What are Easter Eggs?
Easter Sunday has come and gone, and a fair few of us will have indulged in a chocolate egg or two. (Except for accountants, who wait a few weeks until they can pick them up in the sale..) But Easter Eggs aren’t always made of chocolate, and sometimes they’re not even eggs!
What are we on about? Well, the term ‘Easter Egg’ is used to describe clues hidden in electronic media such as video. The idea is that viewers look for the hidden clues in the same way children would look for hidden chocolate on an egg hunt, hence the name ‘Easter Egg.’
The idea is to add value to the fan experience, by allowing them to find clues to upcoming plot twists before they are revealed. The BBC use this technique a lot, most recently with the trailer for the current season of Line of Duty. Don’t worry, no spoilers here, but if you do want to know about the LOD Easter Eggs, you can read this article.
The most famous example of Easter Eggs being used in music is Taylor Swift. This is perhaps not surprising as Swift prioritises the ‘fan experience’ in a way that no other artist does. The brains behind the Folklore album not only includes Easter Eggs in her song lyrics and music videos but right across her social media channels every time she has a significant release approaching. You can read more about the Easter Eggs related to the Evermore album here.
But why are we telling you all this? Well, Easter Eggs aren’t just for celebrities and primetime TV shows. They can be used as a powerful marketing tool as well. The best bit about using this approach is that it is much more subtle than direct advertising, and will sit nicely within your overall content marketing plan. The only thing people love more than knowing a secret is sharing it, so once your customers discover an Easter Egg, they will start pointing other people towards it. This will increase traffic and engagement across your website and social channels in an organic way; essentially it is harnessing the power of ‘word of mouth’ which is still the best form of marketing even in the digital age. The possibilities to raise brand awareness, and crucially to make people remember your brand long term, are significant.
Not convinced? Try a Google search of ‘askew’ or ‘do a barrel roll’. We defy you not to immediately tell everyone you know about it! And if giants like Google can have that effect on you, you can have the same effect on your customers too.
Still not convinced? There’s an Easter Egg in this blog…