This is genius. A brand associated with “days gone by” revitalizes itself without changing it’s identity or trying too hard to be cool (hello “The Shack”). It’s such a simple and clear line from the telegrams of our grandparents to sending our grandparents digital ones that made me first think why didnt anyone think of this sooner… and arent all the best ideas ones like that?
I will leave it to the NY Times to provide the details but the site will launch on December 1st, and sending digital singing telegrams will be FREE until December 31st. As of January 1st, costs are not official but are targeted to be in range of iTunes song downloads.
I am officially announcing that I will be accepting all telegrams sent to me, and will share the best of them through our channels until the fee starts!! Clear your throat, have some fun, and welcome Western Union back into pop culture!
The singing telegram, once a popular way to share birthday greetings and other congratulatory messages, is returning with a twist that reflects how such sharing now often takes place digitally.
The Western Union Company, which for decades offered singing telegrams as part of its mainstay telegram service, plans to revive them on Thursday on a microsite, or special Web site, wu-singingtelegram.com. This time, the audio missives will not be delivered in person or by phone, but through e-mails.
Also, the recipients of the new versions of singing telegrams will not hear Western Union employees or operators doubling as singers. Rather, in a nod to karaoke, they will hear the voices of the senders and professional performers who are chosen by the senders, working from templates.
The new singing telegrams, like many online activities, will be created, assembled and produced by users. (A video clip to be available on the microsite will walk would-be senders through a five-step process to make a singing telegram.)
Reflecting the global purview of Western Union, some performers will be American: Snoop Dogg and Timbaland. Others will offer an international flavor: Sunidhi Chauhan, who is Indian, and K’Naan, a Somali Canadian.
Ms. Chauhan and K’Naan also take part in a cause-marketing initiative from Western Union called “World of Betters,” which is part of a new worldwide image campaign for the Western Union brand that carries the theme “Moving money for better.” The agency that is creating the brand image ads, 180 Amsterdam, which is part of the 180 division of the Omnicom Group, is also working on the singing telegrams in its role as the global creative agency of record for Western Union.
Continues at: Western Union’s Singing Telegram Returns With Modern Flair – NYTimes.com.
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