The Virtual Handshake: A City Winery Twitter Saga - Steve Rosenbaum - MediaBizBloggers
There’s a change in the way brands talk to consumers. And how consumers talk to brands.
The one way world is now increasingly interactive, with customers initiating the conversation. Customers are in now control of the ‘brand story.’
Here’s an example. On a recent summer evening I ended up with tickets to see a terrific performing artist on stage at a venue called City Winery in New York. The performer was Marshall Crenshaw, and he and his band put on a remarkable show.
Everything was great, the food, the wine, the service and the music. I looked around, and saw that other folks were taking pictures and flip-cam videos, so I decided to join in. I’d brought along my Canon 7D and walked up to the stage edge. I recorded an amazing rendition of his hit song "Mary Anne" – with good sound and HD video.
I wasn’t sure if the venue or the artist would mind, but there wasn’t any mention of not recording video, so I figured it was ok. Then, back home, I posted it on my Facebook page and sent out a tweet: “Great night at City Winery; Marshall Crenshaw performing Mary Anne.” Then I posted this link: http://bit.ly/curationnation14
For those of you who’ve been a fan of Marshall's – you know this song is a classic. And I hoped he could still deliver it with the bounce and exuberance that glued it to my brain the first time I heard it. I wasn’t disappointed.
I didn’t think much about it other than to hope that some other fans enjoyed it. So, I was totally surprised when hours later I found this tweet responding to my post from the CityWineryNYC account:
CityWineryNYC @magnify Thanks for your support--come by tonight and get 2 ticks for the price of 1--show tweet at the doorhttp://bit.ly/cCyzJh
That’s a great response. I didn’t know that I was ‘supporting’ them by recording and posting a video, but of course I was. I had endorsed both the venue and the artist, and they were repaying my endorsement with an offer, and some warm feedback. My immediate reaction was that I want to go there again, post again and become an even more ardent ‘supporter’ of the venue. That’s good marketing.
I’ve thought about that interaction between City Winery and myself. And it reminded me of something I learned many years ago, when I was covering New York Politics for BROACAST: New York. I had the pleasure of doing a quarterly interview with Governor Mario Cuomo – and we ended up taking about how media was changing politics. I asked him if he thought that television advertising would ever replace the meat and potato’s politics of the rope line and the politician out shaking hands and kissing babies.
He looked at me with an expression of man who was about to impart a secret and he said; “Steven, every politician knows this simple truth –shake a voter's hand and you have a vote for life.”
I’ve thought about that. How it must be true, and yet why? Why does a simple touch make us feel ‘connected’ – like we ‘know’ each other? Like there’s more than a fleeting exchange. It’s something about the effort – the direct connection – the power of an exchange.
And so, thinking about the future of Brand Marketing – I can’t help but think that City Winery reached out and ‘shook my hand’ in the digital sense. They ‘heard me’ and they responded. And I feel connected in a way that elevates our relationship and their brand.
Whether actual or virtual – a direction connection is a powerful thing.
Steven Rosenbaum is an Author, Photographer, and Filmmaker. He is the CEO of Magnify.net, a Realtime Video Curation engine for publishers, brands, and websites. His book “Curation Nation” is slated to be published this spring by McGrawHill Business.
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