The 10 Best Examples of Viral Marketing Campaigns That Took the Internet by Storm
As viral content becomes the driving force for successful campaigns nowadays, brands must get their creative juices flowing. It is one of the best and fastest ways to raise awareness of your brand message to your target audiences.
However, not all viral campaigns get to be successful viral marketing campaigns in the first place. Different social media channels, creative agencies, and even Singapore YouTubers have different algorithms, so your marketing message may reach very few people. Not only that, your video may go viral for all the wrong reasons.
A successful viral marketing campaign is a great but tricky tool for growing your brand on social media.
What is Viral Marketing?
Viral marketing is a way for brands to reach their target audience and gain popularity around the whole world on multiple social media channels. These can be seen in different forms, such as:
a post,
a video,
a game,
a challenge,
or even a simple tweet.
To create viral content, brand marketers must have extended knowledge about the numerous social media platforms. Taking the same content and pasting it all over your social media accounts, hoping it will become marketing gold, will not work.
Your brand's message should be inspiring and encourage people. A catchy song specifically made for your campaign or taking a popular one to twist it can reach a larger audience, giving you more everyday people purchasing your products. Some other ways to become viral are:
Knowing the people whom you want to target
Partnering with an influencer, or a public figure
State what your brand is all about
Create engaging content
Perfect timing for the most reach
Advertising, and
Selecting the proper platform for you
Consider your brand's viral marketing efforts a great example of when you catch your audience's attention by establishing a direct link with them.
Brands like Nike's "Just Do It," Redbull's "Stratos," Marlboro's "The Marlboro Man," Apple's "Get A Mac," and Absolut Vodka's "The Bottle" have done superb jobs showing that you can go viral with just a one-liner.
Viral marketing campaigns have two kinds: Organic and Amplified.
Organic viral marketing
The brand cannot control this viral campaign. As the name suggests, these viral videos naturally reach the target audience. Whether unintentional or not, it is a great way to create awareness for the brand.
The viral content may be a negative message that transforms into a positive one or a good note to begin with. Successful viral marketing campaign of this kind build good credibility for brands, as it relies on the crowd's response. If they like your campaign, they are more likely to recommend it to friends and relatives.
Since this marketing makes your audience see you as approachable on social media, there may be cases where you have to stray from their ideals for their brand to gain their trust.
Amplified viral marketing
If Organic campaigns cannot be controlled, Amplified marketing campaigns are managed by companies behind the viral campaign. Marketers can plan and set a checklist of their expectations just by knowing their target audience well.
When planned correctly, your marketing campaigns can provide search engine optimization (SEO) techniques with the opportunity to shine. You can create these micro websites for your viral marketing campaign to lead users to your social media pages.
When your content sticks to the minds of the audiences, it is easier to
Creating content can be a difficult task. There are many distinct aspects to a marketing campaign. Today, Khepri Digital will look at examples of the top viral marketing campaigns.
Best Viral Marketing Examples: 10 Campaigns Worth Checking Out
1. Oreo Lights Out campaign at Super Bowl
Oreo has been a well-known cookie manufacturer for over 100 years. With all their cookie choices, they sure keep up with their motto, "Twist, Lick, Dunk." The brand has many good marketing examples, as they have paired with numerous artists and companies like NBA and Blackpink. They even have clothing and accessories available now!
A 30-minute power outage was observed in the Mercedes Super Bowl in 2013. Oreo's marketers saw this as a great opportunity and released a simple tweet with the help of their agency, 360i. Little did they know, people would talk about the viral marketing examples they set on that day, even a decade later.
The campaign tweet consists of an image of a single Oreo in a dimly lit area, with the words "You can still dunk in the dark.". The image was combined with "Power out? No problem." as the caption. The viral marketing campaign is recognized by Huffington Post as "one of the most buzz-worthy commercials in the whole event."
Compared to the original cost it took to spread awareness at the event, Oreo's spur-of-the-moment campaign has shown the community that viral marketing examples are not expensive just to be displayed for a few seconds.
Known for being one of the top beauty product makers in the community, Dove aims to make hair care and body care inclusive for everyone. Men, women, and children of all types can use their products.
