Most social media-driven crowdsourcing efforts leave me cold, I’ll be honest. The wow factor of the mechanism or the participant count often seems more impressive than what’s actually being done. So I was quite skeptical when I clicked on a recently released TED talk by composer Eric Whitacre about his virtual choir initiatives. As a lifetime alto, though, I was intrigued. I dare you to watch this and come away unmoved.
What does this have to do with marketing and brands? Quite a lot, actually.
The power of soft
First, it reminds us of the power of soft, kind things: beauty and human connection. In the virtual choruses shown here, people share their time and talent out of love. They love singing, and they love singing with other people. This is a global act of collective gentleness. It is additive, not divisive. They are not seeking individual fame, nor is this a contest. It is the antithesis of “American Idol.” And it is deeply moving.
When was the last time you focused on gentleness in your marketing efforts? When everyone aims for the brash and exciting, the result is a blaring, a racket. Energetically, it feels harsh and thin, with a remarkable sameness to it all. A brand that hums softly may stand out.
When did you last focus on authentic human connection? Most brands, if they venture into this terrain at all, do so with family relationships and/or serve it up Hallmark-style with a side of treacle. It feels staged, and we all feel a little manipulated. As Whitacre says toward the end, “human beings will go to any lengths to find and connect with each other.” Surely brands can benefit by helping foster and reflect genuine human connections of all kinds–especially those that transcend neighborhood, country and tribe.
Expanding our repertoire
Another takeaway: we marketers should expand our repertoire, literally. We can stand out by tapping a broader range of music, starting with choral and classical. Choral music is not even on the radar screen of marketers and ad agencies. (I’m not talking show tunes, or “Glee.”) I’ll have more to say about music in my next post. For now, consider how swiftly Whitacre was able to tap into a passionate, world-wide cadre of choral enthusiasts. From the look of it, most of them the young, text-happy Facebook crowd marketers try so hard to woo. Yes, they probably also listen to Lady Gaga and rap, too. Both/and, multidimensional people–fancy that.
