Digital Chatter ! about!

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Lighters

Paris Daniell – Account Planner Academy of Art University

What Bic is saying! in the digital space.

Slideshow of different Bic lighters on homepage. Account access which provides you no features except a newsletter. Intended message of website is unclear, provides little relevancy for potential Bic customers. Product info and two different advertising entertainment outlets on flickyourbic.com website.

What does this actually say for Bic lighters as a brand in the digital space? Not a whole lot. Lack of relevance for the actual target audience stimulates very little digital chatter, crippling the effectiveness of their “viral” advertising.

“BeingfeaturedintheDesign‐A‐LighterGalleryinnowayreflectsthepossibilityoftheSubmissionbeingconsideredforuseonFlickYourBICpackagingoradverEsing.”

Semi-functional paint shop, where you can create your own Bic graphic and upload it to a gallery. After your work of art is finished you can email your lighter to a friend, making it “viral”. There isnʼt much incentive to this advertising diversion other than a chance to make it Into the featured gallery (see quote above taken from T&C).

How is Bic currently engaging the digital audience? Selling lighters with fantasy NASCAR and Design-a-lighter workshop. Seriously?

Quantified flickyourbic.com participators.

A glimpse at the demographic.

March/ 31/ 2009

What are people saying about !flickyourbic.com?

Bicʼs advertising hasnʼt influenced participators that visit their “viral” website.

Whatʼs being said after they spend time at the destination?

A search in Google brings up no non-paid links relating to the online content that Bic provides.

Nothing is being said about fantasy NASCAR, or how cool their virtual lighter design is. The online experience that Bic provides is one that generates very little digital chatter.

There is a huge incongruence in what the consumer is saying about Bic compared to what Bic is saying as an online destination.

A"erresearchingthedigitalcha0ersurroundingBic,Ihavefoundtherearedifferentcategoriesthatconversa9onsaboutBicfallinto.

So what's really being said about Bic?

karllaubartwork: Justified for standing on my chair with a Bic lighter yelling encore at my daughters 5th grade band concert! police escort out (ouch!)

Celebration

thecapitan: I just taught our worship coordinator how to use a Bic Lighter! Seriously!

beverlyinart: @Stranahan Wave a Bic Lighter in the air!

rrhobbs:FreeBird!FreeBird!!(swaying,wavingbiclighter...)♫

Symbolism

Music Appreciation The show ended, they left the stage, and I remember burning my thumb while holding a Bic lighter high up in the air for what seemed like forever, and it stayed lit until Crosby, Stills & Nash did an encore. Thanks guys. http://idonthavetimeto.wordpress.com/2009/03/06/is-it-live-oris-it-minorex/

drakesizzle:Hellofriends,I'minlovewithmynewsong.I'mbored.Ihaveabiclighterinmyhands.TheEnd.

Enjoyed

Everyone was holding up their lighters. It was like being *in* a night sky, with stars twinkling all around you. ENCORE!! WE WANT MORE! In real life, this was awesome - there were about 45,000 bic lighters lit up at once! http://www.oldbuckeye.com/pontiacsilverdome77/

anjuili: Smores made with a bic lighter: not the best method, but still tasty

poleclimberben: @consectarius WD 40 and a bic lighter seemed to work wonders on my fire ants. quite entertaining as well. wind gusts are havoc on leg hair

Curious Mischievous

rparmenter: How to spot a classy lady: the retractable Bic lighter lanyard dangling from her belt loop.

Personality

Urban Dictionary: Bic 71 up, 51 down A 'Bic' is the most common type of lighter available. Tried, trusted and relatively inexpensive, its the only type of lighter I use. "Pass me the Bic, so I can light my cigarette."

Trusted My father taught me the most important recipe I ever learned. To make fire you need: heat (bic lighter) fuel (newspaper, dry grass, branches) and air. Traditional

The apple crisp became a birthday cake stand in and in lieu of candles I blew a bic lighter out over the crisp 29 times in a row. (harder than it sounds) I once again felt very loved, I have good friends here in Vancouver. http://walterinvancouver.blogspot.com/2009/03/and-now-we-are-29.html

Representative

svandoren: just fished a Bic lighter out of the washing machine. Either Bic lighters are getting tougher, or my washing machine's a pussy.

