"It's Gone Viral," but why?

Online Marketing and Social Media

A marketing campaign going viral. It's music to any agency's ears. It's the elusive brass ring that everyone talks about, but no one can quite put their finger on. If a company lists viral campaigns as a capability, beware. A viral campaign is an effect totally dependent on the people, and fortunately, not one that can be guaranteed.

If a campaign going viral is our holy grail, how can we make that happen? This question is the pitfall of many marketers. It's a movement that starts by the people and spreads by the people. The best we can do is to set up the ground work that traditionally spurs viral movements and do our best to get the campaign in the hands of opinion leaders.

There is a common thread among campaigns that were lucky enough to go viral in the past. Two important ones are humor and what what I like to call 'interactive narcism.'

If something is really funny, it opens the door to three positive outcomes: people are more likely to pay attention; think favorably of the end message; and share it with others.

The other element, interactive narcism, involves people's basic tendency to enjoy things more that are personalized to them. From Burger King's Angry-Gram that has an animated whopper saying your name during an irate rant to OfficeMax's ElfYourself that has your face and the faces of your closest friends dancing in elf costumes to holiday music, people just love personalization.

Usually, these two elements go hand-in-hand. If you are uploading a photo of your friend to an online application, chances are something funny is about to ensue. Who doesn't love a good laugh at a friend looking silly or yourself for that matter?

Some of our favorite viral campaigns include:

• Jack in the Box's Hang in There Jack

• Yearbook Yourself

• OfficeMax's ElfYourself

• Burger King's Angry-Gram

• Burger King's Subservient Chicken

• Volkswagen's The Fun Theory