In this interview, Duncan Wardle, Vice President at Creative Inc. – Disney Destinations LLC, spoke to Thierry Daher, CEO of Vanksen USA, about Disney Park’s brand new campaign “Give-A-Day, Get-A-Day” (see picture below). He explains why the entertainment brand opted for a viral mechanism to spread the word and how the campaign works. Enjoy the read!

1. What are your position/your responsibilities at Disney Parks?

Vice President, Creative Inc, an internal marketing agency of idea champions & innovation catalysts.

2. Do you think viral and buzz marketing is important now, compared to traditional advertising?
Brands now need to think of themselves as both content providers but also content curators. I believe successful brands will evolve very quickly from Marketing to Engagement and Co-collaboration.

3. How did you associate the Disney Brand with the message in the video? Why choosing the Muppets?

The viral video encourages consumers to actively get involved in their local community, by helping a charitable organization for a day. In return, the first million people to participate get to celebrate by getting a free ticket to one of our theme parks at the Disneyland Resort or Walt Disney World Resort for use in 2010. We chose the Muppets to help with our Give-A-Day, Get-A-Day campaign across the board because of the sense of irreverent humor and chaos that only they could bring to the campaign. My personal favorite is when Gonzo crashes headfirst into your computer screen. Read on

Please introduce yourself:

Susan Sachatello, Senior Vice President, Marketing for Lands’ End

What is Lands’ End’s mission statement in the US today? What is the promise the brand brings to its clients?

Lands’ End promises to give our customers a great shopping experience where they will find stylish, high-quality products at an amazing value. We strive to be the beacon for what’s real… real value, real people, real difference.

Can you please describe the campaign and how it came to life?

The Big Warm-up was inspired by a similar endeavor in Boston known as the Big Boston Warm-up. In addition to collecting warm coats during November, a public art installation to elevate the issue of homelessness and engage the community opened on November 2nd in Boylston Plaza at Prudential Center in downtown Boston. The installation features 768 life-sized figures, each representing ten of the 7,681 homeless women, men and children in Boston. As coats are collected, the installation will be used to count down the number of coats collected and hearts warmed.

After positive response and strong support in Boston, Lands’ End extended the Big Warm-up effort to communities nationwide. Donation sites are located at more than 252 Lands’ End Shops at Sears and 13 Inlets® across the country and coats will be collected until November 30th.

How involved is Lands’ End with the Web and specifically Web 2.0 and social media efforts?

From Landsend.com and Facebook to viral videos and microsites, Lands’ End is always looking for ways to connect with customers through technology. Read on

You find March to be an unbearably grey, uneventful and boring month? You wouldn’t mind a bit of “thrill” in your life? Well, if you like flirting, thrilling experiences, and nice perfumes, then our creative colleagues at Vanksen have created just the site for you: joopthrillfragrances.com.

Check it out! Follow the two lovers in the video and decide from which character’s perspective you’d like to hear the end of the story. And we can already tell you that there is a surprise waiting for you - but find out for yourself… Read on

You will surely have seen the video in which basketball star Kobe Bryant jumps over an Aston Martin (if not, check out the video on Youtube). Not only has this viral ad for Nike sparked heated discussions about its being a fake or not (which of course it is), it has also inspired our colleagues at Vanksen agency in Paris to test their own jumping talent. Here is Nicolas, showing the world that a common-or-garden office chair can come in just as handy as an Aston Martin sometimes:

Tada! We have really good news today! And they look like this:

Allow us to proudly present the blog of our mother company Vanksen | Culture-Buzz in its new, beautiful design. After having faithfully served us for several years and having been translated into two other languages (now it’s available in English, French and German), it was time to revamp our site and put it into a new costume. After long deliberations and creative sessions, our designers came up with this stunningly simple and elegant solution. Although we know straight from the horse’s mouth that there are some people who will miss its limegreen predecessor, we all agree that the new design is just beautiful. Check out the content now at www.culture-buzz.com!

PS: Our creative team also thought of a funny animation to make waiting for the new site to load less tiresome: