Situation: Pseudo-documentary style filmmaking has always had it’s place at the movies. Going as far back as Spinal Tap, the faux documentary is a mainstay, if not a niche for American film going audiences. In more recent years, films such as The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield have found success in this “hand held” first person genre, with large thanks to their propensity for Internet viral marketing and word of mouth. For many reasons, films made in this verite style fare very well in the online space, inspiring buzz-worthy campaigns that always belie their modest budgets. This past weekend Lionsgate was hoping for similar success with their release of horror film The Last Exorcism, a shaky cam mockumentary take on exorcisms. Acquired for $1 million, and shot for only $2 million expectations were low for the late summer sleeper, but buzz doesn’t build by itself, Lionsgate needed to launch some kind of marketing effort to ignite the flame.

Solution: On August 19th, a week before the film’s release, a Youtube video popped up titled, “The Last Exorcism – BEST OF Chatroulete reactions.” Touted as creepy, clever, and sexy, the video is essentially a live capture of two sides of a Chatroulette conversation (Chatroulette, for the blissfully unaware, is a website that lets you connect to random users across the globe via webcam). On one side is the helpless victim (all males) about to pranked, on the other is a pretty girl flirting with them, unbuttoning her blouse. That is, until things go awry. In some cases the girl’s eyes roll back into her head to reveal bright red bloodshot pupils, in others her neck becomes disjointed. The young men look horrified and in some cases scream and thrash about. A title slate for the film appears at the end of each interaction. It’s a highly effective, engaging viral spot that combines clever “crowd sourcing” techniques, special effects, and unique premise. The video doesn’t pander either, it isn’t trying to trick the audience or force feed them some kind of staged act – instead it lets the viewer in on the joke and stays genuine.

Results: To date the video has received 2.7 million views on Youtube. It was picked up by Gizmodo and then carried by many major entertainment websites. Viral success translated into good buzz which translated into box office dollars. The film won its opening weekend with a take of $21.3 million – ten times what it cost to produce. Furthermore, it hit key demographics. Lionsgate exit polls showed that 65% of the film’s audience was under 25, which can be directly linked to the online campaign. For a late summer weekend, in which theaters are full of lingering blockbusters and mediocrity, not to mention a rerelease of the biggest film ever, James Cameron’s Avatar, The Last Exorcism managed to pick up a win, thanks mostly to a clever viral spot.

Related posts:

1. Top 5 Most Compelling Reasons to Produce Web Video
2. How Much Hype is Too Much Hype?
3. Experian Rebrands With FreeCreditScore.com Band Search

MTV and game publishing partner Stone Creek Entertainment recently launched a new Facebook game that takes online dating to a whole new level. Instead of sifting through pictures of real people, in ‘I Woo You‘ users sift through avatars. There’s no first date, no deciding you like a person and ultimately – if Match.comers could be so lucky – no falling in love. At least not in the real world.

However, if you feel like dating a cast member from The Real World, ‘I Woo You’ is the game for you. In addition, users can take out cast members from other MTV titles such as Downtown Girls and Disaster Dates if they feel like hitting the virtual town VIP style. However, gamers shouldn’t expect to woo their favorite reality stars for free. The game charges a few (real) dollars for a (fake) date with a familiar MTV face.

However, for those less inclined to open their wallets for the sake of holding Sahar’s — from “The Real World: New Orleans” — little CGI hand, there’s also a wide variety of your average, everyday avatars to date instead. Each one has their own set of interests, accolades, flaws, and a slew of engineered answers to a long list of compatibility questions. Only after both the user and their chosen avatar have proven their compatibility can they date.

Strange as the concept may seem, ‘I Woo You’ is catching on quickly. Instead of having to experience the awkwardness of meeting face-to-face, users can now keep things casual (and completely impersonal) by simply logging on to Facebook for a romantic dinner and a movie. While gamers get the chance to feel like they’re sharing a deep connection with someone, — let’s forget for a moment this someone isn’t real and has neither thoughts nor opinions other than what his or her computer programmer has preset — MTV gets the chance to promote its shows in an integrated and ostensibly user-controlled setting.

