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Why do viral video marketing projects fail?

January 28, 2010 by 4 Comments

Unlike most other forms of marketing, viral video makes a claim that it can almost never live up to: It will be so compelling that people will want to share it.

Client: “We’re thinking we’d like to do a viral video… like “Will it Blend” except instead of blenders, we’d feature our product”
Me: “Will Network Policy Enforcement Software blend?”
Client: …Okay, how about the “I’m a Mac thing? I know a guy in the lab who would be perfect to play the Mac guy… no, the PC guy, he’s the bad one right?”
Me: “A skit?”
Client: “Exactly! We want it to spread virally to millions of people.”
Me: “Who is the target audience for this video?”
Client: ” Senior Network Managers in mid-sized health services companies.  That’s our sweet-spot.”
Me: “There’s millions of them?”
Client: Well, there’s about 900 of them in North America. The other views would come from YouTube I guess.”
Me: Do you have a budget for this?
Client: “Viral is free, right? We’ve taken a couple thousand out of our cleaning budget to cover the production costs.”

 

The term ‘viral’ means different things to different people. In theory any video has the potential to be viral as long as you can reference it and/or share it online. The challenge is getting people to share it. Some say you can’t call a video ‘viral’ until it has hit the ‘million view’ mark. Others simply call a video ‘viral’ because it is intended to be shared virally – much like calling a video ‘amazing’ because it was intended to be ‘amazing’. Whatever your definition of viral there many factors that can mitigate against the success of your video project.  So why do viral marketing projects fail?:

Great Expectations: Creating a hit viral video is like creating a hit record. It’s really, really difficult. Of the hundreds/thousands of viral-intended videos created every year for businesses only a handful truly go viral. Unfortunately these are the ones we hear about and therefore these are the ones that clients reference. Will it Blend?, T-Mobile Dance, or The Evian Roller Babies are all incredible but it is highly unlikely that anything you do will come close to this level of success.

Viral video is free and easy! No it’s not. It takes time, expertise/talent and facilities/equipment to develop a good viral video. Having more is always preferred in all three of these production resource categories (in spite of the ‘do less with more’ mantra.) ‘More’ costs more, always has, always will – just ask James Cameron. This comment from an article in Inc. Magazine says it all: “Even a company on a shoestring budget, using just a basic camera and simple editing software, can produce an entertaining demo that reaches thousands of prospective customers.” Yep, it’s just that easy!

Viral videos promote themselves! No, usually they don’t – they need help. ‘Video seeding’  is a common practice now for large scale viral videos where companies will help seed the market with videos by encouraging or paying influential bloggers, PR outlets and other influencers to promote a viral video. There are a growing number of companies that offer this service. Most popular corporate viral videos had a significant seeding component that contributed to their success.

Viral video is risk free, right? Just grab a Flip and start posting your video online, right?  What if your video is embarrassing or just plain bad and it goes viral anyway? Would Apple or Coke or Nike allow this to happen? Does how you present your company to the world matter?

It’s all about the views! Is 167,000 YouTube views a success? Are any of those viewers your audience? Did the people watching your video associate anything in your video, in a positive way, with your brand? Will that video affect their behavior or attitude towards your brand? Did they actually view the video or did it auto-load at the bottom of a high traffic ‘Celebrity Caugh-in-the-act’ site. Can you measure any of this?

All videos should be ‘viral’ “…and we’d like the video you’re going to create for us to be viral as well.” I hear this quite often now. Clients want any video they do, regardless of the market, message and purpose to have a “viral component.” The way to create a successful viral video project is to start with that purpose in mind – the video is so compelling that people will want to share it. You can’t throw in ‘viral’ as an add-on to the project. Not only will the video not be viral, you may take away from the primary purpose of the video by trying to amuse, shock or bewilder people.

All web-based videos are ‘viral’ I have read a number of recent articles that interchange the terms ‘web video’ and ‘viral video’ as if they refer to the same thing. A web video is any video (here are 42 examples of web videos) that is consumed on the web. Viral video is a specific type of video that is intended to be so entertaining, or remarkable, or shocking that people will be inclined to share it with their friends and colleagues.

