Spoof campaign by blur targets B2B marketing audience

blur markets service with Amazon Dash advert video spoof

Campaign name: At blur, We Have B2B Children
Brand: blur Group?s Global Services Exchange
Audience: B2B and B2B businesses
Regions: Europe and USA
Duration: 25/04/2014 to 25/05/2014
Channels: Social media



Social Media Portal (SMP): Agency behind the campaign

blur Group?s Global Services Exchange (blur): Handrawn Pictures, LLC

SMP: The full name of the brand

blur: blur Group?s Global Services Exchange is a business services marketplace in the cloud where over 45,000 businesses in 145 countries buy, sell, deliver and pay for business projects.

SMP: What regions is the campaign for?

blur: We?re a global company with offices in USA and Europe, so the online campaign has focused on this regions.

SMP: The official campaign name and why was it chosen?

blur: ?At blur, We Have B2B Children?. The video is a spoof of the Amazon Dash advert, which was described by consumers and media as ?cheesy?.  blur Group capitalises on this attention while pointing out the similarities of our offering;  - Amazon sells groceries from thousands of vendors (B2C), blur sells business services from thousands of professional experts (B2B).

SMP: What was the start and end of the campaign?

blur: 25/04/2014 to 25/05/2014

SMP: The target audiences of the campaign, who are you trying to reach and why?

blur: The video was an amusing and engaging way to draw customers into the mouth of the purchase funnel. scommerce (or services commerce) is tricky to grasp, so we wanted to draw parallels between ecommerce and scommerce and how it?s as easy to buy B2B services online as it is to order fresh groceries from Amazon Dash.

SMP: Briefly, tell us about your campaign

blur: We had a light-bulb moment after checking out the Amazon Dash video online and decided to give B2B a fun spin with cute kids. Our CEO's daughter volunteered her talents for the perfect voice-over.   The video is a case study in itself as it took less than nine working days from the light-bulb moment to posting the video on YouTube.  During those nine days we briefed thousands of experts, ran a pitch, hired the best expert for the job, filmed, produced and posted the video all through the Global Services Exchange.



SMP: What were the goals / objectives of the campaign and why is it different?

blur: We wanted to help viewers grasp the concept of scommerce.  We also wanted the spoof to serve as a case study for our leads, on how services can be delivered within nine days through blur Group?s Exchange.

The campaign was different because B2B companies often avoid venturing into the "spoof" arena, sticking to a more sober demeanour in marketing and communications. We tried to have a little bit of fun and show off our cool, disruptive brand personality.

SMP: Why did you decide to use video for the campaign and how did you support this channel in particular?

blur: Customers from all over the world can buy business services in the cloud in the same way that customers in California can buy groceries in the cloud. The campaign explores the parallels between B2B and B2C. Video was the most compelling way to simplify communication about blur?s offering by using humour to piggyback Amazon?s ad.

SMP: B2B marketing campaigns are supposedly more difficult, how did you approach this campaign to make it different?

blur: Just because blur is B2B doesn?t mean its ?disruptive, driven, different? culture can?t shine through.  Humans make products and purchasing decisions, companies do everything within that; we don?t lose our personalities when we go into work.  B2B campaigns should play and experiment as much as B2C campaigns.  The video provided a novel way of showing how the Global Services Exchange works while being an example of the platform in action in real time.  Blur created several pieces for its content marketing programmes on the back of the video.

SMP: How long did it take to create the campaign, what were the main challenges and how did you overcome them?

blur: The time it took to create the campaign was part of the campaign itself.  Nine working days from idea to YouTube.  Blur submitted a brief to the Exchange, received pitches from all over the world, engaged Hand drawn pictures based on their ideas, who then cast, filmed, edited and produced the video, made blur?s required changes, secured blur?s approval and posted it on website - all in nine days.

At blur, we know how to turn ideas into products. Amazon Dash spoof #video is the best proof. http://t.co/x3rGLim7iF pic.twitter.com/5mbx0Ns2Fj

? blur Group (@blurGroup) May 18, 2014

We were initially concerned about using a company based halfway around the world, as our priority was to work with an expert based on merit rather than location or previous relationship.  However, we quickly realised we could leverage the time difference between England and California.  This meant we could come into work in the morning, see their entire day?s work ready for us to review, and then discuss it with the production company at the end of our day, knowing that as we headed home for the evening, our experts were gearing up for another full day of great work.

SMP: What were the channels, platforms and methods you used?

blur: The video was distributed via Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, SlideShare and blog posts on our website.  It was also included in our content management programme via Marketo.

SMP: What did you hope to achieve?

blur: First and foremost, blur wanted to prove that it could be done; that the Global Services Exchange is the perfect platform to deliver business projects efficiently without having to compromise on the skills of the provider, budget or timing.  

SMP: What were the challenges in creating the campaign and how did you overcome them?

blur: The challenges were creating the campaign from the basis of the campaign itself - time, money and expertise.

SMP: What was the budget used for the campaign?

blur: Under £5,000

SMP: How did you make the campaign social and shareable?

blur: We promoted the video on our social media sites like Twitter, Facebook and SlideShare

?At blur, We Have B2B Children - Amazon Dash Spoof: http://youtu.be/vrlL_Iopmy0    Nine working days from idea to YouTube #spoofvideo #blurgroup?

SMP: Is there anything else we should know, or is there anything in particular that you?d like to share about the campaign?

blur: The fact that we used our very own platform to execute the project in nine days, all the way from pitch to delivery: it?s something we?re very proud of!


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