Brand Hijacking With Podcasts

This is a simple idea that can really work if you do it right and do it with guts and authenticity. The idea is simple to demonstrate in an art gallery but can be applied elsewhere.

As you know, art galleries provide little headphone cases for us folks who are a little too busy to read up – and we potter around dialing numbers to listen to a musty curator providing some background to each work of art. Now imagine the impact your brand could have, if you provided an alternative audio tour….

What would you think if you could get a set of downloads to your local exhibition but this time curated by Bono (brought to you by Edun jeans)? Or maybe Paris Hilton whispering along your white headphone wires about Frida Kahlo may be more your cup of tea (brought to you by, erm, Carl Jrs)?

A great example is an alternative audio tour of the Basquiat retrospective at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Contemporary art site, the Wooster Collective provided readers with a downloadable file from a page on their site and then walk through to a different ’soundscape’. Check it out.

If the downloads are labeled correctly, an iPod user can walk through a gallery and listen to the commentary using the same number system that’s on the wall.

But will the galleries lose out? If managed properly, the promotion should encourage more attendance than expected. But brands should be respectful.

More importantly, branded podcasts can be applied elsewhere – imagine a Vincent Price city ghost tour brought to you by Hanes Underwear! Or a Glastonbury event guide brought to you by a competitor booze company!

Brand Hijack! Come on guys, turn the music off and start thinking.