Specialized Mobile Provider Webtel.mobi’s recent Internet-based video ad competition brought in a massive 174 entries – more than half of which are good enough to go straight to air in their upcoming international online marketing campaign.
Webtel.mobi called for video ads to be submitted describing their mobile phone service, providing entrants with a brief, and access to the company’s information site at Webtel.mobi/pc and their mobile phone site at Webtel.mobi. The ads they received would have cost several million dollars to produce in the normal way – all for an outlay of just on $76 000, in prize money – or less than it would cost to produce one ad in the traditional manner.
In bypassing the traditional ad industry production route, Webtel.mobi opened up its marketing campaign to talented, creative people outside the traditional ad agency and video production structures. A company spokesman said the move to “democratize the marketing process” and make it accessible was an echo of the Webtel.mobi policy to make its low-cost, internet-initiated mobile phone service available to people across the globe.
“Webtel.mobi’s service – which offers call and text rates up to 80% less than competitors’ standard costs – is an innovation leader and we have chosen to do the same in the way we market and advertise ourselves,” added the spokesman.
The response and the success of the competition is due to the quality of Webtel.mobi’s communications product; the fair value offered in terms of the prize money and the free creative thinking which was liberated by tapping directly into the skills and abilities of an unlimited global market of potential video producers.
Said the spokesman: “The variety of ideas we got, and the different production style used by contestants gave us a much broader creative marketing base than we would have got had we gone to any traditional agency – no matter how highly regarded they might be in the business.”
“The fact that we got 174 submissions just shows that if you provide the global market with fair value, you’ll get a return on investment from the online community that justifies your outlay hundreds of times over.”
“Just as the global print media advertizing market is contracting rapidly because of the advent of more cost-effective online advertizing, so this outstanding result is evident of the rapid decline of high-cost video production by traditional visual media in favour of online calls for submissions.”
"Our view is that in the same way that 'Citizen Reporters' outside of the major news agencies are now recognised as part of the mainstream news industry internationally, so 'Citizen Marketers' outside of the major creative agencies should and will also become part of the mainstream international advertising industry".
Webtel.mobi partnered with two leading online companies for its campaign. Unruly Media provided the project management, and Zooppa.com hosted the competition on its online ad submission platform.
News of this competition and its result is spreading rapidly internationally, causing companies to re-evaluate and refocus their visual media strategies away from traditional agencies as they search for innovative and cost-effective marketing solutions.
It’s got to be a wake-up call for anyone doing marketing and advertizing the “old” way.
More info at:
Competition entry videos
http://www.zooppa.com/ads/webtelmobi#contest-filter-2
Webtel.mobi info site
http://www.webtel.mobi/pc
Webtel.mobi mobile phone site
http://www.webtel.mobi
Unruly Media
http://www.unrulymedia.com
Zooppa.com
http://www.zooppa.com
