Poor Rikk Wilde, AKA “Chevy Guy.” Seconds after the Chevrolet regional manager stumbled through a painfully awkward presentation of the World Series MVP trophy (and plug for the Chevy Colorado) in which he described the Colorado as having “class winning and um, leading, you know, technology and stuff,” the internet exploded in laughter. “Chevy Guy” was officially trending on Twitter and Facebook.
Wilde, who seemed to be suffering from a severe case of stage fright, breathlessly rushed through his presentation as Madison Bumgarner (World Series MVP and proud new owner of a Chevy Colorado), reporter Erin Andrews and Commissioner Bud Selig patiently waited for the awkward moment to end. You couldn’t help but feel bad for the guy.
Wilde, ostensibly upset with his performance, couldn’t have seen what came next. Chevy turned a punch line into a marketing campaign. Within an hour of the presentation, Chevy tweeted the hashtag #TechnologyAndStuff along with a picture of the Colorado and a link to it’s specifications page. In an instance, Chevy changed their social media marketing campaign from the pedestrian #TruckWorthy to a more fun, tongue in cheek campaign featuring the tagline “You Know You Want a Truck” along with the now famous hashtag. Within 24 hours of the MVP presentation, Chevy had updated its Colorado page to reflect the new direction of the campaign, while continuing to tweet out #TechnologyAndStuff memes featuring the new pickup.
This is what great brands do. They seek out every opportunity to engage with their customers. Chevy wasn’t afraid of poking a little fun at itself. As a result, they not only got hundreds of thousands of eyes on the new Colorado, but also gained some respect from their audience – particularly the 18-35 crowd. By being in on the joke, Chevy proved that it understands its audience and how to communicate with them. #TechnologyAndStuff is a testament to the importance of two-way communication in brand loyalty. Long live Chevy Guy!
Here’s a link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3WDcXNSUzE