After working in Advertising for the better part of two
decades, in a dozen markets all over the world, I like to challenge myself by
making three golden rules for most everything in the industry. It is as much a
cathartic mental exercise as it is a practical guideline, nevertheless it’s
always good to remember that in advertising there are no rules, just
effectiveness.
My three golden
rules….
Viral marketing.
Viral marketing is seen by many as the panacea of
advertising; its free media and has the potential of elevating a brand to
global superstar status, but most viral campaigns, at least those that are
designed as so, fall flat on their face. Some of the greatest examples of viral
campaigns are somewhat accidental, and RARELY brand centric. Dove’s “campaign
for real beauty” saw an accidental viral video turn into a global campaign. A
60 second video originally made for an internal Unilever sales conference in
Canada leaked online (or so the story goes) and became so viral that it was
quickly adopted as a global TV commercial. You can watch it on youtube- “Dove
evolution”.
In the digital age where consumers have trillions of
terabytes of content and distractions to seek and consume, a brand has to
really stand out and offer something genuinely valuable to justify engaging
with you. With media being fragmented to
the incredible degree that it is, brands are increasingly relying on consumers
to evangelize for them. A consumer being a willing brand advocate or happily
associating themselves with a brand, will have far more impact than any
advertising can ever do. 10 years ago we used to call that word-of-mouth.
When clients come asking for a viral campaign my initial
reaction is to cringe, as i know they are asking for it in the hope of saving
money, and besides, when you consider my three golden rules of viral marketing,
most clients turn away from the idea, while those who embraced these guiding
principles, have come away with tangible success:
1-
Inherent Value: Whether it’s comedic value, high
production values, sheer audacity or shock factor, there has to be something
genuinely valuable in the video/microsite/app or whatever it is you are
expecting people to spend time and effort sharing. Alternatively you could
incentivize (win something by sending this on, liking etc ..), but that,
strictly speaking, isn’t a viral initiative. Viral also tends to be very
topical, and brands having something emphatic to say at the right time have a
better chance of success. Sadly most brands in this region are very timid when
it comes to taking any sociological or political stance lest they offend
anyone. There were many lost opportunities for brands to take emphatic
positions on issues during the early days of the Arab spring, but few if any
did.
2-
Effort: Whether its integrating the initiative with
offline activities, Search Engine Optimization, intermittently getting all your
staff to initiate sharing with their friends and family or simply using cold
lists to get the critical mass of people sharing and engaging, there is a
tremendous amount of effort that runs behind any successful viral campaign, and
that’s assuming the initiative has a big idea that resonates with people.
3-
Keep it simple: Asking people to make their own
video, upload it and share (a common formulae deployed by brands) is inherently
laborious and is probably asking for too much and greatly limits the number of
participants. Of course there are loads of internet memes that people replicate
in their own way showcasing their individuality, wit and creativity, but it is
rare to see them coming from a brand. Again, incentivizing participation makes
it promotional with a viral element rather than purely viral.
4-
Pushing the boundaries: Though arguably linked
to the first golden rule, this is where brands fear to tread. Lets face it, no
one is going to share your 3 minute corporate video with all their friends
unless you are appealing to a darker aspect of humanity: sex, voyeurism,
sado-masochism, or dark humour. Ofcourse the opposite is also “virable”; demonstrating
acts of selflessness and altruism and giving, but lets be honest, we rarely see
that coming from corporations.
For those who astutely observed that I’ve offered four
rather than three golden rules, remember there are exceptions to every rule. Next
month I tackle the odd and irrational world of corporate premium giveaways, a
throwback to the fax age when branded key chains, pens and desk diaries reigned
supreme.
First appeared in Venture Magazine (Jordan) February 2013
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