It is a fine line that the big corporations walk when they try to market directly to a counter-culture. Alternative marketing techniques such as Sony’s recent urban tagging can often come across as transparent and insincere and as a result alienate the very market that they were aiming to win. Wired.com examines the negative response in San Francisco (with some colour commentary from our friend Piers over at psfk ; )
Posted by Kevin Broome
Tags: Marketing
Piers Fawkes (December 6th, 2005)
Here’s a little repeat of what I have said further about it:
The reaction by the blogosphere to the article in yesterday’s Wired Online demonstrates a huge weakness in blogging – an eagerness to spread gossip rather than apply judgement. Various Sony PSP graffiti ads in San Francisco have been daubed and graffitied over and the blogosphere has been fast to highlight this and denounce the campaign.
Sony just didn’t go out with a spray can one night and daub the walls. Sony PSP paid for all the space.
For a long time street artists have been courting ad agencies for work – and then when one agency makes a noticeable campaign – then suddenly there’s a witch hunt against PSP by the blogs
We should be very careful about how to read the situation. San Francisco is a wonderful city with a thirst for culture unlike many American cities – and at the same time it harbors a counter culture rarely seen in any city too. To find that the art kids in San Fran didn’t like the commercialization of street art isn’t that surprising. Let them have their say – but recognize that it’s the kids of San Fran saying it, not the US. As far as I know, until now, this attack on the PSP ads hasn’t appeared elsewhere – but reading the blogs you’d think the whole nation is rising in revolt (and maybe they will now).
To criticize Sony for taking a graffiti inspired creative route is naive. Criticize the creative or even the media planning but bloggers please don’t suddenly make news bigger than it really is.
Kevin Broome (December 6th, 2005)
Piers,
Thanks for taking the time to comment over here at industrialbrand. I don’t disagree with you one bit in regard to the fact that it often feels like bloggers are more concerned about hooking up a cool story than they are about properaly representing the story itself. And the big corporations are always easy targets.
That said, Sony should have anticipated that there would be some form of backlash. It is as though this one campaign has opened the floodgates on a discussion that has been brewing just beneath the surface for some time now.
There is some great coverage and commentary over at WoosterCollective including this insightful point by Bucky:
“If you don’t think there is a thin line between getting it right and wrong well then you never worked on a pitch and certainly never executed one. Advertising and marketing is a funny business and a lot of common folk don’t really understand the small details and dynamics it takes to actually make ideas and concepts that are cool, effective, and don’t piss off the creative community they are trying to reach in the first place. When dealing with youth culture (and graffiti especially) make sure you know what the fuck you are doing. For example you can always hire ANIMAL as a consultant (that for e.g. was a blatant plug) to review the ‘urban marketing’ campaign that has been created for your brand by some “urban marketing” company in some ivory tower. But what bothers me on a bigger scale is that many brands see graffiti as the only medium to reach kids in the city. It’s their golden fleece of urban (not meaning black) communication and they often misuse it and get it wrong. And for all that bullshit about ad blockers and stuff, again you missed the point. Take it from someone who publishes an art and lifestyle magazine with the tagline “cashing in on culture” that this is by no means a wholesale refutation of advertising, sponsorship of art or culture, or the usual predictable banter. It’s just about doing it right, period.”
Mark Busse (December 7th, 2005)
Of course at the end of the day, we’re all talking about this, which will in turn drive PSP sales, so Sony wins anyway.