Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly - S4E11 - Giftvertising

Episode Date: March 15, 2015

This week on Under The Influence, we look at one of the newest trends in marketing, called Giftvertising. Where marketers surprise their customers with elaborate free gifts, film their reactions, and put the resulting video on YouTube. Hoping it will go viral. From airlines to banks to retail stores, big brands are embracing the trend. We’ll also look at the psychology behind Giftvertising, why it works, and the pros and cons of employing it.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hi, it's Terry O'Reilly. As you may know, we've been producing a lot of bonus episodes while under the influences on hiatus. They're called the Beatleology Interviews, where I talk to people who knew the Beatles, work with them, love them, and the authors who write about them. Well, the Beatleology Interviews have become a hit, so we are spinning it out to be a standalone podcast series. You've already heard conversations with people like actors Mark Hamill, Malcolm McDowell, and Beatles confidant Astrid Kershaw. But coming up, I talk to May Pang, who dated John Lennon in the mid-70s. I talk to double fantasy guitarist Earl Slick, Apple Records creative director John Kosh. I'll be talking to Jan Hayworth,

who designed the Sgt. Pepper album cover. Very cool. And I'll talk to singer Dion, who is one of only five people still alive who were on the Sgt. Pepper cover. And two of those people were Beatles. The stories they tell are amazing. So thank you for making this series such a success. And please, do me a favor, follow the Beatleology interviews on your podcast app. You don't even have to be a huge Beatles fan, you just have to love storytelling. Subscribe now and don't miss a single beat. We'll see you next time. new locations. What matters is that you have something there to adapt with you, whether you need a challenge or rest. And Peloton has everything you need, whenever you need it. Find your push. Find your power. Peloton. Visit Peloton at onepeloton.ca. From the Under the Influence digital box set, this episode is from Season 4, 2015. You're under the influence with Terry O'Reilly.

One evening, director Neil Jordan took actor Stephen Ray out for dinner to pitch a movie. The title of that movie was The Crying Game. Jordan explained the storyline to Ray, telling him his character was an IRA soldier who falls in love with a woman named Dill, who was the girlfriend of a deceased prisoner. And that in the crucial love scene deep into the film, Dill would disrobe and reveal to Ray's character and to the audience that Dill was really a man. Ray was completely taken aback at that plot turn

and signed on to do the movie on the spot. That reveal, that plot twist, has been called one of the biggest surprises in film history. Actor Jay Davidson, who played Dill, was completely convincing as a woman on screen. He must have been convincing in real life, too, because one day on the set he became ill and a doctor was called in. The doctor did a cursory examination of Davidson and then asked, Is there any chance you might be pregnant?

Production company Miramax created a marketing campaign that urged moviegoers not to give away the surprise. But keeping that secret proved difficult when the Academy Award nominations came along. Miramax was in an impossible situation.

Should it cross its fingers hoping Davidson would be nominated for a Best Supporting Actor, thus revealing the surprise? Or should it cross its fingers hoping for no nomination? But when the names were announced, Jay Davidson was indeed nominated for Best Supporting Actor, and the Crying Games surprise was revealed.

When film critics Siskel and Ebert were talking about their picks for Best Supporting Actor that year, Siskel picked Jay Davidson and explained that his portrayal of a woman was the best performance of the year. The fact he had revealed the secret on network television enraged Roger Ebert. First of all, I don't think you should have given the secret away, because very few people have actually seen this film in terms of a national television audience. I think it was cheating because, to me, one of the real pleasures of watching this film

was to walk in there and not know until a crucial moment in the film what the secret was. I don't know. Surprise is the vital element of a good story. And in marketing, the element of surprise is one of the most effective ways to break through the clutter. Lately, advertising has embraced surprise in a trend that's sweeping the industry. It's called giftvertising, where marketers surprise their customers with free gifts and the resulting videos go viral. It may not have the punch of the crying game,

but it definitely generates results in the marketing game. The advertising industry has many obsessions. Near the top of that list is the need to be hip and current. And many ad agencies end up elbowing each other to squeeze into the tiny space between the leading edge and the bleeding edge. As a result, the industry is very susceptible to trends. And one of the hottest trends right now is giftvertising.