This video is really entertaining! If no one remembers or associates your brand with the video then you’ve wasted your money. Conversely, if the video looks like a two minute product demo no one is going to share it. A great example – Coke does a nice job (as usual) in straddling that fine line between promoting the product – the whole video is about a Coke Machine!, and entertaining – brilliant.

Viral isn’t that difficult. There is extra pressure on viral videos to be really entertaining, or shocking or… something. Some of them are great and some of them are just plain awful. A viral video has to great in order to spread virally. Good usually isn’t good enough. The advantage of promotion through disruptive advertising (TV) is that your television commercial can be absolute crap and people will still watch it.



Filed Under: General, Marketing with Video, Resources, Top 10 Posts, Viral Video Tagged With: ,

5 Video Lessons from the World’s Best Marketer.,

January 25, 2010 by 2 Comments

Coca-Cola is the arguably the best corporate marketer of all time. They have been in business for well over a century and are one of the most recognized brands and products (Coke) in the world. {/End of argument.}

Sure they’ve had some notable missteps along the way such as the introduction of ‘New Coke” in 1985 (or was that a brilliant marketing ploy to reintroduce their flagship product as Coca-Cola ‘Classic’) and they have not necessarily fared well with every new product or business line that they have introduced, but to remain in a leadership position in a commodity business (sugar water) for well over a hundred years – that is absolutely remarkable.

I’ve highlighted below a number of video promotions that the company has developed over the past forty years  to illustrate what I believe makes Coca-Cola the preeminent marketing company on the planet.

Lesson #1. Be Current.

Coke Happiness Machine. Coke’s new promotion, recently developed by Definition 6,  is a very well conceived viral video campaign. Coca-Cola has been a pioneer in social media but it has not ventured far into the world of viral video. (Millions of their past TV ads are shared each year but these ads were not developed with the specific goal of being shared virally – that’s just a side benefit to developing consistently great ads.)  At over a million views and counting this video is certainly a viral hit but numbers alone don’t account for it’s effectiveness. As usual, Coke does many things right in developing this viral promotion. It features the brand prominently in the video without ever appearing to salesy. (Underplaying or not featuring your brand at all begs the question – why did you bother in the first place?) The video has a simple, engaging style without feeling over produced – again an important consideration in the development of viral video. The video is engaging and a little surprising – two key elements to the success of any viral video. And finally, this video has a structure/story that can easily be repeated – new stuff coming out of a machine at a new location (“Where Will Happiness Strike Next?”). A ‘one hit viral wonder’ is great but you will have much more success if you can develop a series of videos that keep a viral video campaign going over period of time. Reach without frequency will not move the needle very far.

Lesson #2. Be Unique

Beautiful. It’s hard to categorize this video although the title certainly does this video justice. I imagine even James Cameron would be impressed with the fanciful world that Coke created to represent what really goes on inside a Coke machine. This ad aired in both 30 and 60 second formats although I think this extended version (90 seconds) serves this video best. Allusions to Willy Wonka and other children’s stories have been made but this video is like no other. The risk in stepping out this far into an imaginary world is that because there is no frame of reference it is far easier to fail than it is to succeed. Because there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ it is more likely that the viewer will respond “what the $@!# was that?” rather than “that was incredible”. Like the recent Evian Babies viral – if you have amazing work representing your brand, you reap great rewards. But if you step out, take a big risk and fail, you fail big.

Lesson # 3. Be Consistent.

Northern Lights. This original Polar Bear ad ran in 1993 and was developed to support the “Always Coca-Cola” campaign. Coca-Cola is one of the most consistent brands on the planet. They consistently create great adverting and they are also consistent in the  promotional themes and styles that they develop. Coke recognized the appeal of this first polar bear ad and  developed an ongoing series of polar bear ads that have run over the last 15 years – usually coinciding with the Christmas season.

Companies have to continually examine their markets and refresh their brand and associate new attributes and meaning to their products to stay current over time.  Coke continues to do this but there is still something to be said for consistency – the fact that they continue to use the comfortable and familiar polar bears to promote the brand. This series of polar bear videos consistently, and ironically, delivers the most engaging human attributes -  innocence and playfulness.

