I've been trying to keep this blog from devolving into a series of links to news articles and other blog posts. without additional commentary. However, I felt this Mediapost article was too good to pass up. It features a study by Feed Company ("Viral Video Marketing Survey: The Agency Perspective") and provides useful views on measuring success.
All advertisers these days would love to get extra mileage out of their advertising. They ask us (their agency) how they what they should do as far as a viral video strategy. The problem is that the concept of creating a viral video is practically, although not completely (Nike), an oxymoronic concept.
Can any old TV :30 be a video with viral potential? Hardly. There has to be a hook. I mentioned Nike because if there is one company that has done an outstanding jobat creating amazing spots that consumers will watch repeatedly, it's Nike, by way of its long-time creative agency Wieden-Kennedy. Specifically, I'm thinking of the "freestyle" basketball spot from a few years ago of NBA stars intermixed with streetballers dribbling and doing tricks. That spot was decidedly cool and resonated incredibly with basketball players everywhere, of all skill levels. By contrast, should another brand, not nearly as iconic as Nike, say a CPG, hope to do something with their TV assets, like put them on YouTube and count on additional exposure?
What downside is there to doing that? How much do marketers want to protect his or her brand? The downside is that a consumer stumbles upon the site and thinks, so what? What a waste of time. The downside is that on the Internet, once it's out there, it may be impossible to reel it in. What happens when there's a quick change in the brand direction? If the previous message was all about affordability (as an example) and there's a decision to move the brand upscale and emphasize quality, the old affordability video is floating out on the Internet. It may have been copied onto dozens of smaller sites or talked about in blogs. Does that matter?
Impact depends on the company. It may not matter. Creative with messaging about promotions or guarantees would be best not to be made available online. Creative with more enduring appeal (like the Nike basketball spot) definitely has a place.
