Let’s Play a Game!
What should Holly pack?
Interactive games are a key component of online viral campaigns. Here’s how it works; a company develops an entertaining game which is related to their business. They ask you to provide your contact details in order for you to play it, and upon supplying them, you’re automatically entered in a prize draw in order to win a fabulous prize. This benefits the company because they get extended customer information for direct marketing, (the added incentive of winning encourages people to supply the correct details). It also benefits the customer because they get to enjoy themselves. The more the customers enjoy themselves, the more they’ll spread the game, and the more successful the campaign becomes.
A great example of this sort of viral campaign is thegreatestshowisearth.com, wherein a young woman named Holly is packing to go away on holiday, and gamers get to help her. For each item you type into the command box, you see Holly get the item and put it in her suitcase (sometimes in a hilarious way). There are also 4 mystery items included. If you enter the mystery items that she needs to pack, there’s a party onscreen and you are one step closer to a prize draw for a trip for two away.
We can testify that this sort of game is quite addictive, as we spent ages looking for the last key mystery item! It actually took us 2 hours to write this post from start to finish because we were racking our brains. Whoever designed the campaign did a great job.
The team at One Second Viral
[images: online screenshot of thegreatestshowisearth.com]
Viral Music Promotion – Marketing at its Best
WHY IT WORKS
- Most people hear about music from their friends.
- Most people trust their friends’ opinions much more than record companies or official marketing agencies.
- It’s cheap.
WHERE TO CIRCULATE YOUR MUSIC
- The Heavy Hitters: YouTube, MySpace, Facebook
- Local online forums and websites
- Free mp3 download sites
EXTRA JUICE — THE MUSIC VIDEO
Everyone knows that music videos are a great way to promote music. Video creation, editing and distribution is easier than ever, so if you create a cool video and circulate it on the Net, you’re more likely to get hits and publicity for your group. Take a look at OK Go’s video for Here it Goes Again, which has had millions of views across the web. The setup and costs for this video were relatively low, but a great idea, excellent execution and good viral seeding means they got a great result from their work. Have fun watching it and spreading your music.
Sex Sells
**Disclaimer: onesecondviral.com does not necessarily condone the use of sexual material in viral campaigns.**
Many viral campaigners take full advantage of the freedom of expression in and the deregulation of the Internet to reach those elusive technologically-savvy 20-somethings who don’t watch TV like the rest of the world, but have an interest in cheeky sexy stories just like the rest of the population. Today’s post will include only a general summary of the campaigns and won’t contain any media, photographs or links, because some of the content might be objectionable to certain readers.
BURGER KING SUBSERVIENT CHICKEN
This is a website that parodies peep shows. If you go to the associated viral website, you see the Burger King Chicken through the lens of a “webcam.” Users can type in commands for the chicken, and watch the chicken perform their requests.
KYLIE MINOGUE FOR AGENT PROVOCATEUR
Kylie rides a mechanical bull in Agent Provocateur underwear to prove that their undies are the sexiest in the world. The ultimate barometer? How many men can stand up after watching her performance.
TROJAN GAMES
These viral videos parody large sports games tournaments like the Olympics, but if they were sponsored by Trojan Condoms. Each video features a man and woman competing in a different sport, such as vaulting or judo. They must show skill, accuracy and sportsmanship in…. well, you know… in order to win the match.
Because sexual content is often banned from mainstream television, it makes sense for these adverts to be distributed virally. Take a new digital marketing vehicle and introduce it to subject matter that pushes the envelope, and you get a match made in heaven.
Viral Campaign Seeding
You’ve got a viral campaign. It’s attention grabbing, on brand, and buzz-worthy. Now you just have to make sure people see it. And not just any people– your target audience.
To make sure your campaign gets seen and spreads to the right people, you need to seed it. Take at look at our top 3 tips for viral campaign seeding.
1. Use targeted channels.
The latest buzzword in social media marketing is niche. It’s easy to put information up on Facebook, Youtube and Digg, but these sites are huge, and have not only a large audience, but a large competition pool as well. Find forums and video-sharing sites that are not only geographically local to your targeted audience, but also focused on the kinds of subjects they are interested in.