Lesson #4. Be Relevant


I‘d like to teach the world to sing. In 2007, Campaign Magazine called this video “one of the best-loved and most influential ads in TV history.” Created by McCann Erickson in 1971 this video neatly captured a newly emerging global consciousness. The peace generation of the sixties introduced North America to a world beyond war and trade. This video, accompanied by a great song written for the commercial (which later made it all the way to #1 in Britain and #6 on the music charts in the US),  tapped into the zeitgeist of the nation in a way that very few commercials have. Even older generations who otherwise hated the ‘hippy freaks’ found something to like in this love song to the world.

Being relevant is the hardest thing for a company to do. ‘Relevance’ extends beyond the specific attributes of your brand.  Great brands know how to be relevant because they have leadership who are attuned to the fashion, styles, trends and business priorities of the day. Unfortunately there is no rule, or law, or guidance for how to be relevant. Smart media agencies can help show you the way but ultimately it’s the company that makes the decision on how it promotes itself. Your company either has this awareness built into it’s DNA (i.e. Coke, Apple, Nike) or it doesn’t.

Lesson #5 Be Memorable.

Mean Joe Green Being ‘memorable’ is different than being ‘unique’. Unique (different) is good – that means you stand out, but being memorable is more important. Memorable usually (but not always) means simple. One simple but powerful idea that sticks with you for months and years. In this iconic Superbowl ad ‘Mean’ Joe Green shares a moment with a young fan. The point of highlighting this video is to show that videos don’t need to be overly complex to be effective. The simplest idea can be the most powerful if it is delivered in an engaging way. Good story telling is about finding an emotional link that will resonate with an audience. This ad has a universal appeal and is arguably one of the most memorable ads ever developed.

Interestingly, Coke tried a remake of this commercial with Troy Polamalo last year but it just didn’t have the same magic as the original. Yes, even the best marketers don’t always hit home runs. The difference between Coke and most other marketers is that even Coke’s ‘failures’ are pretty good.

Filed Under: Corporate Video Examples, General, The Effect of Video on Your Brand, Video Marketing Tagged With: , , , ,

7 reasons why web video should be a top marketing priority

January 18, 2010 by 20 Comments

The majority of the content, information and entertainment that we consume in the future will be delivered on a wirelessly (or wired) connected screen. Television networks won’t tell us when we have to consume content and we won’t have to cut down trees in order to be able to read our favorite publications. Even billboards and posters will be connected to the internet. And all of these screens will be smart devices that deliver contextually relevant content when and where you want it. The Internet will be everywhere and video and video marketing will play a dominant role in the next phase of its evolution.

So how do you convince your boss or CEO to consider using web video to promote your company? You first have to consider different use cases for video and decide which one best suits your business objectives. Here are 42 possibilities to get you started. The next step is to develop the business case as to how one of these video formats can help you improve your bottom line. To help you in that process I offer the following seven reasons to suggest to your boss why video should be a top marketing priority for 2010:

1. BETTER ROI
Adding video to your online marketing campaign can significantly improve your results.  In a recent study by Eyeblaster of online advertising campaigns, video increased dwell rate on ads by 20% and dwell time by %100.  Another study by dynamic logic also indicated significant improvements in brand favorability, aided brand awareness and purchase intent of rich media ads with video compared to traditional static display ads.

2. TRACTION
comScore released  web video consumption results in September, 09 which indicated that 85% of people online consumed an average of 10 hours of video a month online. That number continues to grow every month. 26 Billion videos were consumed in September in the US. Video has taken root on the internet to the point where visitors to websites are now looking for video content first.

3. ENGAGEMENT
Video is the best way to keep visitors to your site engaged and the best way to engage people with your brand. Time-on-page and time-on-site numbers increase when you add video. Images, podcasts, polls, charts and graphics are all great but nothing engages a website visitor more effectively than video. There are hundreds of blog posts and articles like this one where Patrick Moran explains how his sales team improved their close rates by 20% and online registrations by over 25% using web based video.

