There is nothing in this day and age that will launch a company to greatness better than a truly great viral marketing campaign. All it takes is one idea that is shareable and memorable to create the kind of viral campaign that viewers won’t stop talking about or sending to their friends. Professional companies like Hive Mind Marketing can help you craft excellent campaigns. To help you get a feel for the competition, here are the four best viral marketing campaigns.
Kony 2012
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc)
“Kony 2012” was unlike any other virtual marketing campaign in the history of social media. This half-hour long documentary film shed light on the horrors of Joseph Kony, the tyrannical leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda. The film was powerfully moving and gave viewers a unique proposition: What if every citizen of the world devoted themselves to making a previously evil dictator as well-known as a celebrity or politician? Unfortunately, the good of the cause was overshadowed by the film’s creator having a public nervous breakdown. Regardless, this movement showed the power of viral films.
The Old Spice Guy
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE)
When Old Spice released “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like,” the internet exploded. It’s hard to pinpoint just what about this video makes it so darn shareable. Maybe it’s the irreverent nonsense of the dialogue or maybe it’s the undeniable hotness of the Old Spice guy himself, Isaiah Mustafa. Either way, it launched several follow-up videos featuring Mustafa and became one of the most successful viral marketing campaigns of all time.
Friday
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfVsfOSbJY0)
It was that classic tale of a little girl from small town America finding fame and fortune, but with a twist. When Rebecca Black’s parents decided to purchase her a song and music video package from Ark Music Factory, they probably expected her to gain a little exposure from film and music agents. Instead, she became the proud crooner behind what has been dubbed the worst song of all time.
So where does the viral marketing aspect come into play? Well, hundreds of parents who were desperate for their kid to have any measure of fame rushed to Patrice Wilson, owner of Ark, to have similar song and video packages produced for their dubiously talented kids. Charging a rumored $5,000 a pop, Wilson – who in a world with any justice would be penniless – is laughing his way to the bank with videos like this one and this one and… you get the picture.
Will It Blend?
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAuhUTzNwiY)
The “Will It Blend?” campaign teaches us the most important lesson on viral marketing: For true success in your campaign, customers cannot feel like they’re being advertised to. The “Will It Blend?” videos don’t even seem like ads, but rather fun videos where a fatherly old chap in a lab coat puts an assortment of whacky items in a blender. Hence, the viewer doesn’t even realize that when they post that video of an iPhone going into a grinder on their Facebook wall, they’re actually helping Blendtec to advertise their blenders. In a word: genius.
A great viral marketing campaign should be shareable, memorable and fun to watch. If you’re ever lucky enough to reach the kind of success that the above companies have found with their campaigns, your business is sure to skyrocket.
