Can This Pickle Out Market Big Brands?

Scott Bishop — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 05:40:34 +0000

Does This Pickle Have More Social Media Presence Than You?

Can this pickle get more fans than 90% of Big Brands?

Can a pickle beat big brands at social media marketing? Yes…I said pickle. It wasn’t a typo.

I recently posed the question on my blog…”Can A Brand Create a Viral Campaign?“. I had the same debate on Twitter. A few folks said that yes, big brands were cabable of creating viral campaigns. Most, including me, said that they cannot.

Well, here’s the latest viral superstar. A pickle on Facebook with a page titled Can This Pickle Get More Fans Than Nickleback.

This pickle is kicking the tails of multimillion dollar budgets and the brains of multibillion dollar agencies and corporations.

In 21 days (the Facebook page was created on Feb 02,2010) this Facebook group reached 1.47 million fans. Yes, I said million. That my friends is the very definition of “Viral”.

Now let’s compare over 1 million Facebook fans for a pickle to other marketing campaign’s Facebook pages that have television, radio, and print campaigns to boost awareness of their pages.

Hot Tub Time Machine – (Movie) 25,262 fans

This movie has been advertising across movie theaters and on Television. On their advertisements they are touting their Facebook page.

Sears – 159,037 fans

Television advertisements, including the Super Bowl, have been showcasing their Facebook Page at the end of the ads.

Kenneth Cole – 35,705 fans

Print advertisements have included both their Facebook and Twitter addresses.

Papa Johns – 808,674 fans

This pizza giant has been successful with social media marketing, and even after their campaigns they still fall to the pickle.

So with millions of dollars in these brands marketing budgets and billion dollar PR and marketing agencies creating campaigns, they could still not beat a pickle and the infectious activity and following of what happens when some things go viral.

Brands will continue to try and create a campaign that mimics viral activity…but in most cases a big board room full of marketing veterans can never compete with a random thought that pops into someones head and the web that catapults that thought to the moon.

But the success from silly things like this pickle is the very reason that they’ll keep trying.

This is DAY 23 of my “28 Day Blogging Challenge“

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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

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Can A Brand Create a Viral Marketing Campaign?

Scott Bishop — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 23:20:29 +0000

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“