By Ron Schendorf

This Memorial Day weekend, the boys at Clubloose held the annual East Coast Bash at Englishtown Raceway Park.  Drivers from all over the tri-state including some from Maryland and as far as Vermont came to the event.  Formula Drift drivers Vaughn Gittin Jr, defending Formula Drift champion Chris Forsberg, ‘Mad’ Mike Whiddet and Ryan Tuerck where also part of the action this year.  It was a wet and slippery morning but as time went on the track dried rather quickly and cars hit the pavement for some action. Check out the photos and stay tuned for some video.

The Gumball 3000 is an event like no other… It beholds mystery, prestige and some of the worlds most sot after super cars. With the race starting in London this year and finishing in The Big Apple Ron took to the streets Friday May 7th, 2010 as the Gumball 3000 finished in the heart of Times Square, NYC.  With well over 40+ Exotics parked between 42nd and 43rd street.  Celebs, Tony Hawk and Xzibit where also in attendance of this years rally but the real stars where the cars as hundreds of people flogged to the streets to get photos.  Check it out.

Viral videos aren’t usually made, they’re chosen, but the second Gymkhana video from Ken Block and DC Shoes was born to be viral:

Since I’m guaranteeing that this one will be a hit, let’s take a look at what makes it work:

• If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It – Their original Gymkhana video, called Gymkhana Practice, was viewed more than 20 million times, including 12+ million views on Ken Block’s site, 5+ million views on YouTube, millions of views on a special Gymkhana site including downloads of the high definition version, and millions more views on copies of the video that fans uploaded into their own accounts. With success like that, why change a good thing? Thankfully, they didn’t, and instead, they took what was so amazing about the first video and just added to it, including more stunts, more speed, and more slow-motion.
• Give Viewers Options – Too many companies try to retain too much control over their video, and only let viewers watch it on a channel of their choosing. DC Shoes went in the exact opposite direction, and put the video in as many places as possible, starting with YouTube and expanding out from there. By giving viewers a choice, DC Shoes allowed them to find the video wherever they looked, and in all kinds of formats, including downloadable formats that could then be saved and shared with others using a laptop, iPhone or iPod. They also made it a point to release the video in HD whenever possible, giving viewers the full experience and showing off the intricate detail of the slow motion stunt shots. I’m always amazed by how many companies create a fantastic video and then cripple it by releasing a low quality version online, so it was good to see that this was not the case here. Finally, the video is embeddable and sharable so that any blog or website can grab it and feature it, allowing the view numbers to grow and the buzz to spread quickly despite the fact that DC can’t easily convert those viewers into sales. Like the low quality video issue, I’m always surprised and disappointed by companies that put their videos online, but then don’t allow them to be shared, since that’s what the web is all about, and a lack of sharing represents a huge missed opportunity for additional views and increased buzz. (I’m even more surprised by companies that go so far as to remove copies of their videos when they’re uploaded by fans into their own account, since these videos can only represent an opportunity for additional views, and are obviously created by fans of the work. Deleting these videos just limits the amount of free exposure that they will receive, and more than likely pisses off a major fan of the brand.) For DC Shoes, the extra views that these extra copies of the video generate will just make the buzz that much more intense, and the long tail sales will more than make up for the short term sacrifice in control.

• Do Something Unexpected – Before the first gymkhana (pronounced jim-kah-nuh) video debuted, no one had heard of the sport, including most hard core car guys, so it caught people by surprise. (In fact, they spent a few moments in the first video introducing people to the concept so that viewers would know it wasn’t just something that the DC Shoes team had invented.) That being said, when a 500+ horsepower tuner car comes tearing onto the screen in a screech of tire smoke and then proceeds to spins around for five minutes, people are going to take notice. In the second video, unexpected comes in the form of unique stunts that were done as much for their visual appeal as they were for their danger. These stunts include a donut through a series of florescent bulbs, each one breaking in succession and sending a shower of glass shards into the air, a high speed spin though a field of water balloons, a slow motion smash against a water balloon being held by a crash test dummy made famous by a TV show that Ken Block’s cohort Rob Dyrdek stars in, a donut around a paintball firing Rob Dyrdek himself to pay tribute to the donut around a Segway that drove a lot of the buzz about the first video, and finally, a spin under a semi-truck (possibly referencing the original Fast and the Furious movie) that ends in a massive slow-motion explosion.
• Know Your Audience – Even if the video doesn’t get viewed by millions of people, it will get viewed by every single automotive enthusiast with a computer and a friend, so DC Shoes is guaranteed to reach their target market with their message. Occasionally, this hyper-targeting results in the sacrifice of wider appeal in exchange for a greater appeal within the target market, but in this case, DC found a happy medium that will serve everyone equally. Plus, by understanding who they wanted to go after and what those viewers wanted to see, they were able to create something that was a must-watch for that target, and even better, a must-share as well. Fire? Check. Explosions? Check. Loud, brightly colored car? Check and Check. It’s all there, and it’s all got one goal in mind: Grab the attention of every car guy on the planet and hold that attention for five minutes.

