Why videos go viral

Kevin Alloca, Youtube Trend Manager, presents us a few reasons for videos to go viral. This TED presentation is not necessarily intended at business, but it should give you a few hints. It is just 7 well invested minutes...

Mega-trend: A smaller, more connected world

The picture that a recent Cisco report depicts (and that you can find in http://newsroom.cisco.com/press-release-content?type=webcontent&articleId=668380 ) is astonishing:

- In 2016, there will be over 10 billion mobile connected devices in the world, clearly surpassing the world population

- Global mobile traffic will increase 18-fold till 2016 (and Latin America will follow this average)

- Two thirds of the world’s mobile traffic will be video in 2016.

In a few words, this will mean a smaller and more connected world. And if anyone thinks it can stay aside from mobile marketing, it better think twice. This world will be an on-the-go one, as phones, tablets and whatever clearly overtakes computers as the main access point to the world.

So, main conclusions:

- mobile interaction with the consumer will be more than a potential opportunity – it will be a must need for any brand. And if you want to take a meaningful part in 95% CAGR for the next 5 years, you should start doing it now. Make mobile communication and consumer interaction part of your world, now!;

- have you noticed the sentence about video mobile traffic? Yes, it is true, Youtube and Vimeo are very well positioned to take the “lion share” of this growth. So, again, you should make sure your brand is in there, in a positive and impactful way;

- if connectivity increases on the go, then, location interaction opportunities will also increase. Think about this in your plans – how can you play with locations to impact your consumer. This is an area that after giving baby-steps in the last years, is now bursting through FourSquare gamification – but this is just a simple angle, be prepared to deeper and more meaningful dimensions;

- Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East will represent an amazing opportunity – if infra-structures keep up with the growth pace. So, if you are thinking about investing in those markets, don’t forget this dimension – it might be the easiest way to impact some people;

- and, as a last message – this is great news if you are in the mobile infra-structures industry. Someone will actually have to build all the capacity that this growth will demand.

This post was inspired by this Time article: http://techland.time.com/2012/02/21/the-connected-human-how-the-world-is-about-to-get-even-smaller/

Viral - remember the key message you want to drive

The Australian Central Institute of Technology released a viral ad that actually makes a splash on the traditional way to communicate an educational institute. It is different from the traditional walk arounds through campus, showing beautiful students relaxing, reading and working in computers (or tablets, recently). This one is sarcastic, ironic, dark, humourous - different. And thus, eye catchy! It is a great viral, that will make you stay throughtout the length of the ad and actually share it with your friends.

But a viral needs to be more than that! It also needs to convey a message associated with a brand! Too often I see viral ads just being judged under the criteria of standing out and talkability. They need to do more than that - they should answer a brand or product strategic objectives! It is something that all marketeers should remember! Or they will end up doing a number of laughable and memorable campaigns, but no sales at all...

Now, looking at this ad, I can see the campaign objectives very clearly. For a clever, witted and young target (and which university doesn't have that?) this is a great ad - it shows that this college shares the same attitude they have, creating empathy. But I would definitively recommend them to push branding a couple more times in the ad.

Eye

A marketeer needs to have a keen eye, one that detects beauty, that is able to understand a composition, to find it beautiful, impactful, aligned with the communication objectives. Not knowing and cherish your eye is actually to put yourself half a step away from failure. So, that is way I always carry my camera around, and organize sessions of photowalks, searching for the bizarre, the unexpected, the beautiful, the gentle, the striking. Photography is part of my marketeer CV - what is your trick for nurturing your eye?

Consumer centric

Think consumer. Drink consumer. Breathe consumer. Many times, consumer marketing is defined this way. These are neat words, but they actually mean one thing - to be consumer centric, you have to "be" your target. You need to go to the same places, be in the middle of them, see, interpret, think. Don’t rely only on focus groups or research tools – they are useful, but only up to a point. Get out of your comfort zone and start living like your target. Humanize it, give it a name, think of it as more than just numbers and behaviours. You can only be consumer centric if you feel your target at heart and mind.

Gamification - remember this word

You never heard of it? Well, lets put it plainly - FourSquare fits in it! It basically is the use of a game to engage consumers and keep them interested in your product, making them follow the steps you want. It does so by a "play our game and get your reward" (even if the reward has no monetary value, like a video game level) system, that effectively drives consumer interested. I am more used to see this being used as a complement to social marketing (see FourSquare interlinking with Twitter and Facebook), but it might also be looked as a stand alone - though I would say the really value of it is as a part of a bigger campaign.

So, if you really want to impress your agency, just ask them how could their creative idea be gamified. But if you want to impress and impact your costumers, think of gamification as part of your initial brief. This is just my hint...

http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/12/no-longer-an-awkward-teenager-gamification-grows-up/

Interested in Pinterest?

Welcome to what is starting to be hailed as 2012 hottest social network. Pinterest ( http://pinterest.com/ ) offers users the possibility to identify content in the web, commenting on it and sharing it. Content is exactly that - it may be pictures of a beautiful landscape, cookies recipes, clothes and shopping images,... After you mark them ("pin"), you can share your views, recommend (repin) to your friends, start a conversation on comments with them,... Now, just think about the potential for advertisers (on direct ads, related suggestions,...) and monetization - this may really be a winner and you want to pay close attention to it! Stay tuned!

DOBs getting more expensive - does it make sense?

Yes it does. Price is directly linked to quality perception, product awareness and attractiveness and brand equity. If a distributor has good products and a strong, well known and positive brand, why shouldn't it price its products at a higher tier vs A-brands competitors?

This is a move that is starting to be seen in some of the most developed markets in the world, like the UK (Tesco does it with their super-premium brands) and the US (Sam's Club, Archer Farms at Target,...). They are usually only part of DOBs portfolio of store chain, but they pass a very clear quality and brand equity confidence message to the consumer - "we are not only for savings, but also for quality". It also means consumers are seeing DOBs more and more just as another brand, getting more and more used to them.

All of this is actually bad news to Consumer Goods companies - it means their trade is starting to compete head on in equity strength. But good news for the consumers (especially if there still is a complete DOBs portfolio playing at different price ladders) - they have more choice available and they can be sure A-Brands will try to differentiate and innovate even further. As always, competition is good for the markets and consumers...

http://moneyland.time.com/2012/02/02/why-were-now-paying-more-for-generic-groceries/