Viral marketing is a technique that uses word of mouth or email to reach and affect an audience. The goal of a viral marketer is to create “buzz” about a product or idea, so that the idea spreads widely. If effective, viral marketing may require very little effort on the part of the propagandist, as the recipients of the message become the primary agents who spread it to other people. On the other hand, the weakest thing about this form of marketing is that it is hard to control.
A classic example of viral marketing was one of the first free email services – Hotmail.com. Their strategy was very simple. They gave away email accounts and at the bottom of each message sent out there was a tag, “Get your private, free email at http://www.hotmail.com.” They then stood back and let the subscribers send the message out to their network of friends and family, who then signed up and sent it out to their network of friends and family, who then signed up…I’m sure you get the picture.
A viral marketing strategy need not contain ALL these elements, but the more elements it embraces, the more powerful the results are likely to be. An effective viral marketing strategy:
- Gives away products or services
- Provides for effortless transfer to others
- Scales easily from small to very large
- Exploits common motivations and behaviors
- Utilizes existing communication networks
- Takes advantage of others’ resources
One of the best viral marketing campaigns I found was the Transport for London Agency: DoTheTest.co.uk Awareness Test Video. This video presented you with an awareness test where you have to closely watch the white team to see how many times they pass the ball. They then show you how easy it is to be unaware of something if you are focused on something else. Watch the video and see this amazing viral “awareness test” for yourself. This video currently has 9,172,358 total views, and it’s easy to see why! I want to forward this to all my friends and colleagues to see if they catch “it” or not. And to find out what “it” is, you’ll have to watch the video for yourself!
Not every marketing campaign is meant to go viral, but following the marketing strategy is a step in the right direction!
Everyone loves viral videos – so I’ll leave you with a few of my favorites:
Chaylee, great post! I can see how the “Awareness Test” would go viral. I had to rewind the clip for myself to make sure they hadn’t just recorded the test twice, once with the bear and once without. Crazy video, with an important message. This is definitely a successful use of video in marketing campaign.
Those are great examples of videos gone viral! “Charlie bit me” is also one of my all-time favorites. I can watch it over and over and laugh every time. I have seen many reenactments, but none as cute as the original.
I have to confess that I failed the Awareness Test. That is pretty cool.
I would never have made it through the “Battle at Kruger” film if it weren’t for my son. I kept looking away, but he told me when it was safe to catch a glimpse. Awesome epic! Thanks for sharing these great videos.
Chaylee,
I just found the sequel to the Awareness test. It is called the “Invisible Gorilla” test. Watch it at
Great post, Chaylee! Viral marketing is fascinating to me, especially with – as you pointed out – how little effort and intent it involves. The Awareness Test was quite interesting and taught me that we can miss out on something if we are so focused on something else. Thanks for posting that video along with the others. I like watching videos like “Charlie Bit Me” and “David After Dentist” that portray children being the cute, innocent children they are. Sometimes I worry that parents are trying to manipulate their children in hopes of being the next YouTube stars or that one day I’ll do something silly in front of a camera that is posted for all of YouTube to see. As great and entertaining as viral marketing can be, I would prefer not to be involved myself.