Our attention spans are in ‘constant’ decline.
Got it?
Good.
Category: permission marketing
Top 10 viral marketing campaigns ever
The factors we’ve considered:
There needs to be an actual business or brand behind it
Not just something funny
The idea or product was primarily spread by others.
Not ‘driven’ by paid media.
Based on effectiveness only, (ignores insensitivities / political / religious views)
A little explanation is next to each
In order.
- The story of Jesus Christ (before digital technology or even the printing press, this ‘story’ crossed borders and oceans)
- 911 ‘Al Queda’ launch (3 weeks free media coverage on every media channel in every country)
- Polaroid Instamatic Cameras (product usage = product demonstration)
- Hotmail (the first viral product of the internet age)
- In Rainbows album by Radiohead. (true brand handover to passionate users, fan chooses price – even free, resulting in massive free media & blogosphere coverage, then goes to number 1 on US charts on physical album release)
- Google (usability & effectiveness which led to absolute domination)
- Youtube (was the ultimate user experience and so won the game. There were 240 other video sharing sites when it launched!)
- OK Go – Ok Here it goes film clip. (first to leverage youtube commercially. 27 million views and counting. No 2 on the charts to boot)
- Blair Witch Project (set a new paradigm for movie promotion & brand hijacking)
- Mini Cooper S Campaign (first ‘real’ personalized campaign message)
Add to, agree, disagree, complain and disdain in comments below!
Quote – Ben Rowe
I asked marketing polymath Ben Rowe his thoughts on Facebook in 2008 and if it is going to grow or decline…
Response
“Facebook is so 2007…. it’s just p2p spam. I reckon facebook is going to die a fairly fast death this year.”
Sure the jury is still out, but it wouldn’t be the first time Ben’s predicted the future of a brand or launch. It does seem that there was something very wrong when Zuckerberg referred to his ‘army of viral marketers’ he forgot one thing…. viral marketing is always done by people, not companies. Abuse them and lose them.
The gaping void view in December was this
I still think facebook is a great platform (especially the app’s component) which needs to take a few steps back before everyone disappears. It will be interesting to see how this one plays out.
Airport Spruikers
While in the airport I was accosted by airport spruikers from Citibank. They were selling an offer to switch credit cards. I’m sure it’s a good deal, and that’s why they’re there.
I’ve seen them many times now, though they never have any success while I’m there – No one seems to stop. It must be a very difficult job. I’m certain their success rate’s lower than direct mail (1-3%) as 300 people will often disembark from a plane with zero stoppage rate. In fact, people purposely avoid them. Given they are still working the airport floor, it must have a ‘certain level’ of success.
Here’s the problem according to startup blog. Given it’s so ‘targeted’ Citibank ignored the fact it’s really ‘annoying’. People in airports are either; in a hurry, working or on holiday. All of which aren’t good times to consider changes in financial institutions.
Today marketing and entrepreneurship is much more than being targeted, it’s about being considerate.
Sticky yet slippery
The two most important things we need on our web interface are direct opposites.
We need to be sticky & slippery – simultaneously.
Sticky – we need to keep our audience interested engaged and curious. We’ve got about one second to convince them of this when they arrive.
Slippery – we only grow when our audience feels confident enough to ‘pass it on’ and it’s easy to do.
What makes something do both of the above is different for every on line proposition and the principals change everyday.
[We found this out quickly with our facebook app for Rentoid.com which was blogged about here. It kind of sucks – it’s too boring, so it’s not slippery. We got it wrong and we’ll fix it quick. If we don’t we’ll miss out on the holiday season web surfing period!]
For all web sites and apps our challenge is not to let the technology to lead us to do something, just because we can. We should lead the technology to do something only because it makes us more ‘sticky or slippery’.
Quirky Fact 7.0
In Australia 20 billion text (SMS) messages will be sent this year. In a population of 20 million people that’s 1000 texts each a year, or 3 per day. Amongst this of course are some text addicts.
The question is how can we use a text (SMS) message to improve a service?
My dentist sends me one the day before my appointment confirming the time in the message. It costs them very little, but it helps me a great deal. I’m happy to receive it given the appointment is booked so long in advance. But it’s not the same to receive an annoying unsolicited promotional message, just because someone has your mobile number.
Start up blog says: Use a text service if;
It improves your service to your audience.
They know about it and are happy to receive it.
Could it spread – Conclusion
You may remember the ‘rentoid rapper’ had some fun auctioning his breakdance mat on ebay. Did it spread?
It spread enough to get a bone fide $187.50 for a piece of cardboard with a bit of texta on it. Just through providing a bit of theatre – fun & money was invented.
The best result was the Q & A’s on the listing which all translate into the personality of rentoid.com You can check it all out by clicking here.
Start ups out there….Do something crazy!