Clever marketers infiltrate video Web sites

BarterBee offered flashy prizes, including a 42-inch plasma television, and sent e-mail blasts to registered members of its site. In the end, though, only 30 videos were submitted, including the grand prize winner, which featured a man in a bee costume skateboarding through suburbia to deliver a BarterBee package. Still, considering that the campaign cost less than $10,000 — “We didn't make the creative and we didn't host the videos,” he says — Alvin may try again next year. For one thing, he adds, the clips still have legs on YouTube: One entry that spoofs the Mac vs. PC commercials has been viewed almost 5,000 times since August.

Heeling Sports has adopted a subtler approach. MerlynDHZ is actually David Chau, a 33-year-old member of Team Heelys, a group that the company formed six years ago to demonstrate its sneakers at in-store events. The skaters, who range in age from 10 to thirtysomething, try out for regional teams and are paid per event.

They also help Heeling Sports stay current. Based on their feedback, the company set up a MySpace page this year and Chau began filming videos with a digital camcorder. Every other month, when he uploads one on YouTube, fellow team members post alerts on Heeling Sports' online message boards and on the company’s MySpace homepage. Fans leave messages on YouTube, mainly in awe of the team’s tricks, and Chau occasionally responds with plugs for Heelys.

Radighieri admits that the campaign hasn’t had the same effect on sales as, say, the company's commercials on Nickelodeon. Still, she’s pleased with the low-cost exposure. Heeling Sports’ sales more than doubled, to $44 million, last year. The company recently went public. “It’s helping us build brand recognition,” Radighieri says.

There is one thing about YouTube that Radighieri doesn’t like: Heeling Sports can’t stop fans from posting clips that don't jibe with the company’s message. Many of the 150 videos that turned up in a recent search for Heelys on YouTube feature kids skating without the safety gear that the company recommends. One video depicts a Heelys-clad teenager hanging on to the back of a moving pickup truck until wiping out. Such videos make Radighieri cringe, but so far she hasn't tried to remove them.

Right now, Radighieri's more focused on making her own films. Plans are under way for a series of clips starring Team Heelys members showing fans how to perform skate stunts. Perfect content for YouTube, right? Maybe, but this time Radighieri is posting the videos on Heeling Sports’ official Web site.

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