There is a big difference between a brand telling consumers to go and make films and the spontaneous filmmaking that's happening over the web right now. The impact of the later is going to make some brand's lives pretty interesting and probably the lives of their lawyers.
People are going to be making brand ads of their own fruition, with no brief and no contact from the company. Brands are going to have to learn how to deal with this. We've all been dealing with blogging for some time, but film is so much more powerful and potentially dangerous.
One recent positive example is the break-up video from Bowiechick that generated over 200,000 views on You-Tube. Capitalizing on her initial success, Bowiechick went and made a second film explaining that she used a Logitech webcam. Some bloggers are skeptical and feel that Logitech put her up to it, the brand however proclaims its innocence and appears to be basking in the glory of this happy accident.
Here is Bowiechick's account of events from her blog, where it appears she might have been looking for a pay day.
"I called Nancy Morrison from Logitech today. She said they really love my videos. They aren?t going to pay me (which I don?t care about) but it's cool because she said that if I ever see something I really want from Logitech, I can just contact her. Isn't that nice? I would feel greedy asking for something, but then again I guess I helped them make a bunch of money and that is something most people are payed for. And hey, I should take advantage of this. I will find something I REALLY want first."
Remember, this is a teen who basically talked into a sub-$100 camera and got over 200,000 people to watch.
So to add another layer of complexity to brand owners lives. Who in the marketing department or at your agencies is checking these film sites to see what films consumers are making about your brand? Who in your department can consumers talk to, if they just happen to want to make a film?
