I’m sure you’ve seen some of the infectious videos out there like “Evolution of Dance” or “Charlie Bit Me” that are taking the Internet by storm. Viewers seem to be falling in love with the videos, posting them on their facebook pages and blogs, and emailing them to all their friends. These videos end up spreading like a virus (hence the name) to millions of viewers within only a few weeks in some cases.

The big question is, can companies make their own viral marketing campaigns and succeed? Sure, it looks very appealing, but is it feasible? How will viewers respond when they see the Nike logo attached to a viral video?

Allow me to go through some pros and cons for making your brand viral.

Pros

1. They are cheap to produce. Most viral videos that are produced by companies look like they were filmed by a handheld camera. That’s the look they are going for. Take for example the “Touch of Gold” video produced by Nike, featuring Brazilian soccer star Ronaldinho.

2. After production, it’s free! Companies don’t have to worry about spending millions of dollars to place ads on prime time TV spots. Their message is being delivered without a huge bill at the end of the month.

3. If viewers like the video, it will spread like a virus. Check out this video by T Mobile that had over 9 Million views within 2 months.

Cons

1. The message can be easily lost. A company may come out with a great video that has a gazillion views within the first week of being posted, but if there’s no message or selling point about your brand that’s being communicated, you’ve lost a golden opportunity.

2. There’s a very high failure rate. Lots of companies are trying to go viral and are not seeing any success. Nike came out with an “Ankle Insurance” video featuring Kobe Bryant that had only 500,000 views. This is mainly due to the fact that the company/agency has no control over how much exposure the video will receive. When making TV commercials, you have the ability to set reach and frequency goals, and then to buy TV time that will guarantee you that exposure. With viral marketing, you have to hope and pray that videos will spread through word-of-mouth.

To wrap it up, I say that viral marketing is definitely a great opportunity to increase brand awareness and to ingrain your brand into the consumers’ minds. Where else can you get 9 Million viewers to watch a video about your brand for absolutely no charge? My only advice would be to make sure you include some kind of communications message in your video. You don’t want viewers to be confused after watching your video, wondering what just happened.

Chris

A little over-the-top? Companies all over the country are trying to turn their loyal customers into die-hard fans of their brands, but it simply isn’t working. With the advent of social networking sites, like Facebook, brand fan pages are becoming more and more popular. Pringles has over 2 Million fans on their Facebook page! Burger King trails slightly behind with over 300,000. While this is great news for some brands, it is devastating for others. The truth is that some brands are just impossible to develop a fan base for, no matter how loyal their customers are. Confused? Let me try to explain.

Let’s start first with brands that do it right. Take for example, professional sports teams. The Philadelphia Eagles has loyal viewers who watch the games on TV every week like it’s their religion. It doesn’t matter if it’s their sister’s wedding. They won’t miss out on watching “their team” play on Sunday. Not only are these people loyal viewers, but they are also fanatics. They are willing to sit outside in the freezing cold for four hours, paint their bodies green, and scream at the top of their lungs until their voice is no longer functional on Monday morning. You’re probably thinking, “What’s the difference?”
Well, a loyalists supports a brand because they prefer it over any other brand currently available in the market. You might hear, “I only shop at Walmart because they have the best prices in town.” A fanatic is much more. They support a brand because they are making a statement. It defines them. It represents who they are as a person.
If you walk into a fanatic’s household, you’re likely to find collections of Coca-Cola polar bears that have been passed down from generations, a bedroom full of Bruce Springsteen ticket stubs and posters, or a basement that has been completely remodeled into a Harley Davidson theme. These are their prized possessions and they are proud to show them off to anyone who dares to enter.

Now let’s take a look at some companies who are trying to create brand fanatics, but aren’t seeing much success. Take, for example, Visa. Visa’s customer base is full of millions of customers who have been using their service for decades and are completely loyal to Visa. For many of them, you couldn’t convince them to switch to Discover or Master Card if you tried. But let’s take a look at their Facebook page. Only 351 fans! Pringles’ 2 Million fans makes Visa look pitiful. How can this be? It’s because some brands are just nothing to get fanatical about. While companies like Visa, Lexmark, and Tide may provide fantastic products and services, they just aren’t worth getting excited over.

My advice to these companies: Ditch the Facebook efforts. Don’t even bother wasting your time trying to create a fan base for your brand if you are in an industry that is just simply boring. Spend your time and energy in endeavors that will yield you more results.

Chris

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