It was 1979 and I was 6 years old. (Stop doing the math…it doesn’t matter how old I am today!). I laid on a giant inflated inner tube from a tractor tire, wearing my Dad’s welding helmet, as I watched the moon cross over the sun. I witnessed my first solar eclipse. From the time I was very little, my Dad would take me outside at night and we’d watch for shooting stars or he’d teach me the constellations and make up amazing stories and even entertain me with the possibility of aliens. In fact, teaching me about stars or nature was an important part of all of our days. Sharing this moment with me was no different than any other day, and it it didn’t seem extraordinary. In fact, I had not even thought about that day in history until a month or so ago when the buzz of the 2017 solar eclipse started to reach a frenetic pace.
I quickly remembered that day with fondness and called my Dad to tell him what I remembered. My Mom also recounted her day and remembered taking another of Dad’s welding helmets to work and standing outside with her co-workers watching the eclipse as well. She even remembered how people were very scared and nervous about what it would all mean and what would happen. The moon passed in front of the sun, it got dark and it got light again. The day continued on. What made that day in 1979 special was that I grew up in north central North Dakota, nearly in the path of totality and we pretty much had a completely uncrowded, and unpublicized view of a total eclipse. There were no parties, there were no mass gatherings, there were no traffic jams – and we didn’t realize it was a big deal. There were some newspaper articles and national news stations traveled to remote northern outposts for a 5 minute breaking news segment and it was over. But my memory and my story remains.
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1979 Solar Eclipse Path
A lot has happened in 38 years and today the U.S. experienced another solar eclipse. The moon passed in front of the sun, it got dark, it got light again and the day went on. What is different this time is the complete and total access to information and the perpetual cycle of content creation and content marketing. In 1979 evening news (broadcast for 30 minutes), and local newspapers were the only source of information and most totality locations experienced less than 100 visitors. Most of the totaltity locations were also far from metro areas and population centers. Today, the U.S. experienced an entirely different kind of eclipse experience thanks to an entirely different kind of access to media.
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Example of 1979 local newspaper coverage
The internet, social media, 24 news access, hand held devices, affordable travel, flexible jobs, online shopping and content marketing have changed everything, and the only thing that the eclipse of 1979 and 2017 have in common is the science.
The internet and the 24 news cycle have allowed information about the solar eclipse to be broadcast far and wide for a long period of time. This long lead generation of news and information gave not only individuals time to prepare and excitement to build, but to allow brands to figure out how to ride the solar eclipse wave. And ride the wave they have. From online sales opportunities, social media content, brand integration, special promotions and even information repositories like NASA and the Weather Channel that provided countdowns, explanations and live streaming, brands and businesses have found creative ways to create and share social content as well.
Some brands on social media created multi-media content like how-to videos, others utilized simple images, and others went all out with experiential campaigns that included product integration, multi-channel marketing, cross promotions and live events.
Image may be NSFW.
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Image may be NSFW.
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Others still hit the jackpot with once in a lifetime brand integration opportunities. For example, Mitsubishi is scheduled to launch their 2018 Eclipse Cross in late fall and this historic event gives them a marketing moment unicorn when they can position cars in eclipse areas for photo shoots and live content distribution promoting their brand in a way even the best marketer could have never conceived in a conference room had this solar event not happened.
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But brands and businesses of all types and sizes were also getting in on the hype with promotions that catch headlines, drive clicks and generate sales. From traditional BOGO, free with purchase, limited time offers and more, nobody wants to be left in the dark and everyone is looking for their moment in the sun. Yes, puns were intended.
Here at FullTilt, we are not immune to the moon madness and helped our client with eclipse graphics and live events, as well as t-shirt giveaways that were a hit with staff and social media users alike.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
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But as we all geared up for the eclipse of the century, I had a friend ask why the eclipse is such a big deal this time around. It was easy to say, look no farther than the internet and content marketing. Bloggers and Pinterest told me what food to make and how to have a party. Amazon told me what glasses to buy, NASA gave me a countdown, the Weather Channel told me the chance of sunny skies and what time I could expect to see the eclipse in my zip code, and even the National Parks Service and Department of Transportation had maps, t-shirts, posters, travel information and camping instructions.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
A singular event like the eclipse, or the SuperBowl, or even political protests show us how content marketing changes everything. You would be hard pressed to find many people in the U.S. who did not know the solar eclipse was happening…and quite frankly millions more who not only knew, but made plans, and drove hundreds of miles to be part of the action. I had a co-worker tell me this AM that she had FOMO (fear of missing out) because she did not go to the path of totality. I learned another friend docked their sailboat in Maine (they are on an epic sailing adventure), to rent a car and drive to Tennessee to be in the path of totality…and that was after they have sailed thousands of miles and seen hundreds of sites which would make this moment seem small in comparison – but apparently it wasn’t…they too did not want to be left out.
It’s true this eclipse moment today was rare. It crossed dozens of states, including totality in 21 national parks across the U.S. The sheer swath of reach and the national park part added to the epic adventure proportions of something that was already grand by nature’s design. It connected people and places, it shone a light on science, and it created stories, just like my story from 1979. I guess my Dad was an early adopter of content marketing, he just didn’t have a a virtual audience to share it with. But today, thanks to the internet we are a connected society and we can come together in ways that has never happened before. And we don’t need to forget our memories and our stories that we experienced today. I guarantee you that one year from now Facebook will remind me what I did today.
Today’s consumers want to be part of something bigger than themselves. They want to share in content creation and be part of the process which is why as of 10:30 am CST today, there were more than 1 million #eclipse hashtags and the eclipse hadn’t even started yet. Today at the conclusion of the eclipse there were over 3 million related hashtags used on Instagram alone. I myself took part in my own social moment, despite somewhat cloudy skies because the moment provided a personal reflection on my past history and childhood memories of my Dad and I. The difference is, this time I have a picture, as do millions of others. I hope that those millions of people around the country that shared in this historic event create their own special memories that will live with them for years to come and maybe in 2024, some 13 year old kid can say – hey I remember when we did that when I was 6.
It’s hard to say what a connected world will look like in 7 years for the 2024 eclipse or 27 years for the 2044 eclipse but it is safe to say that we will continue to be intimately connected, and borders and distance will be minimized by technology.
What I do know is this. As marketers we must remember that content has the power to unite and inspire, and our ability to tap into the power of human connection can make us all a more connected and engaged nation. It’s our job as content creaters and content managers to continue to share compelling content and great stories that bring people together. I guess thanks are in order to my Dad who showed me early on the power of a good story.
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