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February 15, 2007
Intuit's citizen marketer contest
Intuit's TurboTax unit has teamed up with rapper Vanilla Ice to launch a citizen marketer-esque YouTube video contest. Contestants videotape themselves rapping about the tax software for a chance to win $25,000.
If you are thinking, who would write a rap about taxes? It would be these people.
Are they any good? Let's just say the next Kanye West of forms and schedules has about six more weeks to be discovered.
Word to your mother (at the IRS).
UPDATE (2/15): In the comments, Jonathan mentions another YouTube contest about taxes, this time for H&R Block's TaxCutOnline.com. Here's the contest page and the entries so far.
Other blogs that reference Intuit's citizen marketer contest:
» Smart Marketing on the Web: Tax Software and YouTube from College Marketing 4.0
I've written a fair amount about YouTube, particularly the beginning of its demise. A new trend, however, while changing the landscape of what YouTube is, may be the key to its survival. Companies are offering contests to YouTube users to [Read More]
» My TurboTaxRap from ================== adam jusko's bessed blog
I read about this TurboTax contest on the Church of the Customer blog. Its a contest where you make up a rap song about TurboTax and then make a video of yourself rapping it. Vanilla Ice is the spokesperson for the contest, and who doesn... [Read More]
Unbelievable. To think you can get raving fans for something that does your taxes, probably the one thing that makes anyone and everyone bitter.
Great lesson in how to facilitate the evangelism. Thanks.
Actually, Intuit copied this idea from H&R Block that ran the most linked to YT contest ever a few weeks ago. Props should go to Block for the idea and execution.
Brett, right on. I don't like it is the love of the tax software that is motivating these people to create videos in this case.
Jonathan, I don't think Intuit copied H&R Block. Lots of companies have been running YouTube video contests for a while now. It's the cool, hip new thing to do ; )
It strikes me as ironic that Intuit ran with this idea only after Block showed some tremendous success with it. I doubt they'd have done it if they fell on their face and they didn't thin of it first. Cal it what you will but these two take marketing cues (and talent) from one another all the time.