4. VIDEO IS A TOP PRIORITY FOR MARKETERS
According to a recent survey by Marketing Sherpa, for the second year in a row Video Marketing is the top priority for marketers surveyed, ahead of SEO, PPC, social media, email marketing and all other online marketing tactics. Turnhere has also released a study in the fall which revealed the same results – “When asked to rank various online marketing priorities for 2010, video was ranked as the top priority”

5. UBIQUITY
In a recent post conference interview Jeremey Allaire, CEO of Brightcove summarized the outlook for web based video this way:“Video will become as ubiquitous as text on the web.” He went on to say that “what we’ve seen happening over the last year is this incredible growth in the number of organizations and corporations, of all types, of all industries, of all sectors of societies, embracing video to enhance what they are doing on the web.”

6. 2010 MARKETING PREDICTIONS
A year-end article by Junta 42 reviewed hundreds of blogs and articles to summarize the predictions of leading marketing experts for 2010. Topping the list – The growth and dominance of video.

7. SEO
Type in ‘Video’ and ‘SEO’ in Google and you will discover many articles explaining how video can improve your SEO results. With the launch of Universal Search from Google, you should expect to see more and more video results occupying the search engine results that are served up by Google. That means Google is prioritizing video in it’s search algorithm. Not only will video help promote your products and services online it can also help those products and services get found online.

So what are you waiting for?

Filed Under: General, Marketing with Video, The Future of Corporate Video, Video Marketing Tagged With: ,

The 5 Most Awful Viral Video ads of 2009

January 13, 2010 by 5 Comments

{Bias warning: Large companies have no excuses for putting out poor quality work – they have the resources to develop the best creative on the planet. Sometimes however, they fail gloriously.}

There’s a big difference between ‘Ineffective’ and ‘Awful’.

‘Ineffective’ just means you spent a bunch of money and received very little benefit in return. Most viral videos ads fall somewhere between ‘Somewhat Effective’ and ‘Totally Ineffective’ usually because the video just isn’t that good or because there was no proper promotional/seeding program to help it get noticed.

The good thing about bad television advertising is that it seems to quickly go away – the negative impact is limited. On the web bad ideas live on. Not only are the following videos not effective, they cross into the negative side of the ledger where their existence most likely has a detrimental effect on the brand.

1. ‘Funny’ Lenovo Ad – W700ds

Company: Lenovo
Why this video is awful. This video is crass, not particularly well acted and just not that funny (even though the title suggests otherwise). Lenovo, the Chinese company that purchased IBM’s PC division really missed the mark with this approach. I doubt 13 to 24 year old males with limited social skills are a big market for this really expensive laptop but I can’t imagine who else this video might appeal to. And the ending is pure gold: “Man, that thing is huge”…“That’s what she said.” (Calling this an ‘homage’ to The Office, or a satire, or a parody doesn’t excuse it).  If you are a global brand trying to compete with Apple, Dell, Sony and HP you have to do much, much better than this.

2. Launch Party

Company Microsoft
Why this video is awful. You have to know who your audience is. I have no idea who Microsoft thought this video might appeal to.  It’s difficult to tell whether Microsoft made this video really bad on purpose, or whether they really don’t know how awful it is. If they were going for parody/cheesy they failed. If they made it bad on purpose to generate buzz – as some bloggers have suggested, then you really have to question this being a viable marketing tactic. As I mentioned in a previous blog, hurling farm animals off the roof of your corporate headquarters will also generate a buzz – but not necessarily a ‘good’ buzz. Is the old saying ‘any coverage is good coverage’ true? Perhaps if you are a B-list entertainer trying to rekindle a career, but if you are a global company competing with well respected global brands like Apple and Google, quality and consistency in your messaging  is critical.   Ten years ago when Microsoft was at the peak of their monopoly this video wouldn’t have mattered. Today it does.

3.Track Packages with Mobile Solutions by FedEx

Company Fedex
Why this video is awful. Unlike the previous Microsoft Launch Party video you know that Fedex intended for this video to be campy/funny. It just isn’t. Fred Willard is an interesting/inspired/bizarre/amazing/questionable choice for presenter but this video (and the others in the series of viral videos created) just don’t work. They are not funny or clever enough to be of interest, they don’t impart enough information to provide any real value and nobody is watching them. Like Pepsi, Fedex chose not to advertise in this year’s Superbowl. Pepsi has reallocated funds to launch a social marketing initiative that looks to have huge promise. Fedex, on the other hand took their SuperBowl savings and created this series of viral-intended videos. They aren’t viral.

