How Bodyform’s campaign challenges the incumbent system

The recent success of Bodyform’s film, made in response to a Facebook post by an (alleged) member of the public, is a cracking example of great marketing in action. But the more advertisers use social media successfully in this way, the more it challenges the conventional advertising model. The stalwarts of Charlotte street and Madision Avenue should look out.

For a starter, what role was there for media buyers in Bodyform’s campaign? In a world where the cost of promotion is nearing ‘free’, when consumers can broadcast advertisers’ messages to the world for nothing, conventional media buying is under threat when there is no media to buy.

Media planners on the other hand still have a powerful role although the media agency commission model has to go out of the window. In Bodyform’s case, the idea was conceived by Carat, SCN’s media agency who it seems innovated the entire campaign.

Non-digital media owners must surely be also affected. Digital media spend  has taken an impressive share of all media expenditure (20% last time I looked) but this disguises the extraordinary incremental value derived from content creation and its free exposure. And so YouTube and other mainstream digital distributors will profit from these campaigns but at the expense of more traditional media.

Bodyform’s film also illustrate the value of intelligent content creation and where to get it from.  Film production companies for example, used to executing an agency’s idea ow have a great opportunity to perform the role that conventional agencies used to do but in a fraction of the time and a fraction of the money. In Bodyform’s case, Rubber Republic were the company who scripted and made the film  with no mainstream advertising agency involved. Which must worry the likes of WPP or Omnicom whose bread and butter business involves  spending large scale budgets on advertising.

As P&G discovered this year, whilst its advertising expenditure went up, its sales did not keep pace with rare successes involving those brands which used lower cost digital marketing. But SCA, the owners of Bodyform have shown them and other competitors how a good idea, well executed, with good PR support and  no media spend can drive a brand forward, without the aid of an ad agency

It is interesting that P&G have retained Clayton Christensen (a hero in this office),  help them with their business. Perhaps his services are also needed on Madison avenue  as campaigns like this look seriously like discontinuous innovation in action. Watch out incumbents.

PS: I don’t believe for a moment Richard’s letter that sparked this is real but who cares – it’s still a great piece of brand engagement.

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