Be Bon Iver: Using a Marketing Army to Curate an Intimate (Brand) Relationship

As marketers, we are so close to all of the mechanisms that power integrated campaigns that we can sometimes be blinded by the minutia.

Life science and healthcare marketing can be a grind. Strategies run in parallel paths with multiple campaigns scaling up to support an overarching brand position and messaging platform. Those overarching components then move targeted personas through a choreographed buyer’s journey and curate brand advocates. Importantly, the entire marketing effort also maintains a direct connection to target metrics that are in turn tied together to provide visibility into campaign performance and validate the ROI of the effort.

Sexy, right?

As marketers, we are so close to all of the mechanisms that power integrated campaigns that we can sometimes be blinded by the minutia. But, take a step back: If we have calibrated our campaigns correctly, our connection with the individual on the other end of our efforts can and should feel like this.

That is one person making a strong and intimate connection with the other.

In the video, a woman walks into a room with Bon Iver’s lead singer waiting to sing to her and only her: just the two of them in a room, joined only by an anonymous, unseen choir just outside their view. And, wow, it starts off awkwardly. “I’m really nervous,” she says. “Me too,” he replies. We are all cringing together. Initially, our audience avatar is still very much considering what she has gotten herself into. Meanwhile, the singer prepares to offer up a very personal and important song that they hope their specific audience will share an interest in and enjoy. They both fidget nervously, trying to find common ground.

But then, over the next four minutes, magic happens. He becomes the song, fully absorbing himself into what he’s singing. In response, she returns the energy—blocking out the rest of the world, living in this moment, absorbing the words, and completing the connection. An intimate moment is created, a memory and a bond that will outlast these few minutes.

That’s what we can do with a banner ad!

Wait, how’d everyone’s eyes roll back at the same time?

Ok, ok, so maybe this is a slightly romanticized take on life science and healthcare marketing, but this moment can be reflected in the work we all collectively do. When we are able to provide another person or organization a solution to a challenge, when they connect with your story and your mission, and/or when your message finds the person looking for that exact thing, that’s a moment that creates an emotional connection. We move from the intrusive to the welcomed and appreciated. A one-to-one relationship…just the two of us…and an unseen, anonymous choir just out of view.

Let’s talk about that choir, shall we?

This video includes the same song and the same lead singer, only this time his fellow bandmates and singers are directly visible. The invisible ambiance, context, and backdrop the choir provided to the one-on-one moment in the original clip is now in full view. Thus, the audience can more directly appreciate the choirs’ contribution in full.

There’s a science to the execution needed to create the illusion that it’s a single element or moment that moves our audiences. But man, when that moment hits? It’s a beautiful song.

The “choir” is an essential part of creating an overall experience, forming that moment, and making it memorable—whether visible or not. The choir and its harmonies are akin to a marketers’ content creators, PR teams, campaign managers, paid search experts, creatives, and developers. The entire team works in harmony to create all elements of a successful marketing strategy that leads to that initial engagement point: where that person first connects with your team, clicks on that link, or fills out a form that ultimately gives rise to a brand relationship, sale, or even a new strong brand advocate.

We have the power to create these moments. It’s not simple. It takes a lot of strategic thinking. There’s a science to the execution needed to create the illusion that it’s a single element or moment that moves our audiences. But man, when that moment hits? It’s a beautiful song. And we get to be, for one moment, like Bon Iver.