12 + 1 Lessons from the ‘Tangled’ Marketing of @KloutPerks

It started with a tweet.

On November 3rd, I received a tweet from @KloutPerks on Twitter indicating that my Klout Score had landed me a perk. A chance to see the new Disney animated film, Tangled. Cool.

I thought I’d share my experience with you because there are some marketing lessons that can be learned here.

So let’s begin…

Once upon a time…

…there was a tweet. This tweet:

Let’s take a look at the good stuff in this tweet:

1. I already know who the tweet is coming from: Normally, I’m not a fan of receiving promotional tweets out of the blue. But usually those tweets are from complete strangers. In this instance I’m familiar with Klout. I know who they are and what they do.

Takeaway: It’s better to have some type of relationship with your audience first.

2. They stroke my ego: “Your Klout has earned you a perk,”  – Oh, you mean by just being me I’ve earned something? Nice.

Takeaway: Start with a compliment. Then tell me what’s in it for me.

3. It’s something I’d be interested in: Now I’m not sure if they knew I have kids, but I do so in my mind this works nicely. Of course I’d want to take them to a free movie.

Takeaway: Make sure your offer is of interest to the person you’re offering it to.

By this point I’m extremely intrigued this tweet. So I click on through.

What’s on the other side?

One of the most important things about links is that they take you where you expect to go. Now I wasn’t exactly sure what I’d find on the other side. But they made it extremely easy to feel like I was in the right place.

Notice how the landing page mirrors the names in the tweet: Klout, Disney and Tangled.

Takeaway: People should feel like they’re in the right place.

You’ll also notice it’s very clear what I should do next. Sign in.

Takeaway: Make it clear what you want people to do.

The first snag

Nothing’s perfect. And this is where I felt my first hesitation. But I’ll walk through the factors that pushed me forward.

I had to sign-in with my Twitter account. =(

I don’t like to authorize too many applications through my Twitter account. But then I thought it through, perhaps they need to verify who I am?

At this point some copy would have helped to make me feel better about using my Twitter info.

In the end I did sign-in, but it was a combination of factors that led to the decision:

• My rationalization, correct or not it influenced my decision
• Name recognition, which led to trust
• Desire, sure I still wanted those tickets

Takeaway: Objections need to be addressed. Although, if the desire is strong enough, we’ll remove them ourselves.

Choose your adventure…

Once I logged in, I was redirected back to the site. Here, I was able to choose one of two showings. I was also able to choose up to three tickets. This was kinda a bummer. Since I have twins and would like my wife to come along.

I was thinking I’d just buy a ticket but then remembered it was an advanced screening so I probably wouldn’t be able to do that. Oh well. A date with my little ladies is fine with me.

Turns out there were more goodies too

More free stuff. They’re also going to send us some goodies. Nice. A bit of a bribe, eh? Well, there is something to be send for free gifts. That why so many people use them. They appeal to a side of human nature that makes up want to repay the favor.

Takaway: Free gifts work. What can you give away?

Influencer Code of Ethics

Here are the ‘Influencer Code of Ethics’ listed at the bottom of the page:

Klout will never sell or give away your contact info.

Participating (or not participating) will not change your Klout Score.

If you accept the offer you are not required to do anything. We do not want to “buy” your tweets. You are receiving the product because you are influential and have authority on topics related to the product. This is a more targeted form of receiving a sample while shopping at the grocery store. You are welcome to tell the world you love the product, you hate the product or say nothing at all.

If you decide to talk about the product we will ask you to disclose that you received a sample (http://www.cmp.ly/2/va). We will send you more information about this when we ship the product.

Takeaway: Transparency is important. Always be up front.

A chance to rescue my wife

Some time later I received and email regarding a schedule change to the screening dates. So while choosing my new date, I also inquired about getting an extra ticket for my wife since I have two kids. Unfortunately, I was told all tickets were booked. It was worth a shot.

Takeaway: It doesn’t hurt to ask. And it just may pay off later. (You’ll see how later.)

A package arrives

And the package arrived in the mail. As I opened it up ,the girls came down the stairs and caught an aerial view. They immediately screamed, “Bubble wrap!”

Hear that Disney? You may want to work on a new product line. =)

Once they saw what else was inside the the comment was, “They forgot the hair.” Kids.

Here’s what was inside…

• T-shirt
• Silly bands
• Soundtrack
• Pascal stuffed animal
• Limited edition artwork

Pretty sweet bunch of goodies if you ask me.

Takeaway: Free shouldn’t mean cheap. Give away your best stuff.

Here’s what the print looks like in case you’re wondering:

Before the big day

Of course the girls were all excited after I tell them about the email reminder. They were excited about the movie. I was excited about the email. It had all the pertinent info we’d need to get to the movie. Reminders are big in my book. And I see so many people forget about them. Always send a reminder. People are busy. People forget (especially when you have kids.)

Takeaway: Reminders are helpful. Send them.

The big day arrives!

We wake up early. Eat breakfast and head out for the train. We get to the theater without a hitch. We get our tickets. Which I’m told are VIP (The girls felt very special.)

My only complaint at the theater was I couldn’t find any any clear indication of which seats were VIP. It didn’t matter much. We found seats we liked.

Takeaway: Always make it clear where people should go.

So we settled in with our popcorn, Twizzlers and Raisinets. And enjoyed another Disney animated film together.

How was Tangled?

I’m no reviewer. But I know some little ladies who have something to say:

Here’s a summary of lessons from this whole Tangled experience:

Thanks Klout and Disney for a wonderful day with the girls. Here are my takeaways:

1. It’s better to have some type of relationship with your audience first.
2. Start with a compliment. Then tell me what’s in it for me.
3. Make sure your offer is of interest to the person you’re offering it to.
4. People should feel like they’re in the right place.
5. Make it clear what you want people to do.
6. Objections need to be addressed. Although, if the desire is strong enough, we’ll remove them ourselves.
7. Free gifts work. What can you give away?
8. Transparency is important. Always be up front.
9. It doesn’t hurt to ask. And it just may pay off later.
10. Free shouldn’t mean cheap. Give away your best stuff.
11. Reminders are helpful. Send them.
12. Always make it clear where people should go.

Bonus points

Just the other day we received a second Klout Tangled package. I can only assume we received it because of the email exchange about getting an extra ticket because I have two kids.

If that’s so, I wanted to say thank you to Ashley Jacober, Marketing Associate from Klout. Way to go above and beyond.

Bonus Takeaway #13. Always over deliver.

What do you think?

Is Klout on to something here with their style of marketing?