Kentucky is Super Bowl 2012 bound!
Well, at least in a 30-second commercial

By Judy Clabes
Editor, KyForward

They swear they weren’t smoking anything funny, and neither of them drink anything stronger than Ale8 One. They were high on friendship, Mingua Beef Jerky and their normal creative juices the evening a crazy idea was born.

Hanging out after dinner, watching football on TV with their wives, the two life-long friends had a brain-storm. Literally. They tried to laugh it off but it wouldn’t go away. They roped in another long-time friend, a third creative marketing whiz, and a critical mass of no-turning-back was born.

They would raise $3.5 million to buy a 30-second commercial during the 2012 Super Bowl game to tell the world just how great Kentucky is.

Simple as that.

Whit Hiler, the old man of the group at 35, is creative and new business development director for Cornett IMS in Lexington. Griffin Van Meter is a partner with Bullhorn marketing agency in Lexington. Kent Carmichael is a Lexington ex-patriot living in Boulder, Colorado, and doing big-time brand marketing for an agency there.

All are proud Kentuckians who are a bit put-off not only by the perception of their beloved state by those outside it – but also by their fellow Kentuckians’ own perceptions.

Something needs to change, they say. And as cutting-edge, creative, new-age marketing experts they are – they think a 30-second commercial reaching millions of people can effectively create a new reality.

“It’s all about showing Kentucky in a different light,” says Whit. “There is so much for Kentucky to be proud of. It’s an awesome brand.”

Their big plan includes big-time use of new-world social media. They started with a Kentucky for Kentucky Facebook page, launched in April. Today it has 2870 followers. Its fans have contributed lists and photos and stories about what’s great about Kentucky – people, places, things: Bourbon, Bluegrass, Horses, Ali, fried chicken, Happy Birthday, the high five, the Derby, George Clooney, Ashley Judd, the traffic signal, Daniel Boone, Abraham Lincoln. So many firsts. So many things to celebrate, to be proud of.

An online video has gone viral.

Next, they jump-started with Kickstarter.com. Never heard of it? Well, that’s what distinguishes these savvy marketing guys from the rest of us. Kickstarter.com is a hot Internet site that allows projects and ideas to seek crowd-funding. (Yes, it’s hard to keep up – but “crowd-funding” is just what it says – lots of people pooling their contributions to make projects happen.) Essentially, supporters make pledges that are charged to their credit card only when the total goal is met.

In less than two weeks going live with Kickstarter.com, the Kentucky for Kentucky campaign has raised $62,839 from 405 backers (as of noon yesterday.) They’re just hitting their stride. The deadline for raising the whole $3.5 million is November 7.

“We are amazed by the response,” says Griffin. “People are excited, positive and energized beyond our original imaginations.

“We are approaching the marketing by using the current grassroots technology to get the message out. It will be a case study in social media marketing – and we’ll have the first-ever crowd-funded Super Bowl commercial.”

And the first-ever about a state.

Kentucky could be chalking up a few more significant firsts, if these guys pull this off.

But they see success, no matter.

“People who really love Kentucky are coming together,” says Griffin.

Next step in fund-raising will be solicitations of big corporate sponsorships from $250,000. There’ll be product placement opportunities in the commercial.

Yesterday, the trio drove the first-ever Facebook “flash mob” – encouraging everyone to post about Kentucky for Kentucky on their Facebook between 11 and 11:30 a.m.

And, in the works, is the biggest Halloween party ever – with Kentuckians gathering in every community of the state, dressed as their favorite Kentuckian. More to come on the main gathering in Central Kentucky.

Once the funding is secured, work on the commercial itself will begin – with lots of creative minds focused on creating the best-ever Super Bowl commercial.

“We expect to ‘crowd-source’ for ideas too,” said Whit.

There’s a lot of Kentucky talent out there that these clever marketers expect to tap into.

“This is about everybody,” he says. “If we get this done, we’ll have the biggest brand going. The Kentucky brand.”

Notes:

Like on Facebook.

Donate on Kickstarter.com