Viral Video

Short online videos are an increasingly popular way of promoting brands among youth, who like to consume these "quick snacks of media" and forward the links to their friends through IM, text messaging, and blogs.¹ Marketers are creating their own "viral videos" to promote their brands through peer-to-peer networks and video sharing services like YouTube. In some cases the sponsoring company is identified, while in others it is disguised.

• Wendy's placed several "commercials masquerading as videos" on YouTube, specifically designed to attract "young consumers." In one video, "Molly Grows Up"—which generated more than 300,000 views—a young girl orders "her first 99-cent Junior Bacon cheeseburger and Frosty." While Wendy's own corporate name was not connected to the intentionally humorous videos, users who watched them were sent to a special Web site for "Wendy's 99-cent value menu."²
• In January 2007, Domino's Pizza revealed that it was behind a viral video that had been "capturing the attention of millions in the Internet community." To promote its "Anything Goes Deal Contest" —featuring any large pizza, on any crust, with any toppings for $9.99—the company placed a series of viral videos on MySpace and other popular social networking sites, using "larger-than-life characters" offering to sell big-ticket items. The first video, "MacKenzie Gets What MacKenzie Wants," featured a "spoiled rich girl who wanted a blue car for her birthday but got a red one instead. Her whining persisted until she got the car she wanted and then, much to the surprise and delight of video viewers, she decided to offer her red car [a Saab® 9-3 convertible AERO] on eBay for only $9.99." The campaign was a hit, according to the company. "With over two million views across multiple video sites, the popularity of the MacKenzie videos earned a top spot on several video sharing Web sites."³

 

1 Piper Jaffray Investment Research, "The User Revolution," Feb. 2007, 75.

2 "The Bureau for Better Value," MySpace.com, http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=145511442; Lisa Bertagnoli, "Wendy's Hits A YouTube Nerve," Marketing Daily, 27 Oct. 2006, http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=50292 (both viewed 29 Mar. 2007).

3 Domino's Pizza, "Domino's Revealed as Creator of Popular Internet Videos; Colorful Videos Launched to Create Buzz over Anything Goes Deal," press release, 25 Jan. 2007, http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/01-25-2007/0004512862&EDATE= (viewed 29 Mar. 2007).