So, I have been totally hooked by the Chapsticks folks.
Today was one of those days that I needed to put on my headphones and jam in my own little piece of cyberspace to meet a deadline. So, I plugged into my headphones and flipped on Pandora. But today, my usual stream of music was secretly replaced by a very clever marketing ploy.
Chapstick, it seems, is sponsoring playlists, one for each of 4 products they are promoting. Each product has its own playlist with a different personality and point of view. When I turned on Pandora today, it put me straight into a Chapstick playlist, and since I was immediately grooving, the list has been playing all day.
The strangest part for me was when I started wondering why Chapstick True Shimmer had chosen classic disco tunes for their play list and what that said about Chapstick as a person…I happen to think it means she is cool, quirky and doesn’t really care what I think about her choices…interesting.
As a jaded professional who works at branding every day, it is worthy of mention that this strategy reached me and got me seriously thinking about my relationship to the Chapstick brand. It was the perfect match of communication, channel and timing, and I am impressed.
Thank you Chapstick True Shimmer for sponsoring such a groovin’ day!
February 18th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Thanks Alison… just turned it on and I’m digging it. What a great way to bring the emotional promise of this new product to life!
February 18th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
This is definitely an interesting tactic by Chapstick.
On the other hand, though: it sounds like you have a standing relationship with the brand. Do you think this tactic would be equally effective at getting your attention if you didn’t have that relationship?
I’m pretty ambivalent about lip balm (I just checked my desk drawer and it looks like I’m using Burt’s Bees at the moment). This just doesn’t seem like the kind of thing that would get me to engage with the brand.
On the other other hand, I’m probably not Chapstick’s target consumer…
February 19th, 2009 at 9:29 am
Actually, I have been off Chapstick, currently an Aquiphor girl, which is about as unbranded as lip balm gets…but I it has honestly changed my view of Chapstick.
Chapstick is very much, my mother’s lip balm. I have respect for it, even affection, but it hasn’t been relevant for a couple of decades.
But Chapstick True Shimmer is definitely cooler now that I know her music choice…hah, listen to me. Hook, line, sinker.
(Perhaps that increadibly catchy, stick in your head, Katy Perry song has something to do with it too)