The now famous viral explosion of BlendTec’s “Will it Blend” site nicely explains why and how the consumer is taking over the market. Without the use of an agency, or even a marketing department, the founder of the company created a YouTube Channel and started uploading videos of odd things being stuffed into his company’s blenders. It ignited like rocket fuel. The shock video nature of the idea, along with the anti-marketing approach, was summed up in this explanation of how one of the best viral campaigns of 2007 was created:
“Once the concept was determined…..we began to create a strategy about how this should work.
We spent $50 on a white lab coat and a few items to blend, set up the camera and invited Tom to demonstrate some extreme blending. Kels took the footage and created the first episode of Will It Blend along with the music and the basic format. Ray Hansen created the website along with the blog, RSS and the suggestion of what to blend next. Many of the catchphrases simply evolved from the first day of filming. I had determined that the campaign would be called Will It Blend. “Will it blend? That is the question” was an unscripted comment by Tom.”
No agency, no committee, no idea of success (or not). Love it? I do!