Giftvertising can generally be defined as an elaborate experience created by a marketer to surprise its customers with free gifts. One of the most famous examples and maybe the idea that truly ignited the current trend was the WestJet Christmas miracle. Twas a night before Christmas, and all across the land, the good folks of WestJet had a miracle planned.

As we've discussed on our show before, the ambitious idea involved getting WestJet passengers to tell a virtual Santa their gift wishes. And while the planes were in the air, WestJet staff ran out to buy the gifts in real time, wrapped them, and surprised their customers

when the personalized gifts came down the chute at the baggage carousel. It became one of the most watched viral videos in the world, and has generated over 40 million YouTube views. This year, WestJet put out another Christmas video, except this one was set in the Dominican Republic. It was a day before Christmas on a faraway isle,

a small town where our friends live, a place full of smiles. Yes, we've been to this town many times before, but this time was different. There was a miracle in store. A blue Santa sleigh was set up in the middle of a small town, complete with an interactive screen and a big button that said, Connecting to the North Pole. When people pressed that button, a live WestJet Santa appeared, spoke to each person by name, and asked them what they would like for Christmas. The kids said skateboards and dolls and toy cars, while the parents asked for more practical things, like a washing machine.

Muy bien! Muy contenta de verlo. ¿Qué creen que necesitan para la Navidad? asked for more practical things, like a washing machine. Another mother asked for a crib. One man was a motorcycle taxi driver, but the engine on his bike was beyond repair. He wished for a new engine so he could support his family. Another man had a horse carriage, but couldn't earn a living with it because he had no horse. So WestJet made notes on all the wishes, then secretly sent their staff out to shop first thing in the morning. Everyone split up into two different teams and set out to help realize

everyone's dreams. The next day, all the people of the town were invited to a party on the beach. They all stood in the snow under tropical skies with no idea what was about to arrive. Then West Jetters in blue Santa hats came walking out of a tent with gifts for everyone. There were skateboards and dolls and toy cars. There was also a washing machine and a crib. There was even a motorcycle engine.

Then Santa came walking up the beach. Santa didn't forget Cristiano, of course. When the big man arrived, he was leading a horse. A beautiful white horse, to the wide-eyed amazement of the man who had wished for one. And now it's clear one thing we all believe.

It is better to give than it is to receive. The video was a remarkable undertaking. And the magic in both this one and last year's was that you see how hard the WestJet staff worked to pull it off. And they did it with obvious joy.

This video was also different from last year's because they weren't rewarding their customers. They were giving back to a small town in a country they fly to. The videos also gave back to WestJet. The 2013 video got 1,600 press mentions around the world. WestJet, they're the coolest people ever. They have this new holiday promotion. I think it's great. The perfect lesson on how to do public relations from WestJet. According to WestJet, last year's video doubled the amount of visits to WestJet's website.

Bookings increased 77% compared to the same month in 2012 and revenue rose 86%. One of the most powerful aspects of giftvertising is that it helps forge a strong emotional bond between the marketer and its customers.

Knowing the amount of effort WestJetters went through to deliver those personalized gifts in real time had a profound effect on that town. And watching the sheer joy on the faces of the WestJet staff had a profound effect on the millions of viewers. While there is a PR strategy at work here, there also has to be a genuine giving motive at the core of this idea,

or else it would have never received over 40 million views. WestJet, no doubt, inspired other gift-vertising campaigns, including one from rival Air Canada. There's a bar in London, England called the Maple Leaf, where Canadian expats like to congregate. On November 27th of last year, the bar held a special Canada night, and 200 Canucks showed up to toast the holidays. Two Air Canada pilots and some crew were also there that evening and started asking people what they missed most about Canada.

