Sneaky SEM in FMCG

It has been announced this week that DARE Ice Coffee has extended their “Head All Over Place” campaign by buying the top 300 incorrectly spelled search terms on Google. These paid search ads tie-in with their campaign in a cheeky way, giving them a fantastic entrance into the viral marketing scene.

Although this campaign has not been without its detractors. It has come to light that early in May of this year, Snickers ran the same idea to tie in with their “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry”, with the paid search terms delivery an ad for “You Can’t Spell When You’re Hungry.

When deliberately tried in the office, it worked like a charm. But when we looked a bit closer at the execution, a few flaws started to appear. With Google’s new update-as-you-type interface, there can be seen a possible reduction in incorrect searches. The other portion is the auto-complete of words that Google also offers, meaning in the example above (Accomodate) you only need to type A-C-C-O-M before being offered the complete word – one letter prior to intentional misspelling.

Don’t let those issues detract you – they are only small cracks in an otherwise brilliant idea (despite who thought of it first).

What it means for us: This is the type of campaign that has “viral” written all over it – it can be shared on social media but not hosted there (unlike video clips and other content) and is therefore accessible by those who work in companies with strict social media policies. It’s also easy and accessible enough that everyone wants to try it for themselves – case in point I asked one person in the office to try it, and ended up with everyone in hearing distance giving it a go. This is another facet of the fantastic options available through the digital medium for companies of all walks of life.