1:40 — Andy Sernovitz introduces Blendtec’s George Wright.
1:41 — Andy: Will it Blend is one of the most fascinating viral programs ever. In one 15-minute talk from George, we got an entire week of blog posts.
1:42 — Andy: The big question is always: Is there any real data behind all this? And the answer is yep, and you’re about to hear some from George. And with that, I’ll turn the floor over.
1:43 — George: Could someone get a pic of me in front of the word Supergenius so I could forward it to my mother in law?
1:43 — George: A lot of these things you’ve been learning has been awesome — we’re on the cutting edge. It’s not going to get anything other than better and faster with time.
1:44 — George takes a poll on how many people in the audience have seen a Will It Blend? video, nearly the entirely audience raises their hand.
1:45 — George explains that prior to Will It Blend? nobody really knew about Blendtec, so the original goal was brand awareness.
1:45 — George’s key points:
- The way we communicate has changed. You either adapt and embrace the change, or you become obsolete.
- Obviousness. George says a lot of people say that blending stuff is obviously a great video, but he asks, if so, then where was everyone before? It’s only obvious after the fact.
- Use the right tools. George says that when you have a hammer, the world looks like a nail. Just because you have all these tools doesn’t mean you should use them. Not everyone should do a web video. Not everyone should join Twitter. Make sure that what you’re doing has more than just “using a tool.”
- The strategy has to come first. Start with who you want to talk to, and then move from there. You have to know what it is you want to do, then you work through to get to the tactics.
- Marketerse need to think like content providers. Old school taught us there was a separation between the advertisers and the journalists and entertainers. George is saying that this isn’t the case anymore, and the most successful marketers are thinking like creators.
1:50 — George says brands their marketing department is now a profit center because they’ve thought like content creators. Brands like Nike and Ford have since approached them and asked them to make videos.
1:50 — George: The genesis of Will It Blend? — after I had only been there for three or four months — I happened to come across a room one day and there was sawdust on the floor. It wasn’t the type of place you’d normally see sawdust, and I couldn’t imagine what that was all about. People later explained that it was actually Tom — Blendtec’s president — testing his blenders.
1:52 — George: Everyone else thought this was normal.
1:52 — George: The question that I’m asking everyone here is: What is the sawdust on your floor? What are the compelling things you do that you’ve become desensitized to. If you can’t find something compelling about what you do, you’re in trouble.
1:53 — George says they began to test “extreme blending” on a $50 budget. George bought a white lab coat and a few things to try out blending. A few YouTube videos later, and it was a smash hit.
1:54 — George: We believe people like to business with people that are fun to do business with, so that’s our motto.
1:55 — George’s key Will It Blend? components:
- Must be worth watching
- Must accomplish a business objective
- Don’t be afraid to say “sponsored by”
- Keep it real
- Interactivity
- Offer subscriptions
1:57 — George runs through a few of the numbers behind Will It Blend? including, 94 million views on YouTube.
1:58 — George: Sales are up 700% in a down economy.
1:58 — George says that he’s happy to share more, but he didn’t haul his Blender from HQ for nothing. Guets blenders Jake McKee and Adam Brown join George on the stage for some blending.
2:00 — George pulls out a rake, and explains that it’s important to keep it real and authentic — and asks what could be more authentic than a live demonstration? George then proceeds to blend a rake. It’s awesome.
2:01 — Jake McKee of LEGO joins George and helps him blend some toy LEGOs. It’s also awesome.
2:01 — George: Those were tough. Those were some great LEGOs.
2:02 — Coke’s Adam Brown joins George on stage to blend a can of Coke — one of the first items George and the Blendtec crew blended on camera.
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