Quality

chancegilmore: Used up a whole Bic lighter for the first time before I lost it, or it got taken by accident. Alright!

Lasting fluxion23: Just experienced that rare occurrence where I used an entire Bic lighter before losing it.

benmarvin: Pro Tip: Nose-hair trimmers are expensive and complicated.Be a man and use a Bic lighter.

Bold tdoster: just harvested the flint from a Bic lighter to fix my zippo lighter - pretty cool Useful

Disposable Some people might say it's not a very smart idea to throw 6 Bic lighters into a blender. Those people would be right. Blendtecʼs will it blend?

A few words about disposable lighters One of my earliest memories is of sitting in my parents' chevy blazer at an old drive-in movie theatre, and during the intermission, they showed commercials, and one of those commercials was two Bic lighters talking to each other. I donʼt remember anything about the movie, but I remember those lighters. Remember, you can never have too many lighters, because you will eventually lose them all.

-Bob h0p://evil‐bob‐420.livejournal.com/

Open Beer Bottle with BIC Lighter and a little bit of leverage - taservictim

h0p://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieK3_X6Vc5c

nevewers: WHERE'S MY BIC LIGHTER?..... WHERE IS IT ????...CALL THE ARMED GAURDS.

No‐oneknowswhenthefirstBicwasstolenbutI'msureitwasshortlya"ertheseconditwasevercreated.SomepurposelystealthelighterbutIbelievethemajorityofincidencesareaccidental.FeweverwonderofthephenomenabutIfeelthatitisdueto"musclememory”.–myspace.com/stolenbic

Teacherwalt: just went for a very short walk to Whittington park and back. Found a Bic lighter.

Stolen

Treasured Helene Silberberg wrote: Friends' Bicʼs feel just like your own, in the Hand. That's why Bic stealing is on the rise! (be careful, keep track of #1 light)

Social

greg53:TheBiclighterissomewhereonthetoptenlistofmissedthingsinapostapocalypBcworld

Tossinʼ Da Flame This game has been called many things, flicking your Bic, tossin' da flame, the lighter game.

With a similar concept of "hackie-sack" except using the top of your hand instead of your foot. The game has taken off and is played by many people for many different reasons.

We're extremist. Only to be played with a mid to fully fluid loaded Bic Maxi (standard) lighter.

Playful

Youtubable

Tricky

Where are people having conversations about Bic?

What are the things that spark conversations about Bic?

Boredom

Friends

Music Events

Social Stealing

Tinkering

Doing it yourself Relishing the power of fire

Blowing stuff up

Lighting things on fire

Games

Disposability

Quality Improvising

Customizing

Apocalyptic survival

What is the underlying idea of these conversations? Celebration

Symbolism

Music Appreciation

Enjoyed

King of Expression

Curious

Mischievous Personality

Trusted

Traditional

Representative

Adventurous

Quality

Lasting Bold

Useful Disposable

Fire love

Knight of quality and disposability

Stolen

Treasured

Social Saved

Guarded

Forgotten

Playful

Tricky You tube

Prankster Bored

Showing off

Wizards of fire

Where’s my Bic?

Bic can engage digital participators with their online advertising by listening to the digital chatter that’s going on. !

Insight on these conversations promotes effective and creative advertising by creating relevant digital interruptions and diversions.!

Flick your Bic for insight.

Bic is already seeded within modern culture, it would be ideal to embrace it’s current placement and inject it into popular culture through advertising.

If Bic were to create a new digital experience that matched the interests, tone, and chatter of the current audience, they could draw a new attraction from a broader audience. Ensuring the survival of the “tried and trusted” lighter that we call Bic.!

Paris Daniell – Account Planner Academy of Art University