I'm working with The Law Firm Group and one of our clients is is a 300 year old cereal company based in Crewe, Cheshire. Mornflake is the 8th oldest company in Britain handed down over 14 generations. As a company, it epitomises probity, fiscal responsibility and social conscience and has rejected every offer of being acquired in all this time. Kind of values we want to see in all companies right now, right?
Problem is; few people have heard of Mornflake, although anyone who eats porridge is likely to have eaten their cereals. Mornflake already supplies most of the major supermarkets’ own label oats based cereal foods and is re-launching its own brand of cereal foods.
Since TV advertising is no longer the default way of creating widespread awareness of a new brand, we’re organising a very different kind of video competition for Mornflake. Our approach differs in three unique ways;
1. We’re asking people to make videos about themselves. So lots of good material there! More specifically, videos about their values. The Mornflake brand must feature in the video but in a product placement kind of way. We’re not looking for cheesy reasons why people should eat Mornflake oats. The best video creator will win a cash prize of £15,000.
2. We’re conducting the competition on Facebook using an application called Uvizz (check out the video on their home page – truly impressive). Uvizz works in a way that financially rewards video creators and video viewers for spreading video around their personal networks.
3. We’re adopting an open source approach to engaging online communities and have commissioned a network of independent thinkers called Minciu Sodas. They are building a directory of online communities in the UK and starting conversations with people in an open, respectful and authentic way. A way that reflects Mornflake’s values. This data will be made available to any other organisation that wants to learn how to engage these communities and will help those communities be found by other people.
The competition launched on June 15th and runs through to July19th. Sign up here.
Leon. As ever you get it.really hope this works and will lend my narrow shoulders to your wheel.
Posted by: Tim Kitchin | June 19, 2009 at 08:27