MTV’s VP of Marketing, Damon Burrell, explains why the network is thoroughly confident and committed to ‘I Woo You’: “Expanding our shows’ reach through social games is an excellent way for fans to get to know our shows’ casts, stay engaged and interact with their favorite MTV characters…We’ve worked closely with Stone Creek to ensure the MTV touch is in all of the game editions within I WOO YOU….” Mr. Burrell isn’t kidding either. The real cast members of each show apparently answered all 648 compatibility questions themselves to make the game seem more true-to-life. And when a user so much as shares a spoon full of ice cream with their avatar other, they’re presented with the opportunity to share the news with all their friends via Facebook.

In short, everyone wins with ‘I Woo You,’ while both gamers and MTV executives alike achieve instant gratification for one of two reasons. Either they (the gamer) is suddenly under the impression they’re compatible with their all-time celebrity crush, or they (the MTV executive) is validated in just how far some people will go — and pay — to live out their fantasies in any which way they can.

No related posts.

Situation: Zynga is a highly successful social media gaming network behind huge hits such as Farmville and Mafia Wars. They boast over 65 million daily active users and $350 million in revenue for the first half of 2010. Their addictive, engaging games can be played on Facebook, Myspace, iPhone, Yahoo!, and MSN. Founded in 2007, in just three short years they’ve managed to become a buzz-worthy, cultural icon. Thanks to Farmville. And if you’re not one of the millions who play a Zynga game, you’ve certainly been annoyed by one of them.

When it came time to promote their new Mafia Wars release, Mafia Wars Las Vegas, Zynga had to go big or go home. The marketers needed to cook up a promotion that would not only attract attention to the game launch but directly incentivize new and current players. What’s a social media giant to do?

Solution: Blow up a truck live on the Internet of course. On August 4th Zynga opened Mafia Wars: Las Vegas to the public and announced a special incentive – once 10 million players visited the new city, the company would blow up a four-ton armored truck in the Las Vegas desert (mimicking a feature in the game that lets players band together to perform a similar act of pyrotechnics.)

Shortly thereafter, the game hit 10 million players and Zynga made good on their promise. The company drove a four-ton armored truck painted with Mafia Wars graphics to a Las Vegas desert, enlisted Snoop Dogg to promote and host the event, and then let him blow the thing up. The whole ordeal was broadcast live on Ustream on Thursday August 19th at 6 pm.

Results: With the help of Snoop’s vast social media reach (1.8 million Twitter followers), his synergistic gangsta image, and the game’s built in draw, the truck-exploding event attracted 2 million live viewers on Ustream, breaking the record for most viewed original event in the site’s history. In comparison, Sunday night’s episode of Mad Men received about the same numbers, on television.

Two million people tuned in to watch a live event exclusively on the Internet. If that isn’t a signal of changing trends, we’re unlikely to ever see one. What’s more is that the content was branded entertainment, brought to you by a specific company promoting a product. A commercial, essentially. Not every company can pull off such a large scale stunt, complete with celebrity endorsement, but for those that can there’s a brave new path ripe with visibility and opportunity.

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1. “FrontierVille” to Surpass “FarmVille” in Gaming World

Situation: It’s stuck in your head. You’re humming it to yourself over and over. It just won’t go away. It’s the theme song to the ad campaign for Freecreditreport.com and since 2007 it’s been unavoidable. Created by The Martin Agency for parent company Experian the ads featured a young man singing about his life troubles thanks to bad credit, pushing consumers towards the site and service with its catchy, highly infectious jingle. The spots and fictional band presented within became very popular, inciting a period of online viral success in the form of Facebook fans, YouTube parodies, and many pop culture references. The only problem: the service wasn’t free. You were given a free trial but had to pay there after. Experian was sued by the FTC for deceptive marketing, and inspired the 2009 Credit Card Act, which forced credit report advertisers to state that their product is “not the free credit report provided by Federal Law.” (That can be found at AnnualCreditReport.com) The service was also identified as a scam by several consumer reports. Forced to rebrand,  Experian is now launching FreeCreditScore.com, a sister site to their notorious originator.

Solution: In order to launch this new brand while building upon the success of the previous campaign, The Martin Agency launched the Free Credit Score Band Search. The idea was for real local garage bands to submit themselves to a contest to replace the fictional band from the old commercials. Chris Moloney, senior VP/chief marketing officer at Experian explained to Billboard, “there were people who were tired of the band,” a high-profile search for a new act could engage both those who loved the originals but wanted new blood.  In a quest that spanned three cities and the web, four bands were chosen and tasked with creating a jingle for the new site. A series of spots for web and TV highlighting each band were created, as was a branded YouTube page. The competition was then put to a vote. The winner would become the new artists to be featured in FreeCreditScore commercials, receive $10,000 and a full set of gear. On August 10th, Detroit rockers, The Victorious Secrets were announced as the winners.

