looks like we’re in a viral

you’re a fake

i’m a fake

everything is fake

Love this great little parody of a viral advert by Mini, which ironically is becoming viral…

So what makes a great viral movie?

No – I am asking you!  Sorry but I really have no idea. I know the ones that I like. I know there are some that have been hugely popular that frankly, I just don’t get. If you’re looking to use one as a stand alone or part of a campaign and you are looking on here to find out how best to do it – then please – don’t do it to yourself! You only have to go to a site like viralmeister.com to see that what once looked like an exciting and cost-effective platform for creating word of mouth and buzz advertisments is actually a blackhole of confusion and frustration.

If you don’t know what a viral movie is, it’s not something that will infect your computer like a Trojan virus… actually don’t quote me on that, but Viral Movies are usually a clip that has some sort of quality which enables it to spread  worldwide via various digital channels – emails, blogs, IM, social networks sites etc. Word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool. Famous viral videos that might have ended up in your inbox include Leave Britney Alone, The Landlord and The panda bear sneeze.

The John West Salmon ad was groundbreaking. Released on November 20, 2000.

Obviously the parallels you can draw between these 3 videos are… um… ok there are no real obvious ones. One is some emo nerd crying over Britney Spears’ cruel treatment by the world, one is a well scripted and well produced skit, and the other is just some a baby panda bear sneezing scaring it’s mum. The one main factor the ties them together is that they are entertaining. There’s no brand being shoved down your throat, there’s not even a call to action at the end of the clip. They are entertainment. And it’s common knowledge that most successful virals are humorous.

The trick to most viral movies is that they usually capitalise on a current event, hot topic, or the likes.

To gain viral status, the viral movie (or “agent”) needs to be seeded quickly to enough people, and have enough appeal for them to forward it on, so that it reaches what is called the tipping point – “the levels at which the momentum for change becomes unstoppable”. Unfortunately, determining what people will and will not forward on is not easy to determine. Great creative does not mean it will be a great viral.

I have only done a couple viral releases, but my tips for creating a viral video (if you really are hell bent on doing one) are these: if you are not wetting yourself or your jaw is hitting the ground watching it – forget it, determine your results by your goals and not by your traffic, don’t jam your brand down people’s throats, in fact don’t make an advertisment to send that out because people will hate you for it, it’s beter to keep it low-tech and un-pretentious, keep it small in size.

Good luck with that – and hey – if you do work out what makes a great viral movie, make sure you remember to let me in on it!

**** edit. fixed up some typos. i have fingers like beef sausages.