MARKETING APPLICATIONS

1 June 2013

VINE

6 seconds

s the internet enters its 20s along with the first generation of true digital natives, suddenly consumer attention is a scarce, precious resource. According to a recent study, the average attention span of an internet user is only about 6 seconds. This means that branded content needs to become simultaneously more compact and more compelling. Quite the tall order.

Connection

How can anyone brands and individuals alike expect to make a compelling connection with an audience if they only have 6 seconds to do it?

Enter Vine

Vine is the latest innovation from Twitter an app that allows smartphone users to instantly record and share up to six seconds of film. The app was released in January 2013 and has received widespread attention due to its novelty and simplicity. Vine is video sharing in the spirit of Twitter: limited functionality and space invite users to be creative with each video. In the same way that Twitter placed brands and individuals on the same playing field, Vines (as the short films are called) are created and shared identically whether the user has 30 followers or 30,000,000. Success on the Vine platform depends on compelling content and a good bit of creativity.

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Is Vine the next big thing?

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ine deserves the immediate attention of any brand looking to connect with a digital audience. Why? Consider Twitter as an informal version of the traditional press release; Vine is already having the same impact on video content. The app removes the pressure and stigma of content creation by placing some interesting constraints on the user:

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Videos must be shot live within the app; no pre-recorded or edited footage. They can only be six seconds long. You cant save the videos to post later; they have to go live right when you finish them, or theyre lost forever. Instead of repelling users, the limitations of the platform are actually an invitation and challenge for filmmakers and creatives to experiment. If the proliferation of GIFs across the Internet is any indication, the demand for this type of content shows no sign of dropping off any time soon. And with Twitter running the show, we can expect constant innovation to keep the platform relevant.

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How does it work?

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Simply. To create a Vine, a user opens the app on a smartphone and taps and holds the screen to begin recording.

The user then releases the screen to stop recording

and holds again to continue recording.

That process is repeated until up to six seconds of film has been captured, at which point the video is complete.

The Vine is published to the authors feed so other users of the app can discover it, and additionally, the author has the option to share via Twitter. 13

Each six-second Vine loops in a way that appears, at first glance, to replicate an animated GIF. The major difference from GIFs for viewers is the option to toggle audio on/off, allowing true video content to embed seamlessly in a webpage without any invasive audio.

So how can brands use Vine?

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n a platform that is already known for producing trivial curiosities, the options for brands to innovate and deliver value are endless. Value in Vine content will depend on the brand, but could mean anything from entertainment to utility. Or as weve seen, a short brand personality piece is a typical first step into Vine.

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Five Principles for a Healthy Vine

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Dont fight simplicity.

Vines are short and simple. They can be produced easily, cheaply and in quick succession. Find some creative ways to compartmentalize your brands message into valuable little 6-second nuggets. If you cant describe your message in 6 seconds, then it might not belong in a single Vine.

Consider your creative in the context of the platform.

You wont have any problem grabbing someones attention for that first 6 seconds, but if you want people to share your Vine, it needs to provide some social currency to the viewer and their followers. The most successful brand communication on Vine so far has showcased products or provided brief how-to or advice clips. Your content should be funny, useful, or compelling; all attributes that will be appreciated by your potential audience.

Have fun while youre young.

When you begin creating Vines, your audience is going to be mostly early adopters and creative experimenters. If they sense your brand shares that same experimental approach to the platform, early adopters will be much more willing to share and interact with your content.

Promote your Vine to relevant targets.

Just like a tweet, your Vine isnt going to get everyone on Twitter excited. Find the users who you know will care what you have to say and target them. Try looking at what type of content has already worked for your brand on social media, and think about how to translate that value to Vine.

Relax.
Its Just a Vine. The same way that Twitter relaxed expectations about short-form written communications from brands, the ephemeral nature of a Vine video lends itself to experimentation. There is no penalty for testing different types of content to find out what your audience enjoys most.

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STUDY

Lowes Fix in Six

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The Idea
Lowes is the second largest home improvement retailer in the world. For years, theyve used social media channels to help people discover new ways to improve their homes and their lives. When Vine launched its new smartphone app, we saw an opportunity to expand the brands contribution in the social space. We noticed that most users (brands and otherwise) were using Vine to produce short curiosities. And while entertainment is the cornerstone of success for any piece of content, we set out to supplement pure entertainment value with useful advice: quick, sharable tips to solve inconveniences around the home. We knew that such tips, when shared in the past as tweets or photos on Facebook, were massively popular (and shared) among Lowes fans and followers. Tapping into this existing behavior, we set out to bring these tips to life as (extremely) short films on Vine, the new mobile app that lets users create and share six-second video clips. We called it Lowes Fix in Six.

The Outcome
At the outset of the campaign, the press recognized Lowes Fix in Six as the first branded effort to crack the code of Vine, using it as a strategic communications device rather than a novelty. Dozens of articles and press mentions hailed Lowes as the first brand to bring meaning to a platform so often associated with trivial content. Users showed their enjoyment by sharing the content like crazy across Twitter, Facebook, and Vine; roughly a week from launch, the campaign had generated 28,000 mentions across social media.

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Applying Vine in the finance category

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aking what we know about Vine, its audience and its platform, how can we use 6 seconds of film to promote a financial brand? Applying our Principles for a Healthy Vine, here are a few ideas for useful and interesting Vines that we think have the potential to spread across the web.
How to use quick-pay How to deposit checks using your phone How to send/receive an international wire transfer How to dispute a charge How to transfer money to your other account How to pay your credit card bill How to enroll in autopay How to enroll in e-statements How to your change address or phone number How to re-order checks How to decide which credit card to get How to use reward points

And since creative execution is essential on Vine, heres how we imagine a successful Vine explaining mobile check deposit might look.

We open on a check sitting on a table.

Cut to a finger clicking on a bank app on a smartphone.

Cut to a hand taking a picture of the check.

DEPOSIT TO:
CHECKING 2506 CHECKING 1876 SAVINGS 4430

Cut to a hand selecting a checking account.

CHECKING 2506

DEPOSIT ACCEPTED!
JOHN SMITH CHECK NO: XXXXXXXXX $987.00

Cut to the phones screen showing that the check was successfully deposited.

THANK YOU!

We end on our hero celebrating.

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WRITTEN BY JACK LEONARD EDITED BY ZACH PENTEL DESIGNED BY KATHLEEN HANNA

WWW.BBDO.COM WWW.PROXIMITYWORLD.COM WWW.DIGITALLABBLOG.COM

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