4. Chevy Volt Dance

Company GM
Why this video is awful. (Note to GM Marketing team – it’s not the 60′s!) GM’s YouTube channel describes this video as “GM’s official dance routine performed at the LA Auto Show and set to the official song ‘Chevy Volt and Me.” An official dance routine? This marketing program was created to promote the single most important car the company has ever launched. The ‘Volt’ is the future of the company and GM should be knocking us back in our seats with how remarkable this car is and showing us (the whole purpose of video) why this is the vehicle that is going to change the automotive world. Instead GM delivers a high school dance routine. Will this video appeal to potential  car buyers willing to spend $35,000 to $40,000 on a hybrid vehicle? Everything GM does right now has to be excellent – nothing less.

{Full disclosure: I want GM to succeed – they are a critical part of the North American economy and now we are all shareholders… but man, it’s frustrating when you see this stuff. My reaction should be “Wow! not, “Are you kidding me?!” Perhaps being ‘too big to fail’ renders all of these discussions moot.}

5. Microsoft Songsmith Commercial

Company Microsoft
Why this video is gawd awful. This video almost crosses the line of being so bad it’s good… but not quite. If nothing else, the YouTube comments are fun to read:

“I just threw up in my mouth”,
“I can’t believe I watched the whole thing and didn’t kill myself”,
“Epic Fail”,
“WTF – I think Microsoft is serious” etc.

Did I miss one? Is there a viral intended video circulating that will probably do more damage than good. If so, let me know.

{Added Jan 14…}

Follow this link below to see how Toyota, one of the most trusted brands in the world ,  stumbled horribly with video and social media:

http://mumbrella.com.au/how-saatchi-saatchis-toyota-social-media-disaster-unfolded-14257

Filed Under: Corporate Video Examples, General, Marketing with Video, The Effect of Video on Your Brand, Video Marketing, Viral Video, YouTube Video Tagged With: , , ,

Can text compete with video in Pepsi’s Social Marketing Initiative?

January 5, 2010 by 2 Comments

When we look back many years from now to identify the seminal event, the watershed moment where video became the dominant media type on the web, this might be it. To be clear, I am not suggesting that text will ever go away, become meaningless or die (although those certainly make good attention getting headlines…) I am referring to the time when we chose video over text as the most effective way of communicating ideas online. Yes, I understand that context is everything so allow me to elaborate.

Pepsi has chosen not to advertise during this year’s Superbowl but instead is launching a $20 million social marketing campaign called The Pepsi Refresh Project. Pepsi is encouraging people to submit ideas for projects that will have a positive impact on their communities. These ideas will be promoted online and everyone will get a chance to vote on which ideas Pepsi should fund. It’s a very smart idea. Everyone wins with this marketing campaign. Not only is Pepsi associating it’s brand with a wonderful initiative it will also drive millions of people to learn about, submit and vote on this Pepsi branded project. The residual benefits to Pepsi of this project will be huge over time. Good for them.

People get to vote every month to chose which new project goes ahead. This is where things get interesting. If you go to the Project Refresh Blog you can watch some nicely produced videos that give people an idea of what a $5,000, $50,000 or $ 250,000 project looks like. Without meaning to Pepsi has already set a potential baseline for submissions. Lower down the page they also have some text summaries of other projects but I would bet that the video’s on that page will be viewed in much greater numbers than the text and photo-based summaries. If you were submitting an idea for a project to this contest how would you present it?

Will anyone bother to read a written submission and if they do, will the written submission be as well recieved as the onscreen voice of an impassioned community leader? Well written proposals stand a greater chance of winning than poorly written proposals, no question. Better quality videos also stand a greater chance of winning over poorly developed videos. Will viewers be able to judge effectively between a well written proposal and a poorly produced video proposal? Hard to say.

I’ll give Pepsi the last word from guidance provided in their Refresh Toolkit PDF: “While a video isn’t required, it’s probably a good way to tell the world about your idea.”

