Web Campaigns

Give an example of an ineffective Web campaign. How would you revitalize it?

Texas Governor, Rick Perry, planned on streaming a 10-minute online rally called “Talkin’ Texas” unfortunately his site crashed. Over 22,000 visitors users were never able to access the event.

This is an example of a very poorly planned web campaign. In this instance the problem of “hackers” my have been the issue, but what it comes down to is not being prepared to accommodate the web campaign. With more then 22,000 users unable to attend due to what PC World reports as a “ denial-of-service”, Governor Perry, not only missed his target, but also looked foolish and unprepared.

Governor needed experts who could answer the tough questions. Can the server support thousands of users? Is there enough bandwidth, what is our security? Is this the best venue? While Governor Perry is a poor example, Philips Norelco had outstanding results with their web campaign.

In 2006, Philip’s Norelco Bodygroom used a website campaign to presented their product. This product is designed to remove unwanted body hair. But, this is not your average razor. This product is intended for unwanted hair below the neck. This online campaign due to is racy content and imagery of fruit and vegetables for various parts of the anatomy was never released on TV. This campaign was strictly used on the website www.shaveeverywhere.com. The buzz for this site was for the most part word of mouth, except for a plug on a radio show with personality Howard Stern. According to The Wall Street Journal, The “web site drew 259,676 unique visitors between May 1 and May 6” (Stineburgh, 2006). This campaign appears to be quite effective in hitting its target market of males “in their 20s, 30s and early 40s” (Stineburgh, 2006).

If I would change anything, I would possibly use more banner ads to draw more traffic to the site. Word of mouth was a good idea for cutting cost on the project, but in the end many people may never visit the site.

Source:
Stineburgh, Brian; “The Wall Street Journal”.
Marketing The Unmentionable? Talk to the Web.
May 11, 2006, Web November 3, 2009.
Resources:
AIO LECTURE week 5
http://www.pcworld.com/article/172864/texas_governor_blames_web_campaign_flop_on_hackers.html
http://my.eurorscg.com/news/clippings4/wsj-05-11.htm
http://www.clickacoupon.com/clickacouponblog/wordpress/?p=7