As it turned out, many of them missed being home for Christmas. Are you going back for the holidays? You just couldn't budget it? My mom is like really sad that I'm here. It'll be hard because it'll just be the four of us and we're used to about 25 people, so my son is very sad that we're not going home. Suddenly, a pilot got everyone's attention by ringing a bell. Then the pilot said,

We have an announcement. We have an announcement. Because we are in the holiday season, I'd like to take this occasion to offer everybody here present this evening a round. But it wasn't just any round. There's more to the story. When we say a round, we mean round-trip tickets for everyone to go back to Canada for the holiday season. 200 lucky people that night got round-trip tickets to Canada. There was a lot of emotion in that London bar that night, as many of the Canadians there hadn't been home for years.

One of the truisms of air travel is that planes take you home, and we've all seen or experienced being greeted by family members at the airport when you've been away for a long time. Air Canada's gift of home tapped into that emotion. Some felt the Air Canada gift advertising campaign smacked of WestJet. One person tweeted, quote, You're not WestJet, so stop trying to be.

But that was a little unfair, I thought. WestJet wasn't the first airline to embrace gift advertising. In 2010, KLM gave first airline to embrace giftvertising. In 2010, KLM gave out gifts to their customers at the airport. The airline watched their Twitter feed

and when passengers tweeted that they were flying on KLM, the airline noted their destination, picked up other hints about their trips from social media, and tracked the passengers

down in the terminal to present them with small, carry-on-sized gifts that were pertinent to their trips. And also in 2010, three full years before the WestJet video, Spanair, an airline based in Spain, launched a campaign called Unexpected Luggage. 190 passengers were flying Spanair on Christmas Eve, with a scheduled arrival time of midnight. While everyone else was celebrating Christmas,

these travelers were stuck on a plane. So Spanair wanted to do something special for them. At their destination, as the weary travelers waited for their luggage at the carousel, down the chute came a long line of beautifully wrapped gifts. Slowly, the passengers realized the presents had their names on the gift tags. Tired frowns turned into huge smiles as everyone got a gift to open just as the clock ticked over to Christmas Day. Unexpected luggage was a huge hit that night.

And who knows, it may have even inspired WestJet. And we'll be right back. In case nobody's told you, weight loss goes beyond the old And we'll be right back. and exercise. It can also be about our genetics, hormones, metabolism. Felix connects you with online licensed healthcare practitioners who understand that everybody is different and can pair your healthy lifestyle with the right support to reach your goals. Start your visit today at I X dot C a. If you're enjoying this episode, why not dip into our archives available wherever you download your pods, go to Terry O'Reilly.ca for a master episode list. Gift giving has an interesting psychology behind it. The giving of gifts has been practiced throughout the centuries.

Often, gifts were given as peace offerings. In our culture, gifts accompany many of our most important moments, from births to birthdays, to weddings and anniversaries, to housewarmings. They are imbued with great meaning. Then there is the reciprocity principle. When we are given a gift, we feel compelled to give something back in return. For corporations, that exchange usually means enhanced loyalty. Gifts fuel emotion.

And as we've said many times before, emotion is the gateway to changing behavior. Gifts also fuel word of mouth. People will talk about the surprise of free gifts to their friends. And with social media, those mentions will usually involve photographs, giving the advertiser lots of free marketing. One of the most endearing traits of Canadians is that we're unfailingly polite. As a matter of fact, cameras catch a surprising number of Canadians actually saying thank you to bank machines when they

get their cash. That's just the way we are. But recently, TD Bank decided to thank its customers. Last July, TD customers at over 1100 branches received a little surprise.

The bank turned their ATMs from automated teller machines into automated thanking machines. As people did their banking, they were completely surprised to discover little green envelopes coming out of the slots containing $20 with a note saying, TD thanks you. Customers using TD phone and online banking services got $20 directly deposited into their accounts. According to one report, over 30,000 customers were given $20 each, which means over $600,000 was gifted that day.

