In mid-March, household product brand Method launched a new social media campaign entitled “Clean happy.” The campaign centers around a video clip – available on YouTube and on Method’s Facebook page – that features “oddball elements” and continues Method’s tradition of “offbeat ads” to promote their eco-friendly household cleaning products, according to The New York Times.
The “clean happy anthem” video (just over two minutes long) has gotten a fair amount of attention on YouTube – over 1 million views, 673 likes, and over 150 comments – within the last few weeks. The text underneath the video also asks viewers to like the brand’s Facebook page for a chance to win a trip to San Francisco.
The video reflects Method’s desire to be considered as a “fun, human” brand, according to Method co-founder Eric Ryan. He describes the campaign’s tone as “ ‘Flight of the Conchords’ meets Willy Wonka.” Ryan is also hoping this quirky approach will build awareness of the brand, which is “getting stronger” but “a lot of people still don’t know about us.”
The anthem video is to be followed by four other clips that will each focus on a different Method product, and will be released monthly. The April installment, entitled “Clean like a mother,” has already garnered over 150,000 views on YouTube – after just one day.
Method’s Facebook page prominently features posts and images from the “Clean happy” campaign, and directs users to click on the videos tab – labeled “clean happy videos” – to see the clips. However, in an obvious attempt to increase Method’s nearly 130,000 Facebook fan base, users must “like” Method on Facebook before they are able to watch the video content.
The campaign is also being promoted through Method’s Twitter account, @methodtweet, blogs, and media ads online. Unlike previous campaigns, “Clean happy” does not include a presence in traditional media (like magazines).
Created by agency Mekanism, the campaign has a $3.5 million budget — a significant portion of Method’s $10 million+ marketing budget for the year. To put this in perspective, much bigger brand Procter & Gamble will spend an estimated $150 million to introduce a new variety of Tide called Tide Pods. Tommy Means – partner, founder and executive creative director at Mekanism – told The New York Times that if he had that kind of budget for Method’s marketing, he would “do everyone in America’s laundry and then give them a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”
Method is the type of brand – like Burt’s Bees – that relies on the power of word-of-mouth recommendations, and Means believes that makes social media “particularly appropriate” for the brand.
Is your brand ready to harness social media as the centerpiece of a major campaign? Does your brand have a unique voice or approach that is well-suited to social channels?
