Marketing through social software?! CAN IT BE?
Recently I have been quite a fan of My Space, a wonderful friend linking site that allows users to meet new people, as well as add their own friends to their personal list.
While visiting my college roommate's My Space friends list, I came across an attractive female whose display name is "ForBiddeN." I asked my roommate who she was, and he told me to check out her profile.
Forbidden is a girl in California who makes destroyed denim jeans. For $100 she will destroy a pair of jeans for anyone and ship it to them. If you supply your own pants, she will do it for $75. She also has her own line of t-shirts and other trendy clothing items and accessories. Forbidden has 740,186 friends as of now. Hypothetically speaking, if each friend from her list bought one pair of destroyed denim jeans, Forbidden would be very busy! And quite rich, too! Her total revenue would be $74,018,600. Quite a bit of money for a girl who does her advertising for FREE on My Space via account!
Forbidden, however, does not rely solely on My Space. Her My Space account has a link to her web page, http://www.destroyeddenim.com/. Here you can purchase any of her merchandise.
Clearly, this is not the type of marketing I am here to blog about! I want to know what you think.
MOST IMPORTANTLY: Would you purchase a pair of jeans that some girl destroyed in her basement for $100, just because you saw them on My Space?
I WOULD! Just because I like to be trendy, I am actually considering buying a pair. I personally do not find the girl that attractive, too much makeup, etc. It is my personal feeling that she deserves my money, simply because of the sheer brilliance of her marketing scheme!
Users of the Face Book; you've all seen the ads on the left side of the screen that are designed specifically for your school. What do you think of these? Have you ever followed a link or gone to an event at your school from The Face Book?
My Space users; do you feel that there is too much advertising? There are banner ads everywhere. Does this stop you from using the service? Do you just ignore the ads? Do you visit any of the links?
Users of other services, ie: Friendster, etc.; what do you think about marketing through this particular medium?
posted by Gregg @ 7:36 AM
13 Comments:
i don't think i would buy the jeans. i'm personally not a fan of myspace (a fwe months ago i deleted my account because i stopped using it). but regardless, $100 for someone to destroy jeans is silly, just do it yourself and save the money.
From the Myspace.com Terms and Conditions (http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/misc/terms.html?z=1)
Non Commercial Use by Members. The Website is for the personal use of Members only and may not be used in connection with any commercial endeavors except those that are specifically endorsed or approved by the management of MySpace.com. Illegal and/or unauthorized use of the Website, including collecting usernames and/or email addresses of Members by electronic or other means for the purpose of sending unsolicited email or unauthorized framing of or linking to the Website will be investigated. Commercial advertisements, affiliate links, and other forms of solicitation may be removed from member profiles without notice and may result in termination of membership privileges. Appropriate legal action will be taken by MySpace.com for any illegal or unauthorized use of the Website.
***
I'm almost positive that most free services on the web such as myspace ban any form of advertisement.
GREG! i cant believe you would actually buy a pair of those jeans! dude, i'll do it for u for $10, and i'm sure i could do just as good! i dunno, maybe i am just being cocky cuz i am an artist, but still, i would NEVER pay $100 for a pair of jeans, let alone these. i personally think they look like shit, i think the ripped look is out. but do want u want with ur money lol.
i also think that she is pretty attractive, and the reason why she wears so much makeup in these pics is cuz she is a makeup artist. i would def. pay her to do my makeup for a special event or something, way quicker than i would buy those damn ass jeans. i think she is smart for advertising on myspace, even if it is against the rules or whateve, and i give her props for using her sexuality to sell her shit. obviously it is working! her photos are of good quality, but the myspace layout is hard to read. her other website was very professional looking, i liked it. so from a graphic and advertising point of view, i give her an 8 outta 10. from a fashion pov, i give her a 3. from a makeup/stylist pov, i give her a 9. thats my 10 cents. peace.
p.s. she is kinda like an 80's glam rocker, mixed with a harajuku girl, mixed with a porn star. i like the look, butthose boobs are def. fake.
I'm sure there's something better you can do with your money then give it to this girl... There's more people advertising on myspace then I think you realize, she was certainly not the first to come up with this marketing idea!
Just to answer your other questions... I can say, as an addict of both myspace & facebook, that the ads add something to these sites. I hate the ads that say, "pick the celebrity shown and win a free ______..." Those, I can do without, but the other ads are fine. They would never stop me from using the service, and I sometimes click the ads that I'm interested in. I also go to most of the events I get from facebook at my school :)
Unless you were rich i'd say it'd be crazy to have a random girl damage a pair of jeans for you for her prices. You can definitely buy a pair of already damaged pants from stores for much cheaper prices.. and yea the facebook ads do work.. just cause facebook is so addicting
I don't think I would buy them, just because I would do it at home by myself... however I have to give the girl credit and if it WAS a product that I really wanted, I think I would be willing to fork over the money, plus it is a really ingenious way to advertise goods... I think that a lot more people use it as a means of advertising, such as bands, and the terms of agreement do say that it is alright to use with proper approval from management.
I wouldn't buy the jeans. It's too much money, and it's a stranger and she rips them to shreds honestly. Her myspace is too confusing to take the time to look at.. i'm on college internet connection and it was hard to scroll down the page because there is too much on it (pictures on the main page, etc.) There could have been more links to the professional site. the professional site was well laid out and persuaded me a little more that her operation is a business and not a scam or sketchy. on a personal note, as a young female in my twenties (part of the demographic she is aiming for i'm sure) she bothered me.. trying too hard on myspace.com and the extreme obvious sexuality was too much by a certain point.. it was trashy.
Gregg, YOU can destroy your jeans just by wearing them! They cost enough as it is! But look - holes appear, grease and oil stains emerge, rips and tears in knees and ass - I'm sure after a few months of wear you have done $100 worth of Forbidden's damage for free.
I've seen other similar myspace uses too. Artists, like Jessica Perry (in my friends) advertise their work, thier art shows, and their services on myspace. I've seen girls who will make neclaces/bracelets/etc also.. the beaded and hemp kinds. I think it's a genious way to get your product out there, pay no money, and at least guilt your friends, and thier friends into by some by association! If I were destroying jeans for a living you would HAVE to buy some! I'm sure the same applies for the others! It's amazing also in that most people, myself included DO ignore the paid advertisements on the site on the sides of the pages, but when it's in profile form and you get to see photos of some hot girl with huge boobs, you forget its an ad, and I'm sure because of this Forbidden is getting MORE hits on her professional site than the paying advertisers are! woo woo!
http://www.twsbiz.com/twbiz/features/article/0,21214,1060360,00.html
^article i stumbled across about marketing on myspace and how snowboading/skateboarding companies are promoting their brands like crazy with it. :-)
btw i miss you a lot
damn it cut off part of the link,so i'll try AGAIN X(
http://www.twsbiz.com/twbiz/features/article/0,21214,1060360,00.html
In terms of the concept of Facebook and MySpace advertising, there is a fine line between brilliance and beating out the curve. Though the girl's idea is smart in that people will see it, she is in fact playing to a small audience, who like herself, may deem themselves capable of creating a marketable and sellable product. The truth of the matter is, however, that unlike the corporate advertisers on these sites, the individual sellers will potentially develop a demand to high for their ability, thus shutting themselves down as a result of their own success. Conversely, they may find themselves shut out of business due to an increase o individual "entrepeneurs" who also begin to market their products in competition with one another, eventually diminishing the cost and the demand to a low point invoking implosion. It's a clever idea in the short run, but individuals such as this girl, don't stand a chance against the corporate hierarchy that pay good money to advertise on the same site.
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