One of my favorite part time jobs was to wander Michigan State’s campus and staple obnoxious flyers to the annoying flyer boards. I only was in the game for a few months, and I liked the flexibility and independence of it, and soon something more interesting came up. The job was to promote Kaplan test prep services, and in addition to my meager $5/hr., they gave me free access to a lot of learning materials. I used these to study for the GRE and the GMAT. The whole situation worked out pretty well.

I mention all of this because I’ve been researching the idea of “street teams”. Kaplan hired people like me to be part of their “street team”, although they didn’t have a name for it. Plus, they actually HIRED me, with wages and other valuable benefits.

This morning I came across an example of how a music industry site in Finland is recruiting “street teams”. They’re bringing in volunteer kids, paying them in “creds”, and assumedly offering the respect and appreciation of their favorite bands. The whole thing is cleverly packaged as a grassroots community, and they use phrases like “Teaming up is power!”

The bands they’re aligned with have marketing budgets. This is clearly a professional marketing activity. The language on the site is not grassroots. It’s carefully written; the kind of persuasive (if misguided) stuff you get from serious web marketers.

It’s not fair to call it misguided either. These guys have built a good site and their work is really well produced. So what are the unknown benefits to the kids that I’m not aware of? It’s good marketing, but kids aren’t stupid. Maybe it has to do with Finland’s recent cultural history? Obviously I’m missing something important. Maybe I just don’t understand the “power” in becoming a “VIP” with lots of “cred”.

I’m not being sarcastic. It’s strange, I don’t get it, and I’d like to.

One of my clients is considering creating something called a “street team”…