I am experiencing the wonderful New York for the first time. What has struck me is that you feel an affinity to the brand New York despite never having been before...I suppose that is through
- Brand storytelling through films and TV programs. I don't see the Empire State Building for instance I see Meg Ryan chasing Tom Hanks....or the terror of King Kong etc I have personal stories of watching those films... who I was with...where I was....connecting me to New York.
- The song....I cannot say New York without saying it twice...that is the viral hook!
- Social networking. Most of my UK friends have been to New York. So they have told me about the experiences, the sharing of those stories....makes me want to engage with the NY experience.
This shows me again that brands have been built throughout history by word of mouth, by creating stories for people to share. New York may be new to me, however the concept of social media has been around for a long, long time. The difference was that
- We needed other's to share it globally...eg film makers, radio
- Our sphere of influence was narrow.
One interesting thought was that Sleepless in Seattle I equate to New York! Why because the emotional scene..the time when the film makers pull on my emotion is in New York....brands need emotion, people need emotion, engagement to brands or people need emotion.
