Three Minds On Digital Marketing @ Organic

For all the press releases announcing “the next Subservient Chicken”, a lot of time and money is spent on high production-value, deeply experiential content, only to see the pass-along rate blown away by grainy videos of two Chinese boys or Christmas lights set to a rock opera.

There’s no question that consumer-generated media has substantially increased the signal-to-noise ratio for content on the web. What’s more, questionable content makes it difficult for big brands to jump in with both feet. What’s an advertiser to do?

Try Jokebox.com, a site from JibJab that’s part email storage, part social network. Store and organize your favorite jokes on the site, then share them with friends or weigh in on strangers’ choices. 

Jokebox has been able to attract more than 600,000 members in 3 months, 83% of whom are over 21. So unlike MySpace, they can attract advertising from brands like Bud Light. They’ve also succeeded, so far at least, in getting their members to keep all the jokes at a PG-13 level, another plus for marketers.

The real genius, though, is leveraging the inherently viral nature of throw-away humor. I was surprised, for example, at how many text-only jokes are on the site - the kind of groaners that usually go straight into the trash. Now those responsible not only have their own circle in hell, but their own social networking platform. 

Misha Cornes