Is there a guaranteed method of a successful viral marketing campaign? Does it happen by accident, or is it carefully planned out? I guess it depends on the campaign itself. Is the content itself unique enough that everyone just has to show their friends? Or is the planning and execution just so well thought out that you’re just too impressed not to pass it on?
Either way, if you get a good mix that works, you can grab the world’s attention overnight. I’m going to compare to different kinds of viral videos and that factors that make them a success in very different ways. I’ll be focusing on planning, execution and success rate.
First up, the one we’ve all seen a hundred times before, it’s the Star Wars Kid. This is a great example of one of those videos that you just had to show everyone you know. The video came about completely by accident and had absolutely no execution other than being uploaded to a popular P2P file sharing client.
Who would’ve thought the he would become the most viewed video on the Internet? With viewing figures well over 900 million, countless features in computer games and TV programmes, it just goes to show that some videos don’t require a marketing team and advertising budget. From a commercial point of view, the video doesn’t advertise or endorse any product (maybe that’s why it’s so successful?)
Next up is this brilliant piece of creativity from Japanese band SOUR.
The video is a promotional music video for their new single. It was shot simply by using their fans’ webcams from all over the world. The planning and execution on this one must’ve been going on for months. Success rate? It’s unfair to say, but the video already has over 140k views on YouTube alone and it was only uploaded 6 days ago. As previously mentioned, this video is to promote the band’s new single, will it have an affect on their sales figures and fan base? The organisation and choreography is nothing short of genius. We hope this gets the attention it deserves!
Of course, these two examples show both extremes. Zero planning an execution leading to massive success and lots of planning and execution leading to moderate success. The idea is to find a good balance. If you’re reading this and thinking about launching a viral video, then you’re already in the planning stage. The key is to make sure the success rate justifies the planning and execution time.
So what to do next? Find a creative company that specialises in viral marketing campaigns, either to drive the campaign for you or just to give you a bit of advice and ideas.
