New Shocker Video and Hashtag

[pogo]

I'm going with James Earl Jones

There are probably a half dozen that would be outstanding and each would be as good as the other.

[SubGod22]

There are probably a half dozen that would be outstanding and each would be as good as the other.

I concur. Jones is just my favorite. As someone once said, he could read bathroom graffiti and make it sound interesting and you'd want to hear more.

[WstateU]

I concur. Jones is just my favorite. As someone once said, he could read bathroom graffiti and make it sound interesting and you'd want to hear more.

It's hard to top this one:

"Ray, people will come Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won't mind if you look around, you'll say. It's only $20 per person. They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... people will come Ray. People will most definitely come."

[ShockBand]

And what made that speech in Field of Dreams so good wasn't just JEJ's distinctive voice, though that didn't hurt. The pacing and cadence were great as well. I actually think the #MySTATE narrator's voice is OK, the way it was spoken just needed to go through some more vetting. I am liking how they are using the #MySTATE along with player statements on Facebook posts today.

[proshox]

The tweets have been awesome - effectively, bringing the message home. I think it will be another home run for the university.

[Wuzee]

I'm not a huge fan of the new campaign so far -- but, really, I think we're in a place where it doesn't matter much what the tag or message is. People are fired up and will play whatever little game we ask them to just to be part of it all.

BTW -- since the athletic department doesn't let you opt out of viewing the splash page video on GoShockers (which is really dumb and annoying) you can use the URL www.GoShockers.com/ba (or /AnythingYouWant) and get directly to the much more useful site map page. Especially nice on mobile because it's mostly text. Been using it for years to circumvent the homepage.

[WuDrWu]

I'd agree with a lot of other posters in their opinion that the new video is a bit underwhelming. The spoken message in the video is over-wrought, and comes off as trying too hard. That said, I can't help but think this is the opening salvo in a set of stylistically-tied vids the marketing team has created for this season, and that later videos (game intro, etc) will tie into this one directly, and give us all that emotional crescendo the new video currently and intentionally lacks.

We do have the marketing team that essentially won their respective national championship - if you will. I have faith this is the start of something special.

I think this is spot on 100% nailed. They already have Facebook photos up of student athletes declaring "mySTATE". They have Instragram videos from Coach Lamb and Coach Butler.

It's not that they are thinking big, I believe they're thinking HUGE. And while my first thought was a slap at other state Universities, after watching it a couple of times, it most certainly isn't that. It's about being positive and reaching for the stars.

They're going to get us all worked up and in a frenzy so that when it's game time we'll unleash the Kracken.

[wsushox1]

Yea, already from seeing picture on the Go Shockers facebook page it's about a STATE of mind, a STATE of excellence, and a STATE of commitment. As seeing it progress along I like it more and more

[Kung Wu]

Kracken. LMAO

Seriously, if you just watch the first 6 seconds with Cle struttin' over and turn it off, that would have been baller right there. Here's my quick twist:

"We declare this moment, to invoke a movement. If you don't already, you'll know him as Cle."

BOOM!

Done.

I'm buying and it only took 10 seconds.

[ShockerPrez]

I think sometimes, the folks who come up with this stuff are too into making people try and grasp some nuanced message that they are trying to convey, or making a piece of art, instead of an advertising campaign. We just came off a freaking final 4. Show our dudes throwing down treys and dunks flashing in between some shots of coach Marshall cutting down the nets. With storm clouds on the horizon with the glimpse of lightning.

Then at the end say something like "We have not yet begun to Shock"

Doesn't have to be some type of awe inspiring message. Stop trying to outsmart yourselves, people.

[SubGod22]

I think sometimes, the folks who come up with this stuff are too into making people try and grasp some nuanced message that they are trying to convey, or making a piece of art, instead of an advertising campaign. We just came off a freaking final 4. Show our dudes throwing down treys and dunks flashing in between some shots of coach Marshall cutting down the nets. With storm clouds on the horizon with the glimpse of lightning.

Then at the end say something like "We have not yet begun to Shock"

Doesn't have to be some type of awe inspiring message. Stop trying to outsmart yourselves, people.

Except these concepts aren't just about men's basketball. WatchUs was used for all sports and I believe that's what this is going for as well. Not to say that basketball isn't the centerpiece, it is, but it's a much larger thing than just that.

[shockmonster]

I concur. Jones is just my favorite. As someone once said, he could read bathroom graffiti and make it sound interesting and you'd want to hear more.

I concur too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5j1wWY-qus

[The Mad Hatter]

I think sometimes, the folks who come up with this stuff are too into making people try and grasp some nuanced message that they are trying to convey, or making a piece of art, instead of an advertising campaign. We just came off a freaking final 4. Show our dudes throwing down treys and dunks flashing in between some shots of coach Marshall cutting down the nets. With storm clouds on the horizon with the glimpse of lightning.

Then at the end say something like "We have not yet begun to Shock"

Doesn't have to be some type of awe inspiring message. Stop trying to outsmart yourselves, people.

I disagree. The whole point of what the athletic department has been doing (and why the won an award) has been centered around measurable success in engaging fans in the marketing campaign. By creating narratives around hashtags like #WatchUs and #myState, the fans are not merely recipients of an advertising message, but participants in spreading that message (in potentially very creative ways). The effect of this is to both deepen engagement among current fans, but also to expand the reach of your message. A participatory ad campaign allows you to reach the social circles of all the fans who participate and not just those who already pay attention to WSU.

In addition, I believe that the aim is not to market just the basketball team or even just the athletic department, but the university as a whole. Showing a bunch of dunks reinforces excitement about the basketball team, but does not build deep identification between the fan (or potential fan) and the institution. Note that in the two hashtags we has the word "us" (#watchus) and "my" (#myState). This is a campaign that causes people to distinctly identify themselves with WSU and verbalize this identity. That process of repeated, intentional identification with the school is how you turn bandwagon fans into long-term fans. If all you show is the Final Four (which don't get me wrong should be played up), it sends that message that WSU is only worthy of attention based on recent success (and therefore not worthy of attention if said success drops off at all) instead of encouraging fans to make their support of WSU about their own identity separate from any individual year's results.

The success of the campaign is not really about whether people "grasp some nuanced message," but whether they participate in an ongoing process of self-identifying with the school publicly in a way that subconsciously deepens their own loyalty to the institution and leverages their social networks for free exposure for the school.

[Kung Wu]

You mean there's more to it than $1 beer night?

[pogo]

You mean there's more to it than $1 beer night?

For you, no. Thats as deep as it needs to be for you at this time.:)