Article first published as Who Came Out Ahead in the Old Spice Video Campaign? on Technorati.
The question whether anyone is listening may be one of the biggest concerns facing social media marketers today. They can check analytics programs, monitoring tools and pour over numbers to find out who’s following and when. Some programs will even gauge the level of engagement. But that type of monitoring is geared for businesses. So, what about us– the users, the site visitors? The ones on the other end of the video, Facebook update, tweet and blog post. When we take the time out of our busy day to comment or ask a question, don’t we too want to be acknowledged and noticed?
Last week’s successful Old Spice video campaign was not only a coup for Old Spice and their ad agency, Wieden & Kennedy, it was a win for all of us who are caught up in the tangled web of connectivity. Isaiah Mustafa, the Old Spice Guy, responded to personal inquiries in over 180 videos. He answered questions users submitted through Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. For the rest of us, his “dearest and closest Internet friends” who he didn’t have the time to respond to, he said he’ll “never forget the time we spent together” and how he “loves us always.”
Maybe the average social media marketer doesn’t have a glossy ad budget or a towel clad actor, but perhaps now in the post-Old Spice video campaign, businesses will think twice about giving thoughtful, personal reactions to our comments.
We’re listening, shouldn’t they?
Image credit: judy_breck’s photostream
It’s not everyday that one ad campaign or agency dominates AdAge’s Viral Video Chart. See my 
Deb Hemley | Multimedia Artist 