This is a guest post from Joe Errington. Learn more about him at the end of the post.
The Department of Transport has always relied on shock tactics to deliver hard-hitting messages. Television adverts for their ‘Think!’ campaign have changed over the years but fear has always been the key trigger. Not happy with keeping this fear and shock on the TV, they decided to give it a 3D makeover.
A hidden camera was set up in the men’s room of a pub and a fake mirror was installed above the sinks. As unsuspecting men washed their hands, a bloodied human mannequin was then smashed through the glass, replicating a body hitting the windshield.
Having only been released last week, it has enjoyed limited viral success. Time however, is on the side of this advert. It will always be relevant so the message will still carry clout as it is revived again and again.
Another example from a beer company
This is the latest in the growing pattern of viral marketing pranks of which Carlsberg beer has been one of the main culprits. Following their flashmob style prank which rewarded open-minded cinema goers for sitting with dodgy looking bikers, they decided to up the ante a little.
The Danish beer brand challenged people to phone their friends in the small hours, to see if they were willing to pay off their gambling debts. After negotiating their way through a building full of shady characters doing questionable activities, they dropped off the money to be rewarded for their loyalty.
For established names like Carlsberg and Think, these viral adverts are an ideal way of conveying their message. Much more involved and engaging than a regular viral, they offer a special level of credibility given their real life setting.
For smaller companies though, they can have much more instant and measurable results. At the time of writing, the mannequin advert has around three-quarters of a million views, which compared to Think’s TV campaigns is nothing. For a smaller player though, that is huge, and costs relatively little.
What this marketing tactic means for your company
For a small e-commerce site, a good prank can be the perfect asset that drives traffic and builds a healthy link profile. Using pranks as a linkable asset is nothing new, checking company blogs for April Fool’s updates has become a yearly ritual. This candid camera style japery though, offers virality, brand building and a company message in one low-cost package.
That’s not to say that we should all go around placing whoopee cushions and banana skins everywhere. Like every other successful viral, quality, innovation and individuality are paramount, you cannot just churn out generic nonsense.
Moreover, they need to stay in line with you overall marketing strategy. Irrelevant or offensive viral videos will do more harm than good, something which Hyundai recently learned the hard way. There is a fine line between funny and offensive, but if a brand hits the right notes, they can build a loving audience.
Guest post by Joe Errington
Joe is a marketing and social media executive for MITIE, a strategic outsourcing company who look after the facilities management of companies in the UK and abroad.