“One of the major goals of this campaign was to get the public directly engaged,” said Chris Moloney, svp and CMO of Experian’s U.S. consumer direct unit. “Therefore, it’s so right that The Victorious Secrets are the new freecreditscore.com band . . . We think America will embrace them just as the voters have.” Also, lining themselves up with the proper channels – Experian’s push both on the web and TV has been aggressive. The four finalists were announced during the MLB All Star game and the new commercials featuring The Victorious Secrets will debut during the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12th.

Results: If Moloney’s goal was to get the public directly engaged it was a huge success. The campaign was structured around user generated content, from the local bands to the online submissions. The branded YouTube pages sports 139 uploads ranging from 1,000 views to 50,000 views. Those thousands also turned out to vote. The campaign got a hefty deal of press as well, popping up on sites from MTV to Billboard to Yahoo. The campaign has built up FreeCreditScore.com and Experian as not only hip and culturally aware, but in tune with what the general public and youth culture wants. Consider the rebrand a success as well, introducing folks to the new but vaguely familiar service. Unfortunately, for those aware that it’s not really free even a flashy band search campaign can era the stigma of those deceptive marketing tactics.

Related posts:

1. Branded Entertainment in 2010
2. Top 5 Most Compelling Reasons to Produce Web Video
3. ‘The Last Exorcism’ Finds Success With Clever Video

In August of 2006, a mere four years ago, a single film changed what it meant to market movies online. Featuring big stars and a bigger concept, one title single handedly created Internet campaigning as we know it today. Never before had a movie embraced Internet culture with such magnitude, and put so much faith in grass roots/viral marketing. At the time, one journalist even referred to the release as, “the most Internet-hyped film of all time.”  One movie saw the future and capitalized on growing trends. That movie was Snakes On A Plane.

And yet history tells us that Snakes On A Plane may have been ahead of its time. It all started in early 2006 with a blog entry by screenwriter Josh Friedman, who had been offered a chance to work on the script. The ludicrous, too-on-the-nose title coupled with the promised involvement of ham, Samuel L Jackson, spread like wildfire. Inspiring photoshop creations, Youtube video parodies, and of course the creation of the ubiquitous Snakes catchphrase, “I’ve had it with these mother-f—ing snakes on this mother-f—ing plane!”

Producers New Line embraced the hype machine and ordered reshoots to reflect the growing buzz. The camp was kicked up, pushing the film from PG-13 to R and even adding in Jackson’s fan-created line. Several online marketing campaigns were launched, including a genius customizable phone message one could send to friends featuring the actor’s voice. During the first week alone over 1.5 million calls were sent. By the time August rolled around some press members speculated that “the movie [had] grown from something of a joke into a phenomenon”.

On August 18th, 2006, Snakes On A Plane opened to $15.5 million nationwide and only went on to make a total of $62 million domestically during its entire theatrical run.

What happened? A phenomenon this large with the Internet and the fans behind it should have bowed to at least $30 million. Why did it fail? The answer is in the story. Snakes On A Plane’s hype peaked early, short attention spans went elsewhere and by the time the movie actually came out, the public’s rapidly changing interest had moved on. Too much, too soon. Hollywood learned its lesson not too put so much trust in the fanboys because marketing fatigue is real and the audience can be unreliable.

Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim Vs The World should be wary of the same curse. Coming out this weekend, the Internet has been ablaze about the project for months. Lighting up every time a new trailer, clip, fan tribute, interview, viral video, game, or image would hit. Similar to Snakes On A Plane, the release has been a long time coming and practically ubiquitous. The Journal of Consumer Research would agree, in the long run this over saturation is detrimental. By the time Pilgrim opens the hype will have been so omnipresent and forced, it could alienate the bloggers and tastemakers it was trying to win over in the first place.

Contrast that to the recent example of Inception. With the use of a low key viral strategy in lieu of an extravagant blanket marketing scheme, it managed to open big and grow during its run.

