Popularization and Potential of Viral Marketing

Innovation in marketing and its techniques is what makes or breaks a brand. Marketers need to break the clutter and give the audience something they would want to watch, interact with and share. ‘Viral’ campaign helps you do the same, create an impact and reach out to a wider audience in the shortest possible time. And all of this at a fraction of cost as compared to traditional advertising.
Going the viral route allows a marketer to explore the social networking potential of his target audience which is witnessing a growth rate of almost 100% and is expected to reach 45 million users by 2012. Also, with the advent of smart phone technology and tablets, the internet usage on mobile devices has touched a new high. Marketers recognized this and it is the reason why they are keen on using social media platforms to leverage the viral content.Marketers need to move beyond the tried and tested formula and surprise their TG with innovative concepts. The key to a Social Media Viral campaign is the message that needs to be compelling and interesting enough for a viewer or participant to share it with a friend. MindShift Interactive analyzes the current Kolaveri Rage, the award winning campaign Indian Panga Leagueby Virgin Mobile and the Zoozoo’s Campaign by Vodafone to find out why these campaigns were unforgettable and lovable in their own ways:

A song created by a 21-year-old debutant music composer, written and sung by Tamil actor, Dhanush as a part of their upcoming movie, 3 and shot in the recording studio itself has received more than 7 million views in less than a week. The situation of the song is based on love failure and how a Tamilian boy expresses his emotions in a Tamil-English song. 

Campaign No 2: Indian Panga League – Virgin Mobile Hundred viral videos were shared on the YouTube Channel of Indian Panga League. Videos of loyal fans of IPL Teams taking Pangas with each other via STD calls were recorded and shared online. Indian Panga League became the most talked about campaign, as their YouTube Channel became one of the fastest growing channels in India, without any media spend backing the campaign. The USP of the campaign remained the video content, regional connect and its association with cricket.

Campaign No 3: ZooZoos by Vodafone

ZooZoos, the white lovable creatures that appeared in the second season of Indian Premier League were created to promote the value added services of Vodafone. The campaign went on to win accolades from the Indian audience as well as the advertising agencies. About naming these creatures Zoozoos, O&M had stated thatthere was no science to the name and that it had to be something fun, memorable and catchy, and not a clever one that’s difficult to pronounce. The USP of the campaign was the Innocence of the Zoozoos; they laughed aloud, cried and had a child like simplicity around them, thus making it one of the most unforgettable brand campaigns.

Social Media Viral factors that made the above campaigns a huge hit:

1. Expect the Unexpected: The Kolaveri Video has won a YouTube Gold Award for getting the most number of daily hits. It managed to score more than 20 million views and managed to be the trending topic for more than a week in India and other countries. But this is not what the team expected, while recording the song. And the same goes for the makers of Indian Panga League and Zoozoo’s. As they were ideating a simple, fun and innovative concept in sync with their campaign that would be appreciated by the masses. Funny concept and simple execution remained the X factor in the above campaigns.Originality and unexpectedness are the superpowers in the viral race.
2. Keep it Simple Silly: It isn’t rocket science to understand what people are looking for. People are looking for entertainment, and it need not be complicated always. What made Zoozoo’s endearing was that they were innocent people living in a simple world unlike ours, who laugh loud when they laugh and look sad when they are. With over 2.5 million fans on their facebook page, Zoozoos still seem to be a part of our daily lives. The same works for the Soup Song, where the lyrics and the feelings in the song can be understood universally, in spite of it being a Tamil-English combination. It’s time for Simple Ideas to take over Big Ideas.
3. Beyond One Language: Cricket is a religion in India, and it was hilarious when we had all the loyalists from different parts of the country defending their IPL team via STD Calls. There were Pangas taken on phone, Punjab Vs Rajasthan; Mumbai Vs Delhi and much more that too in desi style and a mix of regional languages. The Soup Song was the first song in history of regional music, to be aired on Radio Channels and Music Channels across India, thus strengthening the concept that regional innovations with a mix of global touches, does add to the concept.
4. Sense of Humour:  Your concept needs to be funny enough to go viral. Has it got a unique sense of humour? Is it easily available online? Can I share it with my friends? Are some of the questions that the marketers need to consider. The YouTube channel of Indian Panga League was one of the trending channels during the second season of IPL, whereas the Soup Song has already garnered more than 20 million views on its official video. Be it the regional fights between cricket lovers, an emotional song by a Tamil boy for his lover or the funny look or expressions on Zoozoos, they all possessed a sense of humour.  If it’s funny, it got to be viral.
5. Youth Connect: When a boy sings about his love failure experience, almost all the guys in the world can relate to his plight. And all the women would have a curious look at the video, with a sense of empathy or sympathy. Thus connecting with the youth. It is an experience that connects the video with the user. When the Zoozoos enacted our daily lives on the TV screens, we got touched, when the youth took pangas and spoke in their youth diction, we noticed and when a Tamil guy narrated his story in part Tamil and English, we laughed. Connecting with the youth via their daily experiences in their diction is the key.

Viral Videos – Trend Forecasting

Social Media will help to connect the links between the brands and the consumer via effective integration of right platforms and strategies at the right time. Social Media Monitoring will help the brand analyze the sentiments and the feedback of its consumer, and communicate the same to its marketing team. Brands will also realize the importance of Reputation Management and Response Management, to develop an engagement model with their online users and respond to positive or negative feedback. High recall - when you watch something you like, there are chances of higher. Sharing information merges with platforms such as Facebook and twitter to multiply its outreach capability.

High ROI - The investment on videos may not necessarily be very high, as long as you know how to put the ideal mix of humour, wit & the message across. Find an oomph factor, club it with a few experts who know how to get your social audiences speaking to you, and your video will be assured with virality. A perfect example of Integration is ‘The Soup Song’, where the song went viral on social media and then was also aired on Radio Stations and Television Channels, catering to the demand of the audience worldwide. A larger acceptance will be seen in 2012, where social media virals will be integrated with alternate marketing channels.

The coming year will also highlight the impact of Influencers as compared to the number of fans/followers the brand generates. Identification of these influencers and rewarding them for their efforts will become an important aspect in the long run.

Reference :- http://www.imediaconnection.in/article/767/Blog/popularization-and-potential-of-viral-marketing.html