interaction technology, we found a tremendously
effective way to harness the power of our promotional efforts by turning
existing pictures into highly engaging and purposeful interactive visual
content,” said Robin Bechtel, head of new media for Capitol Records.
Capitol New Media has distributed the promotion to radio sites, lifestyle
sites and retail sites in the US and Canada, as well as directly to fans via
e-mail and grassroots marketing efforts. Thus far, more than 200 Web sites
have joined the promotion.
“What we’ve already seen in the early stages of this promotion is that
because it’s so easy, fans have been trading this ViBE in newsgroups, chat
rooms, clubs and more,” added Bechtel.
“We know this because the technology allows us to track traffic on the
picture, wherever it appears as it’s passed on.”
