V Energy Drink is a brand that has got the social media thing right. Well, almost.
VRaw is a branded site that has found a relevant way to communicate with consumers, namely, through offering value.
Essentially, it’s a branded blog that gives people the chance to find where they fit in the most creative companies in Australia, offering internships with the very best in Fashion, Graphic Design, Music, TV, Advertising and Gaming, as well as access to unique content like music videos and artist remixes.
The thing that I like is that there is no ‘sell’, with barely any information about the drink itself. Instead, people engage with the brand through following their exclusive offers and original content uploads. As such, VRaw provide value to consumers (including me) in a creative way, and in turn, become socially relevant – my friend, not a company.
Or so I thought.
Having been a fan of this site from early on, I was quite disappointed to discover their latest video post of interviews with the “VRaw head honchos” explaining the campaign. From the company babble about the ‘essence of the brand’ and ‘being a catalyst for energy’, to the the fake ‘behind the scenes’-type footage, the whole thing reeks of corporate PR.
Maybe it’s just me, but I feel they’ve lost their friendly credibility. I can only hope new content uploads will dilute this post and I can continue being ‘mates with the brand’.
What do you think of corporate messages in social media? Do they pop the bubble of friendliness?
Posted by Gavin Chimes
[See comments for VRaw's response]
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey, nice post, very well written. You should blog more about this. I’ll definitely be subscribing.
Hey,
Thanks for the feedback. Always great to get a fresh POV on the campaign.
Our intention with this piece was to demystify the campaign; so whilst from a marketer’s perspective, this stuff is really obvious, from a consumer standpoint, it is not.
This is part of an entire collection of behind the scenes stuff, where we tried to uncover each element. It’s an ad campaign, & we’re being as open & honest about that as we can about that. You can see all of the other films here: http://itallstartswithv.com.au/vraw/the-film/behind-the-scenes/
Just another Amnesia opinion (this is a staff blog and people just write freely) – but I liked the fact that the corporate side was involved.
There’s no bad when it comes to social
Well done Vraw.
@eunmac
Really interesting point. Being transparent with your consumers is a noble and gutsy move.
I just thought it didn’t sit as well with me as all the other great content on the site, in terms of execution. (That is, the corporate interview style)
But that’s only my opinion of a small fraction of the campaign – which, as a whole, I think is fantastic.
Good work guys.
Interesting. I wonder if you would have said the same if the interview was with good looking media trained twenty somethings. The sort of people who you would like to think were the target market.
I thought it was refreshing that you show real staffers rather than project a fake ‘we’re all crazy out there living it up.’ There’s enough of that in the V content. Maybe there’s a bit of subconscious social media ageism going on here…..
My issue wasn’t with the age or appearance of the people in the video. It was what they talked about (which was the corporate line) and the way it was filmed and edited.
But I do agree that it was better to show that and be honest than making a fake ‘media trained twenty something’ video.