There are plenty of theories about what makes an ad video go viral - but few marketers question whether a particular video's popularity had any impact on influencing consumers to purchase a product.
As it turns out, that question is still subject for debate, according to BrandWeek. It points to the Evian roller babies - now the most viewed online ad at more than 100 million views. The year the ad came out, in 2009, Evian lost market share as sales dropped 28%, according to statistics from Beverage Digest that BrandWeek cited. Of course, the decline could merely have been due to the recession - during which premium brands suffered significantly.
At bottom, though, the evidence is scanty that viral videos act as standard advertising, BrandWeek concludes. "An analysis of the top viral ads of 2009 show that the best a marketer can hope for is to raise awareness and drive traffic to a Web site," it said.
Coca-Cola's Happiness Video
That will not stop marketers from trying to dissect why a video goes viral - and then replicating those factors in their own campaigns.
One very successful example is Coca-Cola's happiness-themed marketing video, which quickly went viral last year, getting more than 712,000 views within the first 24 hours of its release. The video features unsuspecting college students who are dispensed small doses of 'happiness' in the form of extra bottles of coke, flowers, missing glasses, 6-foot subs and balloon animals - from a coke vending machine.
The video was shot on the Queens campus of St. John's University after it installed the specially-equipped vending machine overnight. It also installed several hidden cameras to capture the students' surprised and then delighted reactions.
How to Go Viral
There is no one reason why videos become viral but they do tend to share common characteristics, writes Life Beyond Code.
Some of these are:
1. The content very uncommon.
2. The characters behave in a way that is totally shocking or surprising for the occasion. "The JK’s Wedding Entrance video is one such example. Nobody expected that the bride, bridegroom and their friends would enter the way they entered (dancing) for the wedding event."
3. A video that captures a totally (unbelievably) comical moment that people are dumbfounded.
4. The community (local or global) participates and becomes part of the video.
5. The message is compelling and heart touching.
