PRSA Silver Anvil
Posted by Erin Koch
Ever heard of Anvil? You will soon. (Actually you just did.) The Canadian metal band, active since 1978, is on the verge of a major breakthrough with the release of a documentary on their history: Anvil! The Story of Anvil.
How did a band that toiled in relative obscurity for over thirty years suddenly rocket into the public consciousness? The answer is Twitter or, more precisely, the authenticity of Twitter. As reported last week in this delightful story on American Public Media’s Marketplace, the release of the film has been promoted heavily by celebrities with significant numbers of followers on Twitter. VH-1 provided DVD copies of the film to its stars: John Mayer, Joel and Benji Madden (from Good Charlotte), and others. The celebs watched the DVD, enjoyed it, and tweeted about it to their thousands of Twitter followers who are themselves talking up the film and going to theaters to see it.
Why did this work? And what are the lessons for PR agencies’ use of Twitter and other social media? The key was the authenticity of those promoting the film. VH-1 did not request that its stars provide positive reviews and did not provide monetary compensation. They simply provided the product, and let the reviews speak for themselves.
This is precisely the appeal of sites such as Twitter and Facebook: personal thoughts, impressions, and recommendations direct from people that the target audiences know, trust, or just admire.
Agencies that make use of these social media as conduits for authentic voices will be successful. (And their programs are likely to receive awards, such as the Silver Anvil – the industry’s highest honor, photo above.)
Tags: humor, marketing, movies, news, social media, Twitter, viral
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