A few well constructed, appropriately timed social campaigns coupled with the usual proliferation of trailers, posters and clips is all it takes. A controlled, carefully doled out marketing campaign is important and necessary. Though once it’s in the hands of the masses who knows how high the hype will go.

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1. ‘The Last Exorcism’ Finds Success With Clever Video

When I started writing this post, I had in mind in a short-and-sweet little summary of our experience over the past 5 years, and recommendations of the benefits of web video.

Clients who are new to digital media marketing ask us about how to form a web video strategy all the time. And, given our experience in creating videos for clients as well as developing original shows, we’ve walked through the development of strategic plans as well as the tactical execution of many different types of productions.

Once I got started on this post, I realized two things:

(1) from five years experience, there was far too much to include in “5 reasons.” In fact, it would be difficult to capture in 25 reasons! And…

(2) a long post on the subject would likely not be very useful to someone who was just considering where –or even if– web video fits into their marketing strategy.

So, I decided to boil down my thoughts first into the most compelling “5 reasons” and then extrapolate in future posts on the other benefits and decision making that you need to go through in order to develop an effective strategy.
In short, here are the top 5 reasons to produce web video:

1. Traffic
The traffic-driving benefits of having video on your website have been heralded by Google, YouTube, and many other marketing blogs. On a basic Search Engine Optimization level, video drives more traffic to sites today than any other type of rich media. For pure visibility purposes alone, video-based content is one of the best investments a company can make in marketing its product, service or brand. People enjoy watching on the web over reading. So if you have to choose to produce video vs. spending resources on improved copywriting, I would recommend video every time.

2. Engagement
This term has been, in my opinion, much over-used and even abused. So I hesitated even putting it on the list. However, it’s critical to the success of any online campaign. In my view, engagement means “participation” …how highly involved or attentive are your prospective clients or customers?

First, with web video you have an automatic engagement: no one is “fast-forwarding” through your TV spot with their DVR or a TIVO set up. So that’s the first step in engagement: getting the audience to watch!

Second, unlike a TV commercial, web video provides an opportunity for interaction. Just take a look at 2 famous branded web video campaigns – one from Nike (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp4PweUC0v8). The other from Blendec (http://www.willitblend.com/).

In later posts I’ll review the details of how these campaigns were created. But for now, check them out and appreciate the high levels of engagement. The comments, forwarding, participation and sharing that took place with both of these campaigns is mind-blowing –and really depended on the concept of the video itself.

3. Awareness
Let’s talk about numbers for a minute. According to comScore Video Metrix, “183 million U.S. Internet users watched online video during the month of May 2010.”

Additionally, “YouTube.com achieved record levels of viewing activity in May with an all-time high of 14.6 billion videos viewed and surpassing the threshold of 100 videos per viewer for the first time.” That’s more reach and visibility than is possible in most TV, Radio and print outlets combined.

4. Audience Connection
But with those mass-market numbers in mind, keep in mind web media is most successful and attainable when thought about in terms of niches and micro-niches.

It’s a common misconception that all video production is costly. In fact, one can produce a highly impacting video on a minimal budget scale, as long as it connects to the correct audiences. By targeting appropriate tastemakers and relevant blogging communities, forums, and social media networks – one can find an extreme reach for a video, completely circumventing traditional placement costs. Not to mention the fact that quality content travels, a good concept will grow it’s own legs.

5. Mobile Reach

As smart phones and tablets become more common place, the demand for mobile content grows, but not all content has to be “app” based. With Youtube leading the way, video sites continue to expand their mobile capabilities. Most smart phones hitting the market enable easy access to several video platforms.

Apps may be the rage right now but they are expensive to produce and reach an audience limited by device (iPhone, Blackberry, Droid). While it may require some technical finesse, video is a viable option for reaching the growing mobile audience. It’s not nearly as difficult or expensive to produce as an app and can do double duty for both mobile and home based viewing.

We’ve only begun to scratch the surface on the many reasons to produce web video. As mobile and home based computing technology continues to grow, the availability and reach of web video will only increase. Creating strong, targeted content can go a long way, so much so that it shouldn’t just be an option for marketers but a necessity.

