Can A Brand Create a Viral Marketing Campaign?

by Scott Bishop on February 19, 2010

Can You Create A Viral Marketing Campaign?

Can a company create a Viral Marketing Campaign?

I know that most brands want to create a YouTube sensation that gets a million hits and an ad campaign that sweeps the social networks by storm.  But can it be done?  Yes, companies can spend money to create big ads and generate a lot of social media jabber.  But is that really grass roots “viral”.

I posted the question today on Twitter to mixed opinions.

I feel strongly that the answer is NO.  Before I weigh in to my decision process I’d love to hear your thoughts and your reasons behind them.

Agree or Disagree?

I’d love to be proven wrong.  What’s your argument and thoughts?

Weigh in below.

This is DAY 19 of my “28 Day Blogging Challenge“

Get the Real Time Marketer Directly to Your RSS HERE

Scott S. Bishop is editor for Real Time Marketer and a marketing strategist with a specialty in social media.  He is an avid blogger and active across the net.  He is @thescottbishop on Twitter

If You Like This Post, You Will Find These Valuable Too

Tagged as: ad campaign, blogger, grass roots, marketing strategist, real time, social networks, Twitter, Viral Marketing, viral marketing campaign

Article by Scott Bishop

Scott Bishop is editor for Real Time Marketer and is the Director of Social for an integrated marketing firm. He is an avid blogger and active across the net. He is @thescottbishop on Twitter

Scott has written 127 awesome articles for Us.

  • http://tdhurst.com tdhurst

    I stand by wanting to punch you for even bringing this up.

    But no, you can't create viral, you can only make great content that people love. You can make it easy to share, you can make it compelling, but you can't make it viral, no matter how many people on your mailing list you send it to.

  • http://www.getresults.com GetResults

    Scott,

    I'd largely agree with you that the answer is “NO,” but that said, something going viral is a result of it being incredibly relevant and resonant with its marketplace at a given time and in whatever circumstances it finds itself. You can, as the marketer, initiate but it is the market that makes the message, image, viral. In short, it takes on a life of its own – and that life is not one you can predict. It's Tipping Point and Critical Mass – whatever you want to call it. When it happens, though, riding the wave is a wonderful rush.

  • http://www.rosssimmonds.com/ TheCoolestCool

    I'd strongly have to disagree with you guys on this one.

    When making a viral video several different elements, contribute to determining whether or not it will be successful…One of these elements are good old lady luck. However, I do believe a successful viral video can be manufactured using certain techniques that ultimately make it worth sharing. (I'll provide examples as we go on.) I recall an episode on Donald Trump’s Apprentice – where the contestants were tasked with creating a viral video themselves. This turned out to be a disaster and it could support the idea suggesting viral videos cannot be manufactured. BUT, I disagree…

    Here are five things I think are essential to manufacture a successful viral video. 1st – Creativity – It's clear that with every great idea comes some ounce of creativity and a manufactured viral video doesn't escape this statement. If an organization isn't creative or even original when creating the content they will fail drastically at creating viral content. However, when they are creative the success tends to sky-rocket — (ie. Mark Ecko – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oAi_WbzZ-I )

    2nd – A clever concept/situation – If there isn't some type of shocking ending or an idea that keeps you watching then you'll exit the video and never think twice about it. However, if there is something about it that is special you'll remember it for quite some time and definitely want to share it with people. — (ie. Dove – Evolution of Beauty – http://www.youtube.com
    /watch?v=hibyAJOSW8U )

    3rd – Leveraging something classic – Why reinvent the wheel if its not broken? Some of the most successful viral videos have come from parodies, mashups and videos featuring YouTube celebrities. If you chuck in something that worked before – it just might work again (See #5) – (ie. Numa-Numa – Gecko – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HItwu7PNdNo)

    4th – Not overly produced – One key factor that made the viral videos created on the apprentice such a failure was the fact that they both looked like commercials. Several agencies can’t get out of commercial mode and therefore develop “viral videos” that are actually just offensive or sexually explicit commercials. A good viral video has the backyard feel and doesn't seem like a pathetic corporate pitch – (ie. Nintendo Wii Fit – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v31qxrXsxv0)

    5th – Good ol' fashion luck – Now not all brands who have been successful have put together videos with every single one of these qualities. Some manufactured viral videos go viral because of good old fashion luck. I hesitate when using the world luck due to the fact that often times I believe there needs to be someone who has an eye for opportunities. An opportunity was created by customers and Myth Busters for the Mentos/Cola sensation and Mentos ran with it to the piggy bank.

    So back to your question – Can viral videos be manufactured? – Yes.

  • http://www.ctkingston.com Ct Kingston

    I don't think they can go viral unless the content is stellar or extremely dumb. I won't define terms on 'dumb' or 'stellar' because it's subjective, but you've seen the viral stuff, you probably know what I mean.
    If a company wants to insure viral then make a video where a famous person gets kicked in the nads. THAT is surefire.

  • http://tdhurst.com tdhurst

    The fifth one is out of your hands and completely necessary for it to
    go viral.

    The first four are simply the elements of a great video.

    Tyler Hurst | 602.614.4137
    Consultant

    AmandaVega.com
    Tdhurst.com

  • http://www.rosssimmonds.com/ TheCoolestCool

    I didn't know there was a difference between a great video and a viral video. If somethings great you want to share it – If something isn't you don't… Viral videos are videos worth sharing, therefore they're great videos.

  • http://tdhurst.com tdhurst

    But all great videos don't go viral.

    Tyler Hurst | 602.614.4137
    Consultant

    AmandaVega.com
    Tdhurst.com

  • http://www.rosssimmonds.com/ TheCoolestCool

    If an agency or brand creates a video that doesn't go viral it wasn't great.
    It was good.

  • Pingback: uberVU - social comments

  • http://twitter.com/colinnclarke Colin N. Clarke

    Emphatically, NO. A company cannot create a viral campaign. You can create great content, but you can't make people watch and share. You don't choose viral, viral chooses you. You CAN take steps to increase the likelihood of a viral event happening, but you cannot guarantee it.

    Like all things marketing, you can affect propensity to buy but you cannot twist the audiences arm, force the wallet out of their pocket and demand they turn over their cash. Same thing applies here. You cannot force them to share your content.

    If a production company or agency ever tells you they are going to create a “viral campaign” for you, be suspicious. Be VERY suspicious!

  • Pingback: Yes - A Brand Can Make a Viral Video or Campaign

Previous post:

Next post:

Real Time Web Analytics