But that wasn't all. Sometimes, the ATMs said thank you to TD customers by name. Hi, Michael. Hi. I'm ATM. TD knew something about Michael. Well, we've got a little something for you, because you're a famous customer. We know you love the Jays so much.

Look on the other side of me. There's another slot that's going to open up. When that slot opened, a Blue Jays jersey was sitting there. That's awesome! But there was more. It's wonderful that you've been with us for so long. We got somebody who might want to talk to you for a second about that. That someone was Blue Jays great Jose Batista,

who appeared beside Michael and gently threw him a baseball. I just threw you a ball, but Sunday you'll be throwing me a ball. Oh my God! You'll be throwing out the first pitch. That is awesome. That is awesome. I got goosebumps right now. And on that Sunday, TD customer Michael threw out the first pitch at Rogers Stadium.

The personal thank yous were meant to ignite emotion with viewers because, rather than just giving out $20 bills, these thank yous were based around the details of the customers' lives. One mom got tickets to take her kids to Disneyland because she could never afford to take them on any trip. And another mother, whose daughter was having a cancer operation in Trinidad, got plane tickets to be at her daughter's side. As of this writing, the automated thanking machine video

has been viewed over 19 million times. At its peak, it generated over 1,200 tweets per hour. As one article noted, most banks don't generate 1,200 tweets in a year. Retailer JCPenney in the States has had a rough couple of years. A new direction-changing marketing campaign backfired, and the CEO responsible for it was let go. Sales took a beating, the press sautéed the lackluster results, and the store was in desperate need

of some feel-good marketing. So JCPenney decided on a little giftvertising. Staffers approached shoppers and asked them to buy presents for other shoppers, and JCPenney would pick up the tab. Would you mind helping us today

with a little experiment? Sure. But there was one stipulation. Here's what you have to do. You have to go find somebody you don't know and buy them a gift. So shoppers went up to complete strangers in the store and offered to buy them a gift. Excuse me. I'm Rachel.

And I'm Leah. And we want to give you a gift. Anything in the store. Anything you want. Any amount you want. Any department you want. Really? Shoppers bought other shoppers shoes, clothes, toys and even a sofa.

How would you feel if we bought that sofa for you today? You got to be out of your mind. No. But the luckiest shopper happened to be at the jewelry counter. We're right in front of the jewelry section. We want you to get something nice for your girl. Let's pick up a ring. Yeah, come on.

Let's pick this. Come on. No, seriously. And a couple of strangers bought a young man an engagement ring and wedding band for him and his fiancée. Oh, my gosh. I cannot believe this has happened. It was the giving in this video that was so moving and JCPenney hoped

those warm emotions would transfer over to the store. The gift of giving video has attracted over 2 million views to date. If you're looking

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whether you need a challenge or rest. And Peloton has everything you need, whenever you need it. Find your push. Find your power. Peloton. Visit Peloton at one you need, whenever you need it. Find your push. Find your power. Peloton. Visit Peloton at onepeloton.ca. As we mentioned at the beginning of our episode today, what all this giftvertising has in common is the element of surprise. Surprise is powerful.

It contains the energy to change a mind, inspire loyalty, recruit new customers, or persuade people to look at a company in a whole new way. It's a catalyst for action. A recent Harvard Business Review article says, quote, Surprise is like crack for your brain. It maintains that surprise is addictive, both to the people experiencing the surprise and for those watching it. And most importantly, surprise turbocharges emotions.

Banks have a hard time generating warm feelings from their customers at the best of times, and the quality of customer service at major banks leaves a lot to be desired. So, it's no surprise that financial institutions have embraced giftvertising to try and provoke the kind of emotional reactions that are largely missing from their daily transactions. Mastercard, for example, has been running their own campaign called Priceless Surprises. This year, MasterCard filled an 18-wheel tractor trailer with 22,000 gifts and rolled up to six different charity organizations in Calgary just before Christmas. On behalf of our cardholders, we're here to surprise you with a toy drop for your toy drive.