• Set A Due Date – There was still plenty of buzz surrounding the first video when word of the second video started to spread, so when DC shoes announced a date and posted a teaser trailer for the second video onto their website, the frenzy just compounded upon itself. By giving (and also sticking to) a firm release date, DC made everyone a part of the debut, and didn’t just limit it to a few select blogs in an attempt to control the roll-out. This also meant that anyone who wanted to grow their whuffie by being the first to share it with their friends could do so, because everyone would see it at the same time, so chances are, if you shared it on the day that it debuted, then those that you were sending it to had either not yet seen it, or had just seen it and would be eager to watch it again.
• Take Calculated Risks – One interesting aspect of this video is the fact that DC Shoes took a risk and lulled through the first minute of the video with product placement and blatant selling (normally a mortal sin for any video wishing to go viral). However, since viewers of the first video knew that delayed satisfaction was all but guaranteed, DC knew that anticipation would be high, and that as long as they kept the selling section to a minimum and made it fun and interesting (which they did) that they could keep the attention of their viewers for an extra minute, and sell to them at the same time. It’s a best of both worlds scenario that rarely gets pulled off effectively, but I think that DC Shoes did a great job in this video of combining both goals.

One Final Note: Another cool thing that DC Shoes did that hasn’t really been done before was experiment with holophonic sound, allowing the viewer to feel like they were a part of the action and placing them ‘inside’ one of Ken Block’s donuts. It’s basically an extension of point three above, since the ‘Donuts Audio’ video was released as a supplement to the main gymkhana video, but by toying with the audio and encouraging users to listen to it with their headphones on, DC Shoes was able to provide some extra content for the viewers that liked the main video, and wanted to dig a little deeper into the whole concept:

The Good:

* Builds upon the success of a previous video while maintaining the proven formula.
* Was made available in a variety of formats on a variety of channels.
* Used a firm due date and teaser videos to build up a huge amount of buzz, and then delivered on that buzz.

The Bad:

* Excessive product placement will turn some viewers off.

The Future:

* Over-the-top videos almost guarantee viral video success, though companies will need to find a balance between entertaining and selling.

DC Shoes – Gymkhana Two Project

Article / Photos by: http://thefutureofads.com

Chris Forsberg the 2009 Formula Drift Champion featured in NOS Energy Drink’s latest commercial. Truly showing his skills as the voice of Formula D Jarod DeAnda dares good friend Chris Forsberg to a little challenge. Chris truly displaying his driving skill only having to attempt the trick once. Not actually knowing what the bottle would do when Chris hit it with the back of his car. It was truly the luck of the draw for the camera guy with a spectacular bottle explosion. Check out the video below.

FormulaDrift and YoParts.com present “DriftStream 2010″ – Live Interactive Streaming from the premier Drifting organization on the planet!

Photographer: Nick Winters

The “FOLLOW ME” campaign, 1 woman, 1 motorcycle on a 10,000 mile ride across America.

As a film maker Alystar McKenneh prefers to work on socially relevant projects that remind people it’s not what they call you, it’s what you answer to that will define you. As a biker who has taken a long journey to self discovery, this journey of 10,000 miles personifies the strong independent women Alystar found at the end of her struggles. But more importantly it is a trip across America and you will discover what she has found in her earlier travels. That the United States is full of joyful, kind and faithful people. Follow Her.

Stay Tuned into F360P.com for all your Road To Sturgis coverage!

2010 Chevrolet Camaro Tjin Edtion: SEMA 2009 Preview from Joey Redmond on Vimeo.

Please stay tuned for more on Neil and the Tjin Edition Camero in our SEMA Coverage…