ebay’s latest marketing tactic with its “it” campaign is interesting, yet nothing really groundbreaking in my opinion. Years ago, BMW started an ad campaign of a similar method with their “BMW Films”. When it all comes down to it, eBay and BMW are trying to peak your interest, and as a result, get you to go to their site. Does this mean you will all of sudden become a master eBayer or a tux-wearing Z4 driver after visiting their site in consequence to viewing their TV commercial? Not likely. However, that’s not necessarily what they are trying to accomplish within the short term. It’s all about branding which has a lot to do with the psychology of things. What BMW and eBay are trying to accomplish is getting their brand within your “accessible memory”. Anytime you hear a James Brown song, you will think “BMW”. Or if someone during the water-cooler talk in the office keeps saying “it” a lot with unusual emphasis, you will think “eBay”. This type of product-association will be even more significantly ingrained in your brain because you acted on a “call to action” presented by BMW and eBay… you went to their website.
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