May 15th, 2006
User-generated ads
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company is running an online ad campaign soliciting material from individuals for a Nationwide ad campaign. An ad placed at Yahoo calls out “Life comes at you fast. Put your moment on a Times Square billboard.” Clicking on the “Here’s How” button launches Nationwide’s lifecomesatyoufast.com:
How did it come at you? Send us your idea. If it stands out, we’ll post it LIVE in Times Square. Think big, this is New York. Propose to your partner, Say you’re sorry…Do something that says, hey world, Life Comes At You Fast…SUBMIT YOUR MOMENT
Five case studies of consumer-generated campaigns are presented at iMedia Connection, Home Depot, Chevy Tahoe, Converse Gallery, Current TV, Mastercard:
Once upon a time, it took a professional advertiser to make an advertisement. Now that we have computers and the internet, that’s no longer true…advertisers have been systematically learning the creative and attention-getting power available from the ranks of their own consumers. By using "Consumer-Generated Advertising" to harness the love of a target audience for a specific brand or product, an advertiser can position itself on the receiving of vast amounts of grass roots creativity, industry buzz, media attention and consumer interest– all at a bargain price.
Whether you call it Consumer-Generated Media, Consumer-Generated Content, Consumer-Generated Marketing, or Consumer-Generated Advertising (CGA), the idea and the executions have been spreading like … well, like a virus, to the point where millions of consumers have generated or voted on hundreds of hours of product-centric material, most of it unlike anything you could extract from your favorite agency.
What ad would you like to create? Join the conversation: “Talk Back” below to share your creative ideas.