Related posts:

1. ‘The Last Exorcism’ Finds Success With Clever Video
2. 7 Reasons to “Favorite” a Tweet: Marketing and Twitter
3. Rethinking Online Video

Situation: People love sharks. Can’t get enough of them. They’re mysterious, cool and dangerous predators. The Discovery Channel is well aware of this fact and has a highly anticipated week of programming devoted to sharks annually. Since August 1987, Discovery Channel has highlighted the best informational and educational shows about sharks in nightly blocks during prime time. Every year a new slate of shark shows appear. Shark Week has become somewhat of a cult phenomenon. Referenced in popular culture and wildly adored on Internet communities such as Tumblr and Reddit, the week of programming has become a renowned event.

Solution: “Avatar Yourself” campaigns are extremely popular right now. We’ve seen them from Mad Men, Scott Pilgrim, The Simpsons and Marvel to name a few. The basic idea is to let the user upload a picture of themselves which they can edit into the relevant style or create a cartoon version of themselves from scratch in the style of the content. Discovery’s Shark Yourself avatar creator for Shark Week takes the former approach, allowing users to upload a picture of themselves which they can then add shark features to. One can have shark eyes, sharp shark teeth, a fin, and even scaly skin.

On the other hand, the micro site tool is easy to use but gives you enough manipulative power over the picture. Compared to the aforementioned examples, Shark Yourself is one of the better examples of this type of campaign to date. The options to save or send to your social sites are visible and easily accessible, with no-to-low hassle. The challenge with “Avatar Yourself” sites is usually the amount of time it takes to sit down and create one, but Shark Yourself doesn’t take much time at all.

Results: The marketing thrust behind an “Avatar Yourself” campaign is to engage users with a fun, creative tool that will then put the marketing power into their hands. By making an avatar, one becomes a part of the world of the content, in this case you become a shark. This creates a tighter bond between the property and the viewer.

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Situation: You’d be hard-pressed to find a popular TV show or film that doesn’t have some kind of social media presence, whether that be a Facebook page or Twitter account, or most likely both. However, a recent trend in the social media space has taken user-generated material to a whole new level.

Now, instead of following their favorite networks on Twitter for the latest and greatest on each show, fans have taken it upon themselves to promote shows on their own…in the persona of their beloved characters. And no fan base has been more gung-ho about the trend than Mad Men’s.

Results: Of course there’s the argument that no publicity is bad publicity. And yet a controversy arose over the fan induced tweets when AMC realized what was going on with their Emmy Award-winning period piece. Users were fabricating stories, making snide remarks, and even divulging ’secret information’ on their accounts. Soon, users began creating accounts for not only the show’s primary characters, but for inanimate objects such as couches (@Fainting_Couch) or deceased characters such as Betty’s father, Gene Hofstadt. Extending the narrative is one thing for a network, but handing over complete creative license to an unlimited number of fans is quite another. In August of 2008, AMC issued a DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) takedown notice to Twitter, demanding all Mad Men related accounts unauthorized by AMC be dismantled. However, it wasn’t long before Deep Focus, the digital marketing agency behind AMC’s ubiquitous Man Men Yourself campaign, convinced AMC that the user tweets were a positive asset to the show. It’s a way for other users to get engaged, interact with characters, and best of all, it’s free!

And so the anonymously operated character tweets continue, constantly filling our feeds with sometimes arrogant, sometimes scandalous updates on each character’s–and object’s–thoughts and happenings off the air.

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1. SxSW: Avatar, Hollywood & Twitter / Tweethouse, Day 1/Session 2
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3. “Mad Men” Yourself…Again!

Situation: Miss Shirley’s is an immensely popular brunch spot  in downtown Baltimore. Their food is highly regarded as some of the best and has won coveted awards such as the Best Sandwich in Baltimore by Baltimore Magazine and Best Breakfast Dish in all of Maryland by the Food Network Magazine. The restaurant is so popular in fact, that the wait for a table during peak brunch hours can be up to two hours. By anyone’s standards Miss Shirley’s is a successful restaurant. But where do you go from there? Sure the food is great, the reputation is strong, and business is booming, but Miss Shirley’s is faced with the challenge of maintaining a regular clientele interested in return visits and creating a buzz that keeps people talking about and seeking out their locations, all the while staying relevant in a digital age.

Solution: Miss Shirley and company with the help of MGH Marketing agency took to Foursquare, a relatively new social networking site that allows user to “check in” on their mobile device where ever they go and broadcast their location to their friends. Think Twitter meets Yelp. Foursquare then takes it a step further by making a game out of it, one can earn badges for going more places or become “mayor” of a location, signifying that you have checked in to that place the most times in the past sixty days. Foursquare has allowed businesses to get highly creative with promotions and marketing.

