Your "Hall Pass" to Haul Videos

I recently became hip ... hip to haul videos. Perhaps, you’ve already been hipped to haul videos. If not, consider this your haul pass to becoming hip to haul videos.

NPR did a story on it. So did Marketplace. Newspapers have written about it. And I’m fascinated by it.

What is it and why am I so fascinated by it?

Haul videos are simply online video recordings where people, generally teenage girls, talk about their recent purchases. For example, Juicystar07 has posted about 200 haul videos and has nearly 24-million views for her videos sharing commentary on products she’s purchased from retailers including Forever 21 and Ulta.

With viewership numbers like that coupled with priceless third-party endorsements, you can clearly understand why retailers are excited by this marketing trend.

JCPenney, in a recent back-to-school promotion, jumped on the haul video brandwagon by providing gift card to six girls to do a video show and tell of their shopping haul from JCPenney. So as not to run afoul of FTC guidelines on endorsements and to help keep online word of mouth credible, the six girls disclose upfront they were given free gift cards from JCPenney. (Watch Annie’s JCPenney haul video, she discloses immediately the freebies she was given.)

This is all fascinating.

However, I can’t let teenage girls have all the fun with this. I want in on the haul video action. Really I do...

Comments

[Paul (from Idea Sandbox)]

What the haul are you doing?

[JinAtSmilely]

That video is hilarious!

[James Laughlin]

That was awesome John!

Now I'm going to go "Blow it up" on Twitter.

[john moore (from Brand Autopsy)]

James ... thanks for blowing it up on twitter for me. And no, I'm not doing another haul video from Barbecues Galore. (Ha.)

[Charlene Andersen]

John - thanks for the fun video. I need to watch it again and count how many times you use the word Kirkland. Just think how many "Kirkland Haul" videos you could have done.