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TurboTax and.... Beer Pong?

Posted by Katie Farrar on Wed, Apr 09, 2008 @ 10:50 PM
  
  
Add to delicious  delicious  
  

Tax Season. T minus six days for those of you who are still procrastinating. (I just got mine done on Monday.) In my opinion there's nothing fun or exciting about doing your taxes, but I came across this interesting TurboTax campaign on YouTube the other day and thought they added a fun twist to the normally dismal task.

So I'm sure most of you have cruised YouTube at least once, and probably more like 5 times a day if you're bored at work. One of the great viral aspects of YouTube is that you can create your own YouTube channel, post your videos, create archives, recommend your favorite channels, let users leave comments, etc. It's like the video version of Facebook.

TurboTax has a fairly decent page full of videos, including their campaign for Funniest Tax Comedian. You can check it out here:

http://youtube.com/user/TurboTax

I like the comedian contest... much better than the rap contest that they did last year that flopped. But what I like even better is this video that they created with the help of Pro Skateboarder Billy Marx.

I think this is a great way to reach out to that sometimes mysterious and often misunderstood "Generation Y" that are totally put off by traditional advertising and marketing. This video is insane! And TurboTax manages to get some plugs in about how easy their software is to use. Granted, I had to watch the video twice to actually pay attention to anything that was being said because I was so in awe of Billy's skills.

Should TurboTax have a Beer Pong... er... I mean Ping Pong contest next year? Maybe not something they want to totally promote due to the stigma that goes along with the game, but it definitely got them a ton of traffic on YouTube this year. (552,427 views since being posted March 28th.)

And now... for those of you who thought (or still think) you were unbeatable at the game in college. I don't think anyone can hold a candle to this:

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Comments

Wow.... finally a tax service that realized Generation Y is all grown-up and taxable! With all the options available these days it's hard to know who is who and what is what. I think they really are going to break through the market clutter with this viral campaign.
Everyone TurboTax is trying to reach with this campaign is extremely computer-saavy (And yes, often bored at work...) so they are bound to come across something like this. And now this mindless UTube surfing won't only be for entertainment purposes. Every GenYer is going to end up unknowingly getting exposed to TurboTax and all it's glory. Nice work. It will be interesting to see if they started the contest/campaign early enough to make a big enough impact.....
Posted @ Thursday, April 10, 2008 4:49 PM by Abbie Farrar
I loved this blog!! I completely agree that it speaks to generation Y's sensibilities. I too had to watch the video a second time to concentrate on the Turbo Tax information. I think it is a genius marketing tactic. Thanks also for the great entertaining second video. Billy ia amazing!
Posted @ Thursday, April 10, 2008 9:29 PM by Marilyn
Talk about a great way to reach my generation - what a cool example!! I think Turbo Tax has the right idea - Gen. Y is the crowd that is just now starting to do their own taxes. In order to make it fun (if that's possible), they throw the beer pong into the mix and "POOF!" - you've got our attention! I agree that Turbo Tax should spread this idea around via other gorilla marketing tactics. I'm down for a beer pong tourney any day!
Posted @ Friday, April 11, 2008 1:35 PM by Amy Ferguson
Wow......finally a tax service that realized Generation Y is all grown-up and taxable! With all of the tax options out there available today, it's often hard to figure out who is who and what is what. I think that TurboTax is really going to break through the marketing clutter with this viral campaign.
I mean, look at the key demographic they are trying to reach with these ads. With the overwhelming emergence of the internet culture, GenY is at the helm of the ship. They are more apt to log-on to their computers for both entertainment and business. Plus, with the craziness that is "UTube", these internet surf-sessions can no longer be seen as purely entertainment. Every person that sees this video is unknowingly being exposed to TurboTax in all it's glory. Nice.
It will be interesting to see if they unveiled this campaign early enough. Only time will tell....
Posted @ Friday, April 11, 2008 3:31 PM by Abbie Farrar
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