From the heartwarming to the crazy, amateur marketing content made waves in 2014. It gained publicity for important issues, earned massive amounts of money for projects varying from potato salad to video games, and was even leveraged by some savvy business owners to gain them publicity. Here are some of the best moments in amateur content from this past year:
We’ve been talking a lot on the blog about how amateur content can work in B2B marketing, and 2014 gave us a great example of a company using amateur content to create a compelling campaign. Time Warner Cable Business Class (TWCBC)’s short documentary/testimonial “Master Cut Gems” featured interviews with the owners of the titular small business. It emphasizes the authenticity of the business owner and his family while showing how TWCBC works with its business partners to create great results.
Recognizing that so many people go online for healthcare and medical advice, the Mayo Clinic sought to provide insight into healthcare processes by letting their patients, nurses, and doctors all provide their stories online. Sharing Mayo Clinic posts stories about overcoming illnesses, managing certain health problems, and insight from clinic staff on issues regarding to healthcare and patient wellness. By using social media outlets and letting amateur content creators tell their stories, the Mayo Clinic was able to market itself in a meaningful, inspiring way to those who potentially need their help.
After being diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Pete Frates decided that he needed to start a campaign to bring awareness and raise money for this disease. Thus began the most bizarre and ubiquitous trend of summer ‘14: dumping water on one’s head in the name of ALS awareness. The Ice Bucket Challenge was a global phenomenon, and everyone from Justin Bieber to Stephen Hawking took part. Although the challenge was criticized by many as self-congratulatory and an opportunity for fun as opposed to donating to charity, the challenge raised widespread awareness for ALS and resulted in over $100 million dollars being donated to the ALS Association.
Intel, the maker of many popular video games, was pressured into taking its ads off of gaming site Gamasutra after receiving thousands of complaints about an opinion piece published on the site. The piece in question had to do with a perceived change in gaming culture, to which many gamers took offense. Using the hashtag #GamerGate, video game players banded together to influence companies to remove their ads from sites that offered viewpoints against the group’s own ideas. Intel did indeed remove their ads, which became a contentious issue after misogynist tendencies in the #GamerGate movement came out.
Intel released an apology for pulling ads due to GamerGate pressure, stating that “when it comes to our support of equality and women, we want to be very clear: Intel believes men and women should be treated the same,” but many noticed that the company did not reinstate its ads on Gamasutra. This issue brought to light an important point for professional marketers: it can be difficult to respond to a group of amateur marketers who have a great deal of reach and influence, but may have ideas that are largely unpopular or even dangerous. In this case, Intel was put into a tenuous position where their company profile was undermined by a group whose amateur content turned out to be different than what they originally assumed.
What amateur content did you see in 2014, and what made an impact on you?
Photo Credit: geralt via Pixabay
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