Comments on: Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along-Blog http://millennialmarketing.com/2009/06/dr-horribles-sing-along-blog/ Marketing to Millennials Wed, 28 Jul 2010 09:58:17 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Nicki http://millennialmarketing.com/2009/06/dr-horribles-sing-along-blog/comment-page-1/#comment-311 Nicki Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:37:52 +0000 http://millennialmarketing.com/2009/06/dr-horribles-sing-along-blog/#comment-311 All excellent points, and let's not forget that Dr. Horrible was an outstanding success because it was originally distributed for free and not sold to us Millennials with traditional marketing. Because it was originally offered for free, it let us discover it on the internet (which as Ariella says, we feel is our domain and that we know it best) and tell our friends about it. There were no commercials, just word-of-mouth buzz coming from real people. <br /><br />In my (humble) opinion, that's the crux of marketing to Millennials. We want our brands to communicate to us personally through a real person: we buy things that are recommended by real people on Amazon.com, we interact with real brand employees and reps on Facebook fan pages, and exchange tweets with real people who happen to work at large corporations like Dell or Apple. Likewise, Dr. Horrible was "sold" to us- the first among our generation to see it sold it to the rest of us. We'd had a chance to try it out for free, claim it as our own discovery, and do our own person-to-person marketing for it. <br /><br />Interestingly, even though it was done for free at the time, it was later released on DVD with extra features for sale on Amazon- and sold well enough that Joss Whedon and the other creators were more than able to pay back cast and crew for their efforts. Just goes to show you that Millennials aren't all about stealing music and videos--not if we can have it for free, first.<br /><br />-Nicki Pierski (@nmarie) All excellent points, and let's not forget that Dr. Horrible was an outstanding success because it was originally distributed for free and not sold to us Millennials with traditional marketing. Because it was originally offered for free, it let us discover it on the internet (which as Ariella says, we feel is our domain and that we know it best) and tell our friends about it. There were no commercials, just word-of-mouth buzz coming from real people.

In my (humble) opinion, that's the crux of marketing to Millennials. We want our brands to communicate to us personally through a real person: we buy things that are recommended by real people on Amazon.com, we interact with real brand employees and reps on Facebook fan pages, and exchange tweets with real people who happen to work at large corporations like Dell or Apple. Likewise, Dr. Horrible was "sold" to us- the first among our generation to see it sold it to the rest of us. We'd had a chance to try it out for free, claim it as our own discovery, and do our own person-to-person marketing for it.

Interestingly, even though it was done for free at the time, it was later released on DVD with extra features for sale on Amazon- and sold well enough that Joss Whedon and the other creators were more than able to pay back cast and crew for their efforts. Just goes to show you that Millennials aren't all about stealing music and videos–not if we can have it for free, first.

-Nicki Pierski (@nmarie)

]]> By: DrJohnDrozdal http://millennialmarketing.com/2009/06/dr-horribles-sing-along-blog/comment-page-1/#comment-307 DrJohnDrozdal Sun, 07 Jun 2009 04:01:24 +0000 http://millennialmarketing.com/2009/06/dr-horribles-sing-along-blog/#comment-307 First of all, Ariella, thank you for introducing me to Dr. Horrible! If you check my bio on Twitter, you'll see the word "revolutionary". So I immediately connected with the Dr. as a kindred spirit and his message of change.<br /><br />As someone who spends a great deal of time helping members of different generations work together effectively, I, for one, am doing everything I can to help you and all the Millennials get that chance to prove you can make a difference.<br /><br />I offer a few thoughts...<br /><br />The bad news is that there are Captain Hammers everywhere. I refer to them as CAVE people - that stands for Citizens Against Virtually Everything. Here's the good news. There are many people in other generations - Boomers included - who have had it with the Captain Hammers and the status quo they all represent. I think you will find some allies along the way - sometimes who they are will surprise you.<br /><br />It is important to get clear where and how you want to make a difference. Back in the 60's, we wanted to change the world, too. Unfortunately, sometimes we acted like "rebel's without a clue" - and we spent too much time competing with each other. Millennials have so many great ideas. Pick where you want to start, get your game plan together, and then collaborate, collaborate, collaborate!<br /><br />Finally, please don't give up. You may be the best and brightest generation ever. You have allies that you can call on because we want you to succeed. Go for it! First of all, Ariella, thank you for introducing me to Dr. Horrible! If you check my bio on Twitter, you'll see the word "revolutionary". So I immediately connected with the Dr. as a kindred spirit and his message of change.

As someone who spends a great deal of time helping members of different generations work together effectively, I, for one, am doing everything I can to help you and all the Millennials get that chance to prove you can make a difference.

I offer a few thoughts…

The bad news is that there are Captain Hammers everywhere. I refer to them as CAVE people – that stands for Citizens Against Virtually Everything. Here's the good news. There are many people in other generations – Boomers included – who have had it with the Captain Hammers and the status quo they all represent. I think you will find some allies along the way – sometimes who they are will surprise you.

It is important to get clear where and how you want to make a difference. Back in the 60's, we wanted to change the world, too. Unfortunately, sometimes we acted like "rebel's without a clue" – and we spent too much time competing with each other. Millennials have so many great ideas. Pick where you want to start, get your game plan together, and then collaborate, collaborate, collaborate!

Finally, please don't give up. You may be the best and brightest generation ever. You have allies that you can call on because we want you to succeed. Go for it!

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