Ky. Trio Kickstarts Superbowl Commercial for the Commonwealth
By Erin Holaday Ziegler
Contributing writer
Lexington, Ky. - Three Kentucky-born marketing gurus hope to show off Kentucky's unique brand to the world with a first-ever "crowd-funded" Super Bowl ad made possible through the crowd-funding Web site Kickstarter.com.
You might not yet realize it, but there's a good chance you've already heard from Kent Carmichael, Whit Hiler and Griffin VanMeter.
Kentucky for Kentucky
Mashable
Ad Age
Kentucky Sports Radio
Lexington Herald-Leader
Their concept, , has been featured as far and wide as social media news blog and marketing/media magazine and as close to home as (KSR) and the . And they've been at it for a little under two weeks.
"We wanted to give something back to the state and really show the world what it means to be a commonwealth," said VanMeter, a partner at local firm Bullhorn Marketing. "If we were writers, we would have writtenÖsculptors, we would have sculpted. But we're marketers. That's what we do."
Kentucky for Kentucky
And so these childhood friends hatched a plan after brainstorming during last year's Super Bowl. It began with a Facebook page launched in early April.
To follow the National Football League season, the guys officially launched the project on the league's opening day (Sept. 8) with a comical short film detailing the "kickass qualities of Kentucky" and her native sons and daughters: think Colonel Sanders. Muhammad Ali. Ashley Judd. Bourbon. Thoroughbred horse racing.
What began as a Super Bowl commercial has quickly become something more for Kentuckians in the Commonwealth and around the world. "It's crazy how quickly people have become attached to this," said VanMeter.
No dream is too big for this group; they are completely sincere in their devotion for the Commonwealth, and it seems that Kentuckians and the nation are beginning to take them seriously as well, with 378 people pledging $50,470 as of press time (toward a goal of $3.5 million with 48 days to go.)
"This is one of the fastest spreading campaigns we've ever seen," said Hiler, Business Development Director at Cornett Integrated Marketing Solutions. "And I don't think any of us have had something shared more within our social circles than this Kickstarter project. The amount of Facebook sharing alone has been huge."
Kentucky for Kentucky
As of this morning, the Facebook page had 2,763 friends.
While the bulk of the money will hopefully come from individual Kentuckians, Hiler sensibly points out that a corporate sponsorship would "be the best $250,000 a Kentucky-based company ever spent" from a marketing standpoint.
A corporate pledge guarantees placement in a Super Bowl commercial, massive amounts of earned media (pre, during and post Super Bowl), with the initial investment going back to Kentucky - not to mention the fact that participants will be part of quite possibly one of the biggest marketing campaigns ever.
"If we pull this off, it will go down in history," said Hiler. "And it will all be made possible by Kentuckians and the social web. This is a tremendous opportunity for a corporate sponsor."
And, he noted, a large corporate pledge would earn press attention regardless if the project is funded - regardless if the donation check is ever written. Pledges to kickstarter.com do not activate unless the campaign goals are met or exceeded (which often happens.)
Prizes for individual pledges include julep cups, string ties, t-shirts, bluegrass seed, a Kentucky colonel nomination, tubing on the Elkhorn Creek and a Kickass Super Bowl party. For a $10,000 promise, you can even star in the Super Bowl commercial.
But the biggest reward is an intangible: Kentucky pride and showing what it means to be a Commonwealth, said VanMeter. "Most other states don't have this type of unity," he added. "We're elevating the dialogue about Kentucky and highlighting everything that makes us great and unique."
And frankly, weird. The project is quirky. "That's our style. This isn't your grandpa's economic engine," said VanMeter. "We're highlighting our strengths and our strangeness."
Kentucky for Kentucky
The Facebook page has become a Mecca of crowd-sourced tourism information about the state. "It's an interactive Wikipedia," said VanMeter. "Anyone can post content for all things great about Kentucky - a state full of kickass people producing amazing things."
$3.5 million is a lot of money. Would it be better spent on a strategic communications campaign as opposed to a single commercial? "I'd do a series of smaller spots that focus on actual things Kentuckians are doing - things that are creative, innovative etc.
Right now 'opinion elite' people - the kind that lead the conversations that influence opinion - view KY in terms of statistics - income, obesity, smoking rates, literacy rates, things like that. They need to think of Kentucky in the ways that they view other places - by who is there (not who was born there and then left) and what they're doing," offered one global marketing professional.
Kentucky for Kentucky
VanMeter acknowledged criticism that he and his buddies could be raising $3.5 million for a more considerate cause, but explains that truly wants to help Kentuckians. "When we're finished with this project, we'll have a whole new way to communicate with people in Kentucky," he said. "We're creating new lines of communication that the state doesn't have."
And the sad reality is that the group might not have gotten as much attention or publicity in fundraising for an alternative cause.
"The fact that this has happened so quick is proof that it's working," said VanMeter. "This is going to be great for all Kentuckians. So come on board!"
How You Can Get Involved
Kentucky for Kentucky
Visit
.
Watch the video.
Believe.
Spread the word like the Colonel's 11 herbs and spices. We are the secret ingredient.
Remember: it's a pledge.
If the Super Bowl ad doesn't happen, and Kentucky for Kentucky doesn't reach $3.5 million, you don't pay a penny.