2. Make a Plan
Once you decide where you’ll target, it’s time to figure out when you’ll target it. Your campaign must have a roll-out timeline so as to keep the momentum moving and avoid a glut of overexposure with little to no follow-up. Start with channels where users themselves will hone in on the material, and then spread to more mainstream vehicles as your campaign grows in scope.
3. Track your Progress
As with any marketing campaign, it’s important to keep track of how well your message is doing in each sector of the roll-out. This helps you to understand what channels users are receptive to, and to emphasise these channels in your future campaigns. Some of the factors you should evaluate when tracking your progress include how completely the message was passed on, how far the campaign reached, and the level of conversation the viral campaign generated.
[image: gettyimages.com]
Viral Campaigns with a Conscience
The concept behind viral campaigns is to use a catchy idea that has a lot of “buzz” and get the audience itself to spread the message through means like YouTube, email, instant messenger and word of mouth.
The viral campaigns the public are most familiar with usually include selling a product, like Guitar Pro or Cadbury’s Creme Eggs. However, there are many others who use viral techniques to draw the public’s attention towards issues or causes they feel need support and publicity.
One example can be seen here, in one of the campaigns released by Transport for London. The point of this video is to challenge drivers and those using the road to pay closer attention. Check it out:
Video artists can use this medium as well, when they publicise their art. Video artist Mel Chin wanted to draw attention to the cause of Hurricane Katrina “and develop solutions for environmentally responsible rebuilding of New Orleans from below the ground up,” according He explains some of his motivations and how he came to work on the project here:
Here is a viral video detailing one of the actual projects that Mel Chin got support from below. The basic idea of hte project is that children from underpriveleged families will come up with a “fundred dollar bill,” in which they draw their own hundred dollar bills, with things that are most precious to them. Afterwards, the “bills” are taken to Washington DC, and asked for in exchange for actual tender as a donation to the citizens of New Orleans, for relief aid.
I Heard It Through The ‘Viral’
Viral Marketing is taking the world by storm! Emotions run wild when an outrageous clip or a comical video hits our T.V screens or appears on Youtube as a ‘Recently Added’ link.
Companies are getting younger in terms of the youth of their workers and thus they are no longer ‘growing old gracefully.’
Playing the field unpredictably and unexpectedly generates more exposure, which now-a-days, most Advertising and Marketing companies find themselves competing against… As a result a lot of Viral Intelligence is needed to guarantee ‘Viral Survival’.
Within the realm of Marketing, there is no such thing as a Viral Sin. The more offensive, strange and unusual the campaign, the more likely it is to grab viewers’ attention and create a Marketing Buzz . This being said, it is not in fact so easy to achieve, in recent times there has been numerous attempts of such campaigns, but still, only a handfull make it into The Viral Hall of Fame!
Companies are now more aware of this new found technique and as a result they are starting to exploit it. A great example being Danny MaCaskill, an urban cyclist who became famous through the powers of Youtube and after his video upload sky-rocketed, Volkswagen’s Viral Light Bulb switched on and they are now using him as an advertising tool to promote their brand.
Now that’s what I call Viralsome!
Negative Viral Publicity
This post will discuss how negative publicity can be spread through viral means on the Internet. A great example of this is the Autstralian KFC ad. This ad was aired in Australia, and then uploaded on YouTube. Once American viewers saw the ad online, a storm of controversy surfaced online as consumers from different cultures interpreted the ad’s meaning and intent.
I’ve included the ad below. Here’s a summary of what the ad says: An Australian man is sitting in the stands of a game, surrounded by Caribbean fans. He says he’s in an awkward situation. His solution is to offer KFC to the other fans in the stands. They all enjoy the game together.
Americans say that the ad is racist because of the stereotypical attitudes in the USA that 1. Blacks are rowdy 2. Blacks love fried chicken. Many Americans believe this ad is racist because a white person would presume to offer chicken to rowdy blacks to ’shut them up.’ Here’s a video response by American viewers on YouTube.
Australian viewers have a completely different view of the commercial. They believe that the awkward situation the white Australian fan is in is actually because he is the only supporter of his team, and he’s surrounded by fans of the opposite team. He makes a peace offering of KFC because everyone loves KFC, and they can find common ground through food. He is no longer the odd man out, and he’s accepted. Here’s an Australian video response to the ad:
No matter what viewers think, KFC has pulled the ad from circulation in Australia.