Earlier this week, Matt at The Digital Perm published a post about Bayer's attempt to attract customers in the 25-40 age range to their Aleve pain relief medicine, specifically, their Aleve Liquid Gels released in March of this year. What's their new marketing strategy? Build an online buzz with an online game at Aleviator.com. Sound strange? Yes.
The fictitional game will lead players through a series of social networking sites including blogs and wikis while they follow clues to find a character named Dr. Albert Briggs who has been kidnapped by the conspiracy-linked PAIN (People Against Internet Networking) organization. Each page within the game is labeled with a small blue and yellow pill and the message, "Brought to you by the makers of Alevel Liquid Gel," but aside from that, the mention of Bayer or its products is said to be almost absent from the game.
According to an article in the New York Times,
Jez Frampton, global chief executive for Interbrand, a marketing consultancy and division of the Omnicom Group, said that Bayer was clever to try to use a viral message to approach a new market. “If it works it could be a very good idea, and that’s the real question — will it work?” he said. “That all depends on how good the story is and how well it rewards the people who do it. I guess the biggest risk is being seen as uncool by the very market you are trying to attract.”
Bayer claims that the viral marketing aspect of its overall marketing plan for Aleve Liquid Gels is small. The overall plan includes advertising and other features, but Bayer intends to evaluate the results of their first foray into viral marketing to determine if it has a positive effect on Aleve Liquid Gels sales within the target market. Bayer is quick to point out that Aleviator.com is a test and no one is certain how consumer products can effectively leverage the internet in marketing campaigns yet.
Looks like no one knows if this type of viral marketing will work, let alone for a consumer healthcare product. What do you think? Will Aleviator create a buzz that's big enough to boost sales?
I suppose the buzz has already started since people within the blogosphere like Matt and me are talking about it, but will that translate into sales? I think I have to agree with Matt on this one. Bayer's effort, while clever and a great example of out-of-the-box thinking, doesn't seem like it's going to hit the mark. I can see this type of online game working for a "cooler" brand or product or even to promote a specific website, but I'm not feeling the connection for Bayer. I'd imagine Bayer is trying to change their image with Aleviator.com, but I'm not buying it. How about you?
Read more about viral and buzz marketing on MarketingBlurb.
I question whether this type of game will work for any brand, cool or not, as 'work' is such a nebulous term in the branding realm. Also, did I miss something, or was there no 'game' in the Aleve game? I mean, the clickthrough to the sites couldn't have been less movitational or rewarding. I say B- for effort, and something south of C for applicability of results to 1) their business, or 2) other businesses. I've pondered this subject on my blog, Dim Bulb, at http://dimbulb.typepad.com, and would appreciate your addt'l thoughts.
Posted by: Jonathan Salem Baskin | July 17, 2007 9:16 PM | Permalink to Comment