Circuit City’s I Wear Red 4U Campaign

I came across this video at Advertising and NewMedia.com yesterday while searching for evidence of big brands embracing Twitter and other new media.

Circuit City is coming out and saying, “We’re all about the customer, we’re here for you.” This is a great example of a big brand positively and smoothly entering the social web.

Social Media Marketing, they call it.  It is indeed marketing, but the web is a customer-centric place, where connections and content are kings.  There is little room nor tolerance for intrusive direct marketing.  “Social Media Marketing” has more to do with customer experience, service and satisfaction than it does with traditional marketing means.

The social web enables companies to openly communicate with consumers on a more personal level. With Twitter, for example, Circuit City has the ability to always reach an end-user directly. Because Twitter is essentially a public conversation, Circuit City can connect on a 1:1 level with the consumer while simultaneously being observed by the entire social community. This is another reason why Twitter is such a powerful communication tool: It holds each individual user accountable. Circuit City must leave a positive footprint every time it ends a conversation.

Comcast, Zappos and others have already jumped in and successfully connected with their customers via Twitter. They create relationships that go further than just a trip to the store, visit to the website, or call to the customer service hotline.  One way to look at this is that they’re practicing active customer service.  Pre-purchase, mid-, and post-purchase, @Circuit_City has the ability to make the overall experience just a little better for a customer who tweets about it on Twitter.

Do you want to just sell it to the customer and let them take it home and open it, not knowing what’ll happen next? OR do you want to be there when they open it and help them try it out? The most valuable interaction comes with the second question. People want to feel good about their purchase and a great way to make them feel good is to be there for them. Considering today’s economy and the quickly changing media landscape, it only makes sense to help your customer as much as you can - making sure they are satisfied and creating loyalty. Social media gets companies one step closer to doing just that.

In the end, I think Circuit City’s campaign and use of social media will turn out to prove that a large company (who’s known to be fairly traditional) can effectively utilize new technologies to gain nothing but positive results. If Circuit City can give each customer they connect with a reason to think of Red when they think electronics, an enhanced image will be born and revenue will flourish.

Circuit City w/ a customer-centric philosophy + Social Media = Very promising.

Nice work Red.