6 Seconds of Fame?

On January 24, 2013, Twitter’s new social media mobile app Vine was born. On Vine, users can create and share 6-second looping videos using their smartphones, no editing required. Creating a video is as easy as holding a button down while filming and hitting another to upload the video to your Vine profile. This simple yet fast-paced nature of Vine made it a quick success, leading to a huge following and thousands of videos uploaded within the first few weeks. By June, after just 5 short months, Vine had 13 million iPhone users (the app was only available for iOS in Apple’s App Store) before the app was released in the Android market, further sparking the fire.

Vine videos run the gamut from comedic sketches, beatboxing, DIY tutorials, and singing and dancing. In fact, certain “Viners” have even become “Vine famous” for the pranks they play, their singing abilities, or whatever sort of entertainment they provide. These users boast thousands, some even millions, of followers earning their Vine videos thousands of “likes” and and shares, or “revines”, within minutes of posting. Sometimes the Vines tell a story, sometimes they are just visually appealing, but most of all, they are always fun!

With this kind of success for the seemingly average Vine user, it would make sense for brands and businesses to see the potential for using Vine as a marketing tool. Vine presents a new and exciting way to reach and engage with a younger, mobile audience. Brands like Gap, Lowe’s, and Urban Outfitters to name a few, are already using Vine and are seeing a positive response. Check out some examples of marketing on Vine below.

https://vine.co/v/bU61aqq2YOp (Lowe’s)
With this Vine campaign, Lowe’s helps you fix it quick. Using their hashtag #lowesfixinsix the company has uploaded a series of Vines giving you how-to tutorials in 6 quick seconds, ranging from working with a stripped screw, keeping paint cans clean, and keeping your plants watered while on vacation . These Vines have attracted the attention of thousands of Vine users, resulting in a large following for Lowe’s.

https://vine.co/v/bDY9O7xTllv (GE)
General Electric found a way to make science fun with their #6secondscience campaign.

https://vine.co/v/btYdHIwl6Q6 (Urban Outfitters)
Urban Outfitters has teamed up with clothing retailer Converse to start a Vine contest asking users Where Do Your Chucks Go? Users are invited to upload videos of their Chucks in action and use the hashtag #yourchucks. Winners will receive prizes including pairs of converse sneakers and $1500 in Urban Outfitters gift cards. I probably don’t have to tell you that this campaign has been hugely successful, but if you don’t believe me, check out these submissions.

So, for some companies, Vine seems to be working well for marketing. They’re hitting their target audiences in fun and fresh new ways. It’s also taken a lot of added stress out of creating ads. Shooting full fledged videos can be quite demanding for marketer– from hauling and using technical equipment to nailing a location, getting the perfect lighting, and spending the time shooting the video. With Vine, all a marketer needs is an idea and a smartphone.

After only 8 months, it might still be too early to tell if Vine is just having their 15 minutes…er, 6 seconds of fame. Will it be a successful marketing tool for everyone? No one knows quite yet. But I think it’s safe to say that Vine is one social network to definitely be aware of.

Want to get started? Simply download the app for your smartphone and start filming! Check back with us soon for tips for creating Vine videos.