Campaigns That Deliver The X Factor

Sarah Kent, deputy managing director at Haslimann Taylor, writes:

To coincide with the return of the X Factor last weekend, Premier Foods launched The Oxo Factor, an appeal to find the next Oxo Family (Linda Bellingham was presumably too busy doing Strictly Come Dancing). The campaign invites families to make a 30 second TV ad for a chance to win £10,000 and appear on national TV during the X Factor final.

The public competition is not a new PR tool, but the explosion of social media and online content sharing over recent years had made it easier than ever for companies to engage directly with their target audience and create a two way dialogue. Significantly, the success of these campaigns is often dependent on them gaining momentum online through blogs, forums, content sharing and social networking. Coverage in mainstream media is beneficial but no longer essential.

And whether it’s bearing all for Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty or making an ad for Doritos, consumers seem more than happy to collaborate. Earlier this year, more than 34,000 people worldwide applied for the ‘Best Job in the World’, as Island Caretaker on the Great Barrier Reef, by making a one minute ‘Big Brother’ style audition video. Oh yes, gone are the days when you could simply fill in an entry form and complete a 25 word tie-breaker.

User-generated content and ‘citizen journalism’ are key features of modern communication, as is our passion for sharing that content. During April 2009, we viewed nearly five billion videos online in the UK, an increase of 47% from April 2008 and it would take you more than 412 years to view all the content on YouTube. Campaigns such as The Oxo Factor feed that appetite by enabling the public to view entry videos via You Tube and involving them further by inviting them to vote for their favourite.

The real value of these competitions is the relationship they create between a brand and its consumers. People become brand ambassadors just by entering. They work well because they don’t treat consumers as a passive audience. Instead, the public is invited to help shape brand identity, offer real insights and, through participation, develop an emotional bond with a product or brand – a powerful combination and not one easily achieved through traditional marketing activity.