Why These 5 Viral Marketing Campaigns Became Hits

by Kathy Seaton

Source: Gopro.com

By Lalida Sriyordsa

In a world where we are constantly filled with social media overflow, it seems less and less possible to make our brands stand out from others. In a recent infographic published by Digital Insights, not only did we learn that “75% of the engagement on a Facebook post happens in the first 5 hours” but also that “100 hours of video is uploaded on YouTube per minute.”

As businesses adapt in technology to keep up with trends in social media, it becomes vital that a company’s marketing not only has to have an idea executed wittily, but also have a theme that resonates with a broad audience.

Below, we dissect 5 marketing campaigns that went viral and what you can learn from them:

• Dove – “Real Beauty Sketches”
  With over 64 million views on YouTube, this Dove marketing campaign not only won a Titanium Grand Prix Award but has also successfully continued on the brand’s goal to make women feel beautiful inside. Despite some controversy, Dove has been able to extend its campaign beyond videos and allows its fans to participate through its #wearebeautiful hashtag via social media as well.

• Coke – “Share a Coke”
  It’s no surprise that Coke has experimented many times before with its marketing strategies but its most recent Share a Coke campaign resonates with the audience through personalization and social media. With #shareacoke, the brand can pull from more than 125,000 fan posts and give people something to be excited about.

• Proctor & Gamble – “Thank You, Mom”
  Revived for the 2014 Winter Olympics, P&G truly pulls on the heartstrings in their “Thank You, Mom” campaign. Generating over 19 million views, and with estimates of receiving $500 million in added sales, focusing on emotions can really make a brand resonate.

• Chipotle – “Food With Integrity”
  While fast food is constantly criticized nowadays, Chipotle tries to impress the public through its natural foods and show transparency in its marketing campaign. By using its “Food With Integrity” campaign, Chipotle was able to receive over 13 million YouTube views, build a game that reached more than 500,000 downloads within the App Store, and give the public a unique and authentic view of the brand.

• GoPro
  Arguably the most successful YouTube brand channel online, GoPro currently has over 2 million subscribers, 588 million views across its channel, and over 2,000 videos on its channel. Most importantly, the brand is able to build on its own content curation and customer loyalty and connection.