I’m feeling all warm inside towards a brand, and I don’t know whether that means that I’m gullible or it’s just a natural reaction.

I’ve just seen a video on YouTube that I picked up via my Twitter feed. The video you’ll see below shows how making stairs fun can encourage people to use them. That’s got to be positive in this day and age.

In its own right this video is interesting and fascinating to watch. I’m sure for effect some of the footage the most effective clips have been chosen, but the conclusion I would hope was drawn scientifically.

I was merrily watching the video and as it came to the end was surprised to see that the initiative had a sponsor. My immediate reaction, good on them for getting involved and supporting an innovative idea such as this. That’s what gave me the warm and fuzzy feeling towards the brand. Now what’s the value of that? It’s hard to quantify. Will it result in additional sales? Impossible to say unless they tracked upstream traffic that converts into a sale.

Watch the video and see what you think about it.

How much was the investment? And how many units do they need it to sell to make that investment worthwhile? I’d suggest that one extra would probably do it. Now I’m all for results and driving measurable response but I’m also pragmatic enough to know that a measure such as views on YouTube could be enough to justify an investment and to show that it was money well spent.

What do you think?

Just a final thought as well. Is this sponsorship, PR, broadcast, advertising or is it social media? Blurred boundaries I think.

ADDITIONAL COMMENT 12th October ’09

Interesting other project – the deepest bin in the world!

Have a look and see what you think about this one.