Amex Aims for Jack White Cred on Twitter, YouTube
Multi-channel effort promotes tonight's Jack White concert livestream directed by Gary Oldman.
Amex is aiming for some cool cred, and using Twitter today to get it. The credit card company has launched a series of black and white videos featuring actor and director Gary Oldman and screechy singer/songwriter Jack White.
Amex is using a Promoted Trend on Twitter to push tonight’s livestream of its “American Express Unstaged” concert, featuring the impromptu musical stylings of White and his morphing band. According to one of many videos featuring White and Oldman on the Amex Unstaged YouTube channel, White requested that Oldman direct his performance for the sponsored show.
“Amazing talents will collide in #NYC to kick off #AmexUNSTAGED 2012. Are you ready for #JackWhite & @GaryOldman?” asks @AmericanExpress in a promoted tweet linking to the YouTube channel. There, viewers will find a slew of short clips and one extended video running over 11 minutes which compiles some of them with other footage. Vignettes repeat White’s new single “Sixteen Saltines,” and feature White and Oldman cruising in a vintage car and entering a photo booth. Amex has found that the most “effective” way to drive interest in the Unstaged livestreams is to build up the promotion just before the show, said Caitlin Lowie, director of corporate affairs and communications, American Express.
Facebook is involved, too. The YouTube channel encourages people to “take the Press Pass Challenge” by clicking through to Facebook to “like” American Express Entertainment. There they can post a question to White and enter a contest to win tickets and a trip to the show, after providing contact information. Amex tells questioners to “Rally Support For Your Question” by sharing it with friends.
Another fun digital component: later today fans will be able to upload their photos to the “White Room” to be compiled into a mosaic of images. When they upload photos, they’ll receive access to photos of White during the show shot by Oldman. “We want them to interact with the performance,” said Lowie.
The concert event brings together two online video platforms that often compete for viewers – YouTube and Vevo, which allows people to view and share premium music and entertainment videos. In addition to a live online stream on YouTube, fans can stream the event – to be held tonight at 9 p.m. EST at New York’s Webster Hall – on mobile devices through Vevo and YouTube. White’s first solo album Blunderbuss was released earlier this week.
According to a Brooklyn Vegan report, White’s record label Third Man Records has been in on the act through some guerrilla marketing. The label apparently distributed tickets to the Webster Hall show throughout NYC this week.