If you’re selling an idea online is video a better choice than text?

Filed Under: Corporate Video Examples, General, Marketing with Video, Social Media, The Future of Corporate Video Tagged With: , , ,

The 5 Most Effective Viral Video Ads of 2009

January 4, 2010 by 4 Comments

‘Popular’ is great, ‘Innovative’ is cool and ‘Most talked about’ is wonderful,  but if you are running a business,  ‘Effective’ is what really matters.  So what makes a viral video effective?
1. It has to be viewed by many people – some say 1,000,000 + to be ‘truly viral.’ (Ideally those people are your customers and prospects.)
2. It has to be obviously associated with your brand (otherwise it’s just entertainment) and
3. It has to achieve a measurable business objective (otherwise what’s the point).

Many companies have added or have considered adding viral video to their marketing mix. Patiently waiting for your child or pet to do something adorable or videotaping a funny skit the guys in IT created might eventually garner a lot of views on YouTube but it probably won’t move your business forward. A lot of planning and promotion and a bit of luck is what’s required if you want your viral video to have any measurable impact on your bottom line.

Here are my candidates for the most effective marketing viral videos of 2009:

1.“Will it Blend”

Company Blendtec

Why it’s effective. Blendtec has developed an ongoing series of viral videos that continue to be viewed by millions of people. These videos are effective because they do something that very few viral videos do – they drive sales. Blendtec has created a video series that is not only entertaining (who doesn’t like to see things being pulverized) but also demonstrates the power and utility of their product. Yes, most of these videos are not new – they originally launched over three years ago, but they continue to drive sales. The marginal cost to produce each new episode is minimal and there is an unlimited number of new things that people are keen to see vaporized.

2. Evian Roller Babies

Company: Evian

Why it’s effective. This video (and it’s various versions) have been viewed more than 35 million times – which sets it apart from almost every other viral video ad. As well, the video title ensures that the Evian name is directly associated with this video – a very important step in maintaining brand awareness. This is arguably one of the best (most popular, most engaging, most discussed….)  viral videos ever made so associating your brand with quality and success at this level is a very good thing.  Do I see an obvious connection between roller-blading babies and bottled water? No, but then again, the connection between girls in bikinis and beer isn’t that direct either.

3. Samsung HD Youtube Camera Trick Challenge

Company: Samsung

Why it’s effective. This video had smaller numbers than the rest of the videos on this list (just over a million) but was included because it did a number of things very well: 1. It demonstrated the quality of  the product – the video was shot on that camera; 2. It clearly mentioned the product name without seeming too ‘salesy’; 3. It was very clever -A contest to solve the puzzle presented in the video ensured good viral numbers and; 4. It was well done – it had a natural user-generated style but it was obviously very well planned. Unless you are Apple it is very difficult to get people to willingly share your product videos.

4. United Breaks Guitars

Business: Sons of Maxwell (Musicians)

Why it’s effective. Absolutely brilliant marketing by a relatively unknown band called Sons of Maxwell. Dave Caroll, the lead singer of the band was mistreated by United Airlines and decided to write three songs about his experiences in frustration. Whether this video was simply opportunistic marketing, motivated by revenge, the beginning of a new and growing consumer advocacy movement or just a way of escaping writers block we’ll never know. The outcome however is clear. The previously unknown band has gained a huge following and are booking shows all over the continent because of this viral video.

5. T-Mobile Dance

Company - T-Mobile
Why it’s effective. Sure T-mobile weren’t the first to film a flash mob, but they still hit this one out of the park. This video is clever, energetic, human, beautiful, entertaining and just plain fun to watch. It has huge numbers at over 17 million views and it does a great job of supporting T-Mobiles ‘Life’s for Sharing’ marketing campaign. T-mobile has smartly followed up with a sing-along video in Trafalguar Square and will undoubtedly continue the ‘Life’s for Sharing’ viral video series – a wise decision, but it will be tough to beat the magic of this video.

Which video would you add to the list of ‘Most Effective Viral Video Ads of 2009?”

Filed Under: Corporate Video Examples, General, Marketing with Video, Video Marketing, Viral Video, YouTube Video Tagged With: , ,