Amateur YouTuber Does Integrated Promotion for Take180. Too Bad Site Flounders Technically.
Another popular YouTube artist has been tapped for a comprehensive promotion that involves a sponsored video, significant promotion on the client’s website, and even online-media ads promoting the YouTuber. Kelly, the shoe-loving persona of Liam Kyle Sullivan, posted a recent video interviewing her Aunt Sarah (another Sullivan persona). The video mentions Take180, a website where viewers interact with serial web shows and compete in challenges to develop plots.
As a raving fan of Kelly, I was stopped right in my tracks. When I later saw a display ad for Take180 (featuring Kelly), I was quick to visit, register and even TRY entering a contest (more on that in a minute).
This is a great use of a known Internet icon to promote an unknown website. The promotion wasn’t just a YouTube video promoting a sponsor, but a full partnership that’s the web’s equivalent of William Shatner and Priceline. Kelly fit the persona of Take180, and they’ve embraced her on their site and in digital promotions. This is a win-win since many of us wouldn’t have looked at Take180 without her endorsement, and Kelly’s getting some exposure to people that may not know her yet.
I would expect Liam took a modest stock grant as well as a decent paycheck for his participation. We can’t have Kelly pimping any old website and becoming the Internet’s version of Ed McMahon, can we?
Now the bad news (see clarification post 24 hours later). The site is a technical disaster. It didn’t know I had confirmed my e-mail address until I logged out and in again. It logged me off without explanation. The interface was graphic heavy and non-intuitive. Worse of all, when I tried to upload a video (I had shot, edited, titled and scored… it rejected each format). Will I be back again? Not likely.
It’s usually the other way around. Great technology with lousy marketing. In this case, it may be time Kelly took those technical Betches outside and showed their ass the back of her heel.
“…a website where viewers interact with serial web shows and compete in challenges to develop plots.”
Sounds like they just don’t want to hire writers, to me.
If y’all are looking for some REAL money and fame, run on down to my old stompin’ grounds in Lincoln Heights and Inglewood and catch yourself The Grim Sleeper, the most enduring serial killer you’ve never heard of. Bring your camcorder.
^ Click for link
Take180 reminds me of our failing government. Take today for instance:
“Every American taxpayer will be forced to pay through the nose for the rest of his lifetime in order to bail out wealthy, well-connected people who committed fraud. In effect, every American taxpayer has been forced to purchase stock in two insolvent companies.
Ben Bernanke was not elected by the American people, and he is not accountable to them. Henry Paulsen was not elected by the American people, and he is not accountable to them. And the people in the corporate offices of FM and FM were not elected by the American people, and they were not accountable to them. And they were committing fraud.
In addition to the gargantuan personal debt that you and I have been forced to assume, the U.S. dollar will suffer as a result of this bailout. Inflation will increase. And the recession will worsen.”
So PayPal me now (click) while you still have some change in your pocket.
😀
Wow Kevin, way to bitch-slap an online entity! I didn’t visit the site, but I sure enjoyed your roller-coaster review.
hm… I am not going to use it. it’ll probably reject me just for running linux.
Way to make friends in the online community dude. Especially the part where you suggest Kelly apply physical force with her foot to the back end of the IT folks. I’m guessing Take180 won’t be calling you anytime soon.
hey Kev-o
I note that your file extension (.AVI) is all in Did you dry renaming your files with lower-case extensions? It’s possible that they have an over-ambitious extension checker.
All the same, you make a good point. It shouldn’t matter if it’s .avi or .AVI. I mean, And I’m so serious about that I’m going to forgo the joke I could make about Mac users and file extensions.
…for now…
is all in CAPS. Ugh, I can’t type today!
You would know… after selling out to Readers Digest!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuK6ro3wIKQ
Shameless.