Dove was ahead of us in the viral marketing game when they launched their Real Beauty Sketches campaign in 2013. In the video series, you can see that an artist draws the same woman from two perspectives: how she describes herself and how another person sees her. As the video empowers the audience, they give empathy to the brand itself. This is an excellent example of a successful marketing campaign.
With the consistent unattainable beauty standards throughout the years, Dove aimed to let the 80% of women who feel anxious about their looks be more confident about themselves. Within 12 days of the campaign's release, over 50 million people watched the video, effectively making it one of the top viral marketing examples.
Founded in November 1969, Wendy's became the third-largest fast-food chain in the world. Dave Thomas named the company after his daughter, Melinda Lou, who the public thought was the spokesperson for the brand. The company has kept up its viral marketing streak by communicating ruthlessly and savagely on its Twitter account.
The brave Carter Wilkerson tweeted Wendy's on April 6, 2017, asking for a year-long supply of chicken nuggets. Surprisingly enough, the popular fast food chain accepted it. While the goal of 18 million retweets still needs to be met, Carter received his 1 year's worth of nuggets thanks to his tweet becoming the most retweeted, taking over the selfie at the Oscars by Ellen DeGeneres.
The tweet that started it all has received tons of support from companies like Google and Microsoft. As an excellent viral marketing example, it shows that on the right platform, even something simple can turn viral.
If you were online in 2014, this viral marketing strategy called the ice bucket challenge is no stranger to you. The ALS Association started the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge to raise awareness about Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.
The challenge includes dumping a bucket of ice-cold water over your head or someone else's. The challenge taker then has to challenge another person to do the same. This viral campaign has used people's desire to help out another without doing so much work as the driving force of marketing. It generated donations from so many brands, celebrities, and audiences that the association has raised millions of dollars for those with the disease.
Currently, you can still help donate and participate in the ice bucket challenge to help those with ALS.
Apple is one of the top brands in the world of tech. Their primary focus is phones and laptops, but recently they've ventured onto watches and other small accessories. iOS and MacOS are exclusive to their products and cannot be seen on devices of different brands.
As one of the marketing rulers, Apple ensures the most engagement and hype from all aspects. Their boxes and packaging are well-designed, even for minor details like the arrows for the pull tabs. iPhones have evolved over the years but have remained up to the sleek, premium, and aesthetic standards they set.
Originally just a marketing campaign, the shot on iPhone became Apple's trademark when the challenge became viral. With millions of participants, the company has continued the campaign with each release of new models.
Using a different marketing strategy, Apple has promoted its products by having its users sell them. By changing the theme each year, they can let users see how the photos taken by the phones are of quality, assuring them that it's not just viral marketing.
Zoom allows users to hold meetings from anywhere, as long as they have internet. Since the pandemic, more companies and schools have shifted to Zoom for online classes, conferences, webinars, and other uses. You can download the program directly from their desktops website or install the application from the Google Play Store and iOS App store.
Users can win monthly prizes by sharing videos or photos of them using a virtual background. This has led to over 50 thousand participants and more people shifting to the platform. While the challenge is still up today, it peaked in 2020, when marketing was viral.
Old Spice is an American manufacturer of men's products, which they claim to be loved by everyone. When the brand started in 1937, it made products catering to women. They have shifted their direction over the years but have been consistent since the early 2000s.
Old Spice has created consistent viral marketing throughout the years. Their two most viral advertisements: are "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" and "Smell Like A Man, Man."
The former ad is targeted toward women but showcases men's body wash. It was shown in the 2010 Super Bowl and uploaded to YouTube a few days prior. The ad campaign went so viral that it consumed 75% of the conversations in the category. It even boosted its sales by 300%, winning its account on the platform the title of Most Viewed Sponsored YouTube Channel, and it set its brand as the number one body wash for men.
Since then, the viral ad has gathered more than 60 million views on YouTube, and for its 10th anniversary, Isaiah Mustafa has returned to bring viral back to the name.
This company had no digital footprint until the day it went viral.