Miss Shirley’s, in a most ingenious way, created a campaign where their Foursquare mayor never has to wait for a table. That’s right, remember that two hour line? If you happen to be Miss Shirley’s number one customer, as confirmed by Foursquare, you get to skip the whole thing. (Up to four people can be in your party). Foursquare currently only has 1.8 million users, so in order to direct people to the promotion the restaurant has put up signs and includex information cards with every check to explain the service and the promotion.

Results: Since the promotion launched in April, Miss Shirley’s has seen a 427% increase in Foursquare check ins. The current mayor of their Roland Park location has been their 23 times in the past sixty days. While Miss Shirley’s can’t confirm an increase in business yet, the positive buzz from press coverage, blog posts, and anecdotal accounts has been enough to warrant the strategy a success. Using this particular social media promotion has also put the marketing leg work into the hands of the customer. By checking in more and Tweeting more, directly about Miss Shirley’s, they’re indirectly saying to their friends and followers, “Hey, you should check this place out.” With very little effort put in from the restaurant itself.

Foursquare is a brilliant new tool for businesses looking to gain some traction in the digital space. Marrying the real world and the online world. Besides giveaways for the “mayor,” one could dream up any number of ideas on how to reward Foursquare users for checking into their locale. And thanks to the social media site’s youth and rapid growth rate, we’ve only begun to scratch the surface on the possibilities.

Foursquare provides a page with options specifically designed for businesses looking to market with the site.

Source

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Situation: For many years, New York City has been a major hub for street vendors and food trucks alike. Not long ago, they drove, cooked and cleaned in harmony, each one the landlord of a few designated street spots that they could call their own. And each one with a dedicated clientele that–rain or shine–would make it there for lunch almost every single day. But things just aren’t that simple anymore, as food trucks have become increasingly popular over the past 5 years. Now, there’s more “gourmet” food trucks in this city than anyone can count, each one claiming to have the best food for the cheapest price.

Of course, with an increase in number also comes an increase in demand for prime location. There are a few spots in the city that any food truck would kill to set up camp in on any given day, where the foot traffic never ends and the hungry locals just keep on coming. Over the past few years, street vendors have started experimenting with various neighborhoods–for example, spending their mornings on the Upper East Side, stopping in Times Square for the afternoon, then heading downtown to catch the clubbers after dark. With this cycle in constant motion, how is any hungry New Yorker expected to keep track of their all-time favorite eateries?

Solution: The answer is simple: social media. With access to Facebook and Twitter, street vendors now have the ability to post their current locations and future destinations to all their loyal followers (pun intended). And customers couldn’t be happier with the new trend. In addition, the more gourmet trucks with varying menu items have been tweeting their daily specials with the hopes that customers simply won’t be able to resist the enticing descriptions that appear on their feeds. Instead of relying on word-of-mouth and the spontaneously hungry pedestrian, food trucks now rely on the Internet to make sure they’re seen and tasted.

Results: Popular Belgian cuisine on wheels, Wafels & Dinges, has garnered over 3,000 Facebook fans and 7,768 Twitter followers who read their constant updates on daily location changes, secret codes and special giveaways (e.g. “Tell us the worst joke ever (interpret that how you will) for 1 free dinges.”) CalexicoCart, which serves up everything from delicious braised beef briskets to roasted pork with apple and peanut flavored salsa, has quite a Twitter presence as well with over 3,500 followers and a consistent stream of retweets on their savory Mexican cuisine.

It’s a mobile world we’re living in, and food trucks are, in some ways, way ahead of the pack when it comes to utilizing social media as a business tool. Just ask TheTreatsTruck, for which business has never been better thanks to their 4,211 Twitter followers, or VLAIC, whose 4,346 followers are more than willing to publicize their love for the ice cream truck on their personal accounts. Doug Quint, the brainchild behind Big Gay Ice Cream Truck, has even made somewhat of a local celebrity out of himself with his wide-ranging social media presence. With a blog, a Twitter account, a Facebook page, and an online store all in check and causing business to thrive, Doug is the epitome of a self-made social media star…slash truck driver on the side.

In this day and age, there’s no such thing as just a street vendor anymore.

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