Tag Archives: viral
Jeana Anderson | Critical Mass Chicago
The social media marketer’s dream came true over at Old Spice over the past two days. The brand’s latest campaign by Wieden + Kennedy was translated into real-time, branded video responses to social media fans and followers. If you weren’t watching along in awe with me, or if you ignored all social media in general, you may have missed it. If that’s the case, here’s a recap:
The campaign developed originally for TV is over-the-top masculine, peppered with hyperbole stated as hilarious science. When combined with the nearly perfect casting of the ruggedly attractive Isaiah Mustafa, who is every woman’s kryptonite and every man’s idol, viral sharing of these videos was imminent. A phrase from one of the earliest ads exemplifies the tone of the entire campaign: “Did you know that women prefer Old Spice for their men one bajillion times more than lady-scented body washes?”
Riding the horse of popularity associated with the ironic campaign, Mustafa holed up in what appeared to be a bathroom, setting out to thank influencers (read: celebrities and bloggers with a large following) including Ellen Degeneres, Perez Hilton, and The Chicago Blackhawks. He also answered questions from fans–all in the exaggerated tone of the original campaign. Memorable moments from the two day real-time YouTube video onslaught included the spokesperson pausing to facilitate a fan’s proposal to his girlfriend, shooting down an offer for coffee from @Starbucks and putting to rest rumors that he was masking the voice of a nerd. In slightly over 24 hours since the marriage proposal video was posted on YouTube, it has been viewed 269,203 times and counting.
Each video in the series reeks of manly, unabashed confidence, and based on a search of Social Mention, we are eating it up: the brand is mentioned in social media every 39 seconds.
Aside from its novelty, uniqueness and incredibly sharable nature, there were some strong points to this real-time-video-production-marathon that made it even more extraordinary (and more viral) than the original. Or as the Old Spice Man may put it, virally viral videos that were viraler than the viral originals.
Celia Jones | Critical Mass Chicago
It’s official. LeBron James is a free agent.
Since the Cleveland Cavaliers got bounced by the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, it seems the entire world has been has been abuzz about one looming question: Where is LeBron James going next? Now that the Cavs have signed Byron Scott as their next head coach and he’s met with all of his potential suitors, we could hear about his decision any day, any minute, now.
In the meantime, major markets have been doing the full court press to woo James to their city, and even safari guides as far as Botswana have been asking if “LeBron is going to leave the Cavs.”
As we saw with the World Cup, digital is doing its part to fuel the free-agent frenzy. Like a mythic creature being hunted by salivating predators, LeBron’s every move is being sniffed out, observed and analyzed online. And, though the digital noise has been deafening, will it actually impact his ultimate decision?
The Stalking
If you work in digital, you’re probably no stranger to the occasional “stalk-booking” or “tweet creeping” to find out what a friend, enemy, co-worker, or ex is up to. But the LeBron phenomenon takes digi-stalking to an entirely different level. ESPN’s “LeBron Tracker” and Sports Illustrated’s “LeBron James Watch” make no bones about the fact that they’re set up for one sole purpose: to track every word uttered, every rumor circulated, every fantastical scenario dreamed up about the superstar’s next move. There’s even a “Free Agent Slot Machine” for those who’d prefer to stop analyzing and leave it all up to chance.
The Bait
Major markets with money to spend have been pulling out all the stops to lure King James to their respective cities. From full-blown marketing campaigns to grassroots blogs, sites and videos, the online buzz is deafening. Here’s a snapshot of some of the top contenders using digital to land LeBron.
New York: The Big Apple is doing some big pimping to bring LeBron to NYC. By far the most savvy and coordinated offensive, New York launched C’mon LeBron to give all of NYC the chance “to get together to show the world’s greatest athlete why he belongs in the world’s greatest city.” The online campaign features a website, Facebook page, Twitter hashtag (#cmonlebron) and an A-list team of NYC elites, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg , the Today Show’s Matt Laurer, and even famed chef Mario Batali, urging LeBron to come to NYC. Twins Jason and Corey Grant (aided by their marketing savvy parents) also launched #NY<3LeBron, which features a “LeBron button” that you can press at gyms, basketball courts and other spots around New York, as well on a website, in order to show your support for LeBron donning a Knicks uniform. At the time of this writing, more that 2 million clicks were logged. From gourmet food to free clothes by top designers to an offer by a luxe realty company to help LeBron find his dream home at EveryKingNeedsACastle.com, New Yorkers have proven they’ll stop at nothing to land LeBron.
Let’s assume that one of the UK’s largest broadcast networks like iTV decided to stop all advertising efforts for Britain’s Got Talent. Would they cross their fingers and hope people talked about the shows around the water cooler at work? Would they hope that enough people added the show to their DVR list while it was being promoted heavily? Or maybe, they would wish for a 47 year old woman who would sing a song that was heard by millions?
Reports from Mashable show that Susan Boyle’s video is on track to reach 100 million views (not counting replays on talk/new shows, news shows, etc). What’s the implication here? Britain’s Got Talent received the equivalent of a super bowl sized audience because they were lucky enough to host a venue with the potential for amazing content. The show didn’t even have to create it. It simply established and promoted the venue. The formula we witnessed in this situation is:
