The BIG Idea File: What the Old Spice Guy can do for YOU!

No other man (or advertising campaign) has prompted such a feverish response from adoring female fans like the Old Spice Guy campaign.

If you happen to be one of the rare women on the planet who hasn’t seen it, the commercials that aired both on television and YouTube feature former NFL wide receiver and all-around hunk Isaiah Mustafa sharing why men should use Old Spice and “not lady-scented” body washes.

What’s interesting about the campaign is the unique real-time approach to creating a social media buzz, but what’s even more interesting is how bloggers, news organizations and experts of every variety are jumping on the Old Spice bandwagon to parlay the campaign’s success into buzz for them.

Take Top 10 Funniest Old Spice Guy Responses compiled by Mashable. Any search for Old Spice puts their post under the Old Spice YouTube channel, resulting in 142,657 views according to their site tally and countless tweets, likes and diggs. Similarly, news sites are using the Old Spice phenomenon as a hook to funnel curious Old Spice fans into other related stories.

So what can the Old Spice Guy do for you?

How to capitalize on the latest buzz and turn it into a business advantage:

PR Buzz – Send out a press release with an intelligent opinion on the latest buzz event. For example, a divorce coach would be well advised to weigh in on the latest messy celebrity divorce and what the bickering couple could have done to avoid what will no doubt be a nasty court battle.

Expert Status – Feature the latest ‘hot topic’ as a case study for your blog or in your newsletter. Offering up advice and analysis as to why something worked (or didn’t work) is a surefire way to position you as an expert.

Traffic Generation – Use the buzz event to up your search engine ranking. Write a key word intensive post about the subject and launch it into the blogosphere.

Reader Loyalty – Share with your readers more information than they can get anywhere else by researching background details, interviewing key people and finding out interesting facts around the story.

Brand Positioning – Create brand awareness and benefit from ‘Guilt by Association’ by connecting your brand with a buzz event. Use the buzz story in your corporate literature as an example of an industry trend that your business is a part of.

So think about it. What can the Old Spice Guy do for you? (Besides make your knees quiver)!