JC Penney Rocks Your Look
by Hillel
JC Penney’s got a branded UGC site - Rock Your Look. Users can pick from a handful of songs and then make a karaoke video using their webcam. It’s also got a contests element (you marketing guys love contests) that’s connected with the Teen Choice awards. The site isn’t super novel but it’s not bad at all. There are a few things of note:
- the JC Penney branding is not shoved down your throat.
- They keep the site simple. It’s focused on one task and doesn’t distract you with a bunch of random crap.
- There are cute effects you can have on your karaoke video like a silhouette of the crowd in front of you. Neat.
All in all not bad. I wonder if they’ll let the site atrophy after the contest is over or if they’ll develop it further.
Posted on June 30th, 2008
in Branded Software
2 Responses to “JC Penney Rocks Your Look”
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i find it interesting that you ask if jc penney will let their site atrophy after the contest. what’s wrong with temporal content.i think we need more of it rather than the mentality that everything needs to live forever. they could create a new instance of it for a distinct version, but i say, let it die, at least good memories will linger.
You make a good point. I have no problem with things that are temporal. I suppose the internet has unlimited space for unused clutter.
In all seriousness, something good and timely can be quite valuable.
My main issue is that many of today’s marketers tend to do stuff that is not just temporal but doesn’t amount to more than a distraction at best and frivolous at worst. Ostensibly the goal of brand advertising is to engage an audience in a situation where you can reinforce the brand’s values. In theory, those values should be invariant over time. So, why invest in a site that has an expiration date when you can design a site (for likely the same cost - or less) that has no built in expiration date. Let it keep working for you long after the marketing team has moved on to other initiatives.
Ultimately I think the real challenge is creating experiences that will become part of people’s lives and that brands can attach to in a meaningful but not overbearing way. If JC Penney succeeds in engaging people with this site and then abandons it, I’ll claim they set their bar too low.
Isn’t the goal to create a lifetime relationship with a customer?