Dollar Shave Club is a company that delivers personal grooming products like razors to customers every month. It started with the realization that 5 pounds for a razor blade are a rip-off. Since then, the company has had a vision for users to sign up for a monthly subscription that sent them razor blades for only a dollar. Yes, you saw that right, a dollar.
On March 6, 2012, CEO Michael Dubin made a video complaining about the state of the razor market. Unexpectedly, the video became viral almost overnight. Within 2 hours, it crashed the website, and in 6 hours, they sold out.
In 2016, the company was sold to Unilever for 760 million pounds.
Most beer manufacturers cater to a younger audience, except for one.
Dos Equis is a beer company that created a set of viral commercials from 2006 to 2018. Their commercials featured Jonathan Goldsmith as a gentleman like Hemingway. They rose to popularity as they were the only ones who made advertisements for older generations.
In 2018, Goldsmith retired from the title. Dos Equis attempted to set another contender in the ring, but the media clarified that there is only one most exciting man in the world.
In 2019, an advertisement by Peloton, a workout company, went viral incorrectly. The wife receives a stationary bike from her husband for the holidays, and the media does not take it well.
This inspired Aviation Gin, owned by Ryan Reynolds, to hire the wife from Peloton's ad to their commercial and poke some fun. The ad starts by showing a new chapter to the story. After a year of working out, the wife is seen drinking with her friends, complimenting the Gin. The friends then say that Monica, the actress, looks really good - a reference to Peloton.
The commercial gained traction when Reynolds tweeted the commercial with the caption, "exercise bike not included."
This kind of marketing campaign is familiar, yet it is highly likely to become viral, especially when the original commercial is well-known.
Is Viral Marketing Sustainable? Pros and Cons of Viral Marketing
While a viral marketing campaign is a coin flip in every post or video you produce, it still comes with significant instances.
Practical
A simple video post using the latest audio remix can be more than enough to raise awareness for the brand. Recognized and supported by the algorithm, a wider audience can see your post, and possibly making it a viral video. If a user has seen and liked content using the audio, the platform provides your brand's post the opportunity to be seen by users with similar activity online.
Rapid growth
Your viral marketing campaign has better chances of getting you more followers when you can catch up with the trends. For You pages show more of what the social media platform believes the user will enjoy. Once they like a viral video, they are sent more or similar content from that page.
Awareness catching
When you get a viral video, people like celebrities and influencers see it as well. These social media kings and queens have a large network and if they repost your content in any shape or form, you have a ticket to a larger audience. This allows for your brand's viral campaigns to receive more love and positive feedback, due to the influence people have.
However, there are also negative reasons for these examples of viral marketing, especially with the recent trends in social media.
Just a chance
Not all campaigns get a chance to be viral campaigns. If you have not established a solid following and niche yet, your viral marketing attempt can fail.
Hard to predict
As social media algorithms are hard enough to predict as it is, predicting if your video will become viral is harder. There are cases wherein it gains traction years after the initial post. By then, your recent viral marketing attempts can be looked over, as an older post is preferred.
Potential negative feedback
Audiences most of the time prefer brands that are considered "good" or trusted by their peers. If someone close to you said that a company's product featured in their viral post doesn't work, would you purchase it?
Viral Marketing Campaigns: What’s Next?
In essence, a marketing campaign seeks to raise awareness and gain a larger audience for your brand using different strategies such as SEO, being active on social media and post videos often, interacting with the customers the same way you would a friend, and many more.
Top marketers may or may not combine some or even all of the techniques to create a viral campaign. By following a few of the top viral marketing examples, your brand can go viral and establish a large network with other companies, and many celebrities and influencers to promote you.
The most important thing to remember in viral marketing campaigns is that the key is to answer the question "why should you choose us among all the others?".
If you liked the examples, check out Khepri Digital! The company can help you become a great example of viral marketing campaigns that encourage people to buy your products and share them with their friends! Check out this native ads blog too for you to try a unique approach in catching your target audiences.
Pierre, a digital marketing expert with over a decade of experience in the industry. Pierre has helped numerous businesses grow their online presence and achieve their marketing goals through strategic digital marketing campaigns. He loves football (a Real Madrid fan) and enjoys Italian food.
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