Support for conversation based brand strategies (part 2)

When I made the switch from the offline to the interactive agency-world almost a year ago, I was looking forward to get inspired by campaigns that mixed conversational marketing with "traditional" creativity.

Unfortunately very few interactive campaigns manage to combine both. Sure, our Volvo C30 campaign, the NIVEA Hair Team or our very own rebranding campaign sourced content from consumers to build a creative campaign. But if you go through last year's award shows, very little interactive campaigns manage to combine high levels of creativity and user participation (oh well except for this one and this one...).

Last week, I happened to be doing a competitive analysis for our main cosmetic client. Going through the campaigns and sites of L'Oréal, Garnier, Dove and the like, it struck me how their superbly designed websites lacked any real user participation. Sure, I saw the odd interactive product guide or email based slimming program but there was not one feature that enabled a real conversation between users or users and the brand. But then I found this US campaign for Sunsilk called Color Showdown.

Altough it might not qualify for a Grand Prix at the Cannes Cyberlions, it's a very good example of a conversational campaign for a mainstream FMCG brand for at least three reasons :

- it starts from the well-trodden "Blondes vs Brunettes"-cause but injects new energy through the intelligent use of user participation (by inviting real blondes and brunettes for a showdown)
- it doesn't the treat the web as a medium but as a collection of platforms : by offering MySpace-candy or setting up a Ning network where users can organise themselves and share extra content.
- the campaign merely sets a framework where users define the story and its unfolding through different platforms.