When the charity saw the amount of gifts MasterCard was dropping off, they were amazed. The charity workers were also very emotional at the sight of the thousands of gifts because the number of families in need was so great and that emotion transferred to viewers. Our numbers last year were 2,500. I think we're probably going to be doubling up. The tables are a little bare so seeing this truck and all you people is pretty amazing. MasterCard also gave out more personalized gifts as part of their priceless surprises. In one element of the campaign, they asked cardholders what their priceless moment would be if they met Justin Timberlake. One cardholder in Montreal said she liked mini-golf and wished she could spend her day golfing with Timberlake.

So, MasterCard brought her and her friend to a mini golf course as a surprise. The girls happily assumed that was the entire gift. Then, as they mini putted, Justin Timberlake snuck up behind them and said, You guys mind if I play through? Oh my God. You're Susie? Yes. Alright. I'm sorry.

Oh my God, I've dreamt about this. You dreamt about playing butt butt? No, just meeting you. In another priceless surprise, a MasterCard customer said her wish was to jam with Timberlake. So one day, Timberlake walked up to her house and rang the doorbell.

Holy s***, Justin. As the fans stood there speechless, Timberlake explained why he was there. You know, I just wanted to come by and say hi and thank you for being a fan. But the best moment was when Justin Timberlake said he'd love to hear a song of hers. Yeah, if you want me to. I do. I definitely do. Okay. Now, it's one thing to play a song you've written.

It's another thing to do it in front of your musical hero. I don't know if I can do this right now. Oh, come on. You can do it. I love it. I love it. hero. But she got up the courage and played Justin Timberlake a lovely song. Another gift given to a loyal customer who couldn't believe their dream had come true. And, as with all giftvertising, MasterCard created a shareable moment on social media. But more than that, they enhanced a relationship. As Justin Timberlake put it, As an artist, that's really all you want is the same thing a fan wants.

It's just to connect. Marketing is about making connections. And giftvertising is an emotional way for companies to try and do that. Oh, come on. That's so beautiful. Thank you. How you feel about a company dictates your patronage.

If you have no feelings about a company, you may never shop there. If you have some feelings, you may shop there occasionally. But if you have a strong connection to the company, you'll choose to shop there often, or maybe even become a loyal customer. Knowing that, marketers try to enhance those relationships. Low prices don't trigger emotional connections, neither do sales. People have to see a company's values at work.

Giftvertising, when done sincerely, springs from the core beliefs of a company. Maybe one of the reasons the WestJet video struck such a chord with viewers was that you could see the joy on the faces of the WestJet employees. In most of the other videos, the companies gave out gifts, but the staff was absent, making the sincerity hard to judge. It's easy to be cynical. You could argue that just posting an act of gift-giving on YouTube

puts PR ahead of generosity. And it's a dangerous strategy if the sudden generosity comes from an institution not known for its humanity. Our antennas are too finely tuned for that. But, at the end of the day,, giftvertising is about attracting more customers. It all comes down to whether you're okay with giving turning into receiving when you're under the influence. I'm Terry O'Reilly.

Hi, Terry. I can't believe you gave away the plot twist in The Crying Game. I've been anxious to see that since 1992. Guess I can take that off my list now. Thanks a bunch. Under the Influence was recorded at Pirate Toronto. Series producer, Debbie O'Reilly. Sound engineer, Keith Ullman. Theme music by Ari Posner and Ian Lefevre.

Research, Lama Balagi. Um, do you wear clothes when you listen to our show? If so, have we got a t-shirt for you. Go to terryoreilly.ca slash shop. See you next week. Bet MGM is an official sports betting partner of the National Hockey League and has your back all season long. From puck drop to the final shot,

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