John Cleese Connects with IT Managers in Viral Online Film

Rohitblog_livevault I just got my LiveVault poster today from the Institute for Backup Trauma. It’s a site I visited about 4 weeks ago promoting the data storage solution offered by LiveVault. The campaign is a brilliant spokesperson marketing execution featuring John Cleese as Dr. Twain Weck in an online film about an "original story told for over 30 years by distressed IT people everywhere." It’s an online film about the dangers of not backing up data properly … but the interesting angle is the combination of spokesperson and humor to connect with a common business problem for LiveVault’s target audience.

The poster is a movie-style promotion for LiveVault that is designed to go on the walls of IT managers — a constant reminder of the brand and product line. It’s a great example of understanding your customer, knowing how to engage them, and using an entirely viral online campaign to build awareness and preference for their solution. They even connected with the whole Star Trek connection by casting Michael Dorn, formerly Worf on The Next Generation … but Cleese carries the show, by coming off as humorous and authoritative in the same breath. It lasts for about ten minutes (an eternity for an online video clip), but at the end you’re left wanting to see more. Definitely a successful online marketing effort.

Read a great behind-the-scenes story of the shoot – TheManager.org