If you are luckily enough for your brand to be featured in user-generated content that captures the public’s imagination (i.e. becomes a meme), be ready to amplify its coverage.
A film showing the explosive results of mixing Mentos mints with Diet Coke was uploaded in 2005. Entertainment company Eepybird.com filmed their own version of the experiment, and their video triggered thousands of people to film and share the results of similar experiments. The Mentos marketing team acted quickly to keep it going. They provided Eepybird with free Mentos and cash to fund further experiments and produce more films. The confectionery manufacturer claimed that the free publicity generated by these videos was worth in the region of $10m, roughly half of what the brand would normally spend on advertising in the US each year. Ocean Spray pulled off a similar trick in 2020. A factory worker from Idaho named Nathan Apodaca, skateboarded to work when his truck wouldn’t start. On the way, he filmed himself swigging from a bottle of Ocean Spray while miming along to ‘Dream’ by Fleetwood Mac. He later posted the film on TikTok. The video has received tens of million views and inspired hundreds of copies. Ocean Spray amplified the brand benefit by generating additional publicity e.g., by giving Nathan a new truck full of cranberry juice cartons. It’s hard to engineer this kind of publicity, but if it happens spontaneously, your Marketing and PR teams need to respond quickly and boldly to make the most of the opportunity. Beyond viral advertising, many brands use their websites and social media accounts to encourage consumers to create and share content. Sports camera maker GoPro picks up on posts containing #GoPro that show off the kinds of amazing sporting feats their cameras can capture. Airbnb has a dedicated Instagram account (@airbnbexperiences) for its customers to share moments from their unique travel experiences. These kinds of activity can help your brand attract an army of fans. The number of fans may be trivial compared to the brand’s entire target audience, but their combined network can be significant. As a brand owner, it’s virtually impossible to create content that will go viral…. But if your brand happens to be part of something that does go viral - make the most of it! Click here to see the segment from a TV program that sparked the Coke/Mentos meme. |