Written by María Santoja
Índice
There are only a few days left in 2013, and it is time to look back and take a brief look back over the year. Therefore, we have compiled this short list with the best viral videos of 2013.
We have limited the list to those videos that are part of a communication campaign. That is, we are going to focus on videos that have been designed to promote a brand or product, within what is known as a Branded Content strategy.
But before we get into the nitty-gritty, it is useful to stop and define what a viral video is:
A viral video is an audiovisual recording that has become known on the Internet, and as if it were a virus, it has been passed from one person to another until it has reached thousands of views.
Most of these videos are hosted on YouTube, the leading video platform. Although virals began to be shared by email, it has been with the rise of social networks when they have gained in importance thanks to the ease that these platforms give us when it comes to sharing content. Although there have been companies that have pioneered the use of these strategies, it has only been in the last few years that most brands have had their eye on YouTube plays.
However, many companies turn to their communications departments, advertising agencies or external audiovisual production companies looking for quotes to “make” a viral video.
You don’t make a viral video, you look for it. Any content created by a brand should be intended to go viral on the Internet.
There are trends that we can detect about which content works and which doesn’t, but there is no magic formula that allows us to “make a viral video”. Sometimes there are commercials that are simply the commercials made for television (usually in longer versions), but which are expanded and popularized thanks to the Internet. In other cases, it is exclusive content for the web or social networks, or street marketing campaigns that are recorded to achieve notoriety on the network.
Viral video trends in 2013
Let’s take a look at this year’s Internet video trends, this time in general terms, not specifically within marketing campaigns.
According to Google, 80% of YouTube’s total views during 2013, came from outside the United States. This gives us an idea of how we are facing a global panorama, and how a video clip made by two comedians from Norway, can become the most viral video of the year, and have more than 278 million views worldwide.
And without a doubt, 2013 has been the year of the Harlem Shake. Since the release of the first video by blogger Filthy Frank, thousands of people have recorded their own versions of this meme. However, what is interesting is how companies have taken advantage of this phenomenon for self-promotion, from large multinationals to small companies seeking notoriety on the network. From Pepsi, to Facebook, and of course Google, the “serious” BBC, and any company dedicated to communication or advertising that prides itself on being on the cutting edge, carried out their own Harlem Shake during the months of January and February.
In addition, Unrulymedia has created its own list of viral videos, focusing on those that are part of a communication campaign.
Viral video campaigns 2013
Having said all this, let’s take a look at our selection of viral campaigns of 2013. This is a list of company videos that have caught our attention this year.
Telekinetic Coffe Shop Surprise – Carrie
The Epic Split feat. Van Damme – Volvo Trucks
Push to add drama – TNT
Real Beauty Sketches – Dove
Girls Don’t Poop – PooPurri
The Camp Gyno – Hello Flo
Baybe&Me – Evian
As we started the article, it is difficult a priori to say what will and will not go viral, but with our selection of videos we can see some patterns that are repeated:
- Surprise is a mustThe video is a real eye-opener, like the Carrie movie promo or TNT’s street marketing, or surprise us more than once if you can in the same video, like the Volvo Traks campaign: after making us think “what is Van Damm doing hanging there”, the actor goes and opens his legs!
- Breaking taboos works: if you have a complicated product to sell, such as tampons or a fantastic air freshener for bathroom odors, don’t beat around the bush. People are sick of hearing metaphors like “what do clouds smell like?”.
- Record Street Marketing actions: a street marketing action will undoubtedly surprise those who encounter it live, but you should always, absolutely always, create a video with all the details, from the preparation to the action itself, in order to amplify the impact on the network.
- Make people laugh: we cannot forget that on the Internet, humor is king. If this fits with the philosophy of your brand, do not fail to take advantage of it.
- Reach the heart: and if humor doesn’t go well with your brand, emote with a message that matters, that’s real and doesn’t sound like a bunch of hot air. Like the Dove campaign, a message we can identify with.
- You can always try babies or kittens, if you do it right, like the Evian people, of course.
