Learn To Fly

Want to smile? Watch this. It made Dave Grohl cry. It made me cry too.

A couple of years ago, 1000 musicians from Cesena, Italy came together in a field to play Learn to Fly, their way of asking the Foo Fighters to come to their town.

The could have writer letters and signed petitions. But new technology makes filming a sharing a video like that so easy.

The video is really special, but you shouldn’t feel special because you watched it –it’s been watched over 37 million times. Because it’s remarkable. It’s worth watching. And it’s worth spreading.

But what I find more impressive from a marketing perspective is Dave Grohl’s response a day later. While that has far less views, it’s equally heartfelt and genuine. It demonstrates a real connection and respect between a band (brand) and audience (customers). In 34 seconds, shooting in a phone, Dave puts himself out there, responded to an opportunity and made fans for life.

Most of us don’t work in businesses as sexy as rock and roll, and most of our customers aren’t as passionate about what we do as Foo Fighters fans are. But you need to be asking yourself regularly how you can better connect with your audience. Unavailable budget and time aren’t good excuses any more.

Three months after the initial video was released, the Foo Fighters played in Cesana. They opened with Learn to Fly.