The Tasty Way To A Viral Campaign

Have you heard of the tasty new ways to launch a viral campaign? Well, Welch’s has come up with a different way to market their product. Some of their recent ads have featured a lickable insert that allows consumers to taste test the product before purchasing it. Good idea? I definitely think so! The campaign has garnered a lot of buzz and allowed the product and brand to get awareness. Welch’s worked with the company, First Flavor, to deliver the idea that would receive well-deserved attention. According to an article, “Everyone from Diane Sawyer to Al Roker was talking about it, making it seem like the latest fad.”

In my opinion, it deserves the attention it received because it is something different and fresh. I feel it could definitely be a new fad in the making. So, consumers beware…you may be seeing more taste strips in you future.

I was talking to a co-worker today about the idea and she thought it was absolutely brilliant. I mean, if you saw the ad would you tell the people you know? I would and I did. According to a study conducted by Starch Communications, a division of GfK Custom Research North America, the Peel 'n Taste flavor strips helped to raise awareness and increased purchase consideration with consumers, for those who are brave enough to try them.I think the best thing about this campaign is the viral aspect of it. Viral marketing helps to spread the word and can help produced result. A full 70% of people interviewed remembered seeing the ad. Of that group, 62% took some action, from mentioning it to others to actually purchasing the juice. Those results put the ad on par with an eight-page insert, as measured against Starch Adnorm figures. Those numbers are pretty incredible.

So, it makes me wonder what type of marketing is going to happen next? But, this is one of the most innovative things I’ve seen in awhile. Can you imagine seeing these taste strips in stores in the future? It could happen. I’m also looking forward to an upcoming campaign by the Anti-Smoking Florida Association, which will feature an advertisement with a taste strip that tastes like the bottom of an ashtray. The Anti-Smoking campaign is sure to get buzz and when it does, don’t forget that I told you so.

Disney's "Camp Rock": Viral Campaign Success?

Disney is at it, again! This time it isn’t High School Musical, but the up-and-coming movie, "Camp Rock". In my opinion, Disney has always done a great job with marketing their movies, but with the success of the "High School Musical" franchise they want to reach even more. Their new campaign for "Camp Rock" seems like it will be a very successful campaign that will spread virally. Through having younger siblings, I was able to see directly how word-of-mouth about a movie can spread among their demographic. I think the success of "High School Musical" had to do with the word-of-mouth catching everyone’s attention and curiosity. Everyone was like “What is High School Musical?” So, everyone was checking the movie out and seeing what the buzz was all about. I think "Camp Rock" has the potential to do the same. I am already hearing buzz about the movie from my younger siblings and others alike. The movie premiering June 20th on the Disney Channel stars the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato.



The marketing campaign for the movie includes a partnership with Target that will tie-in the movie with the retailer's latest "Hello, Good Buy" TV spots, featuring the Jonas Brothers singing the commercial’s song. Best Western and Ubisoft will pitch a "Camp Rock" sweepstakes. The Jonas Brothers will also have a customized issue of People magazine, hitting newsstands around the "Camp Rock" premiere. The magazine will also feature exclusive content about the movie. Promos will be aired in movie theaters via a new partnership with Screenvision, prior to movie trailers shown during family-friendly movies such as "Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" and "Kung Fu Panda."

When the movie premieres, fans can also listen to an audio simulcast of the movie on Radio Disney's 42 stations and on RadioDisney.com. But rather than rerun the movie for the remainder of the weekend, "Camp Rock" will move to Disney's broadcast sibling ABC for an exclusive premiere during "The Wonderful World of Disney," hosted by the Jonas Brothers. The movie hops over to ABC Family on June 22, before it moves to Disney.com the following Monday for full-length, full-screen video streams.

Lastly, there will be ways to purchase your own “Camp Rock” souvenirs such as the "Camp Rock" soundtrack or the DVD, which will be released a few weeks after the TV premiere.

The movie being shown on many platforms will allow for different metrics helping Disney distinguish between all forms of movie viewing. Through these different methods of showing the movie, Disney can possibly capture different audiences and gain more viewers. "High School Musical 2" reached a record 17.1 million viewers during its August premiere on Disney Channel alone.



Disney has the ability to be innovative and find the next new star and franchise. What they’re trying to do with all the new media is to find the next way to interact with their viewers.

I feel these methods will be an effective way to market. Fans will spread the word to other people and they will have access to the movie during different times. I can already see the herd of smiling children in excitement of all this Disney goodness! Disney also hopes this move keeps parents excited as well! Only time will tell if Disney’s efforts will be successful, but I feel we have a possible TV movie phenomenon in the making.

The "Camp Rock" campaign is the largest for any Disney Channel original movie, stated Richard Loomis, Disney's senior VP-marketing and creative.

Donuts, Scarves and Rachael Ray: Viral Marketing Ploy?

Dunkin Donuts didn’t know. However, their new online campaign with Rachael Ray went viral. But, was it their intention or not? I think not! Their online campaign starring Rachael Ray as the spokeswoman for Dunkin Donuts’ iced coffee caused controversy among the conservative bloggers. The controversy had nothing to do with Dunkin Donut’s coffee, but simply over Rachael Ray’s attire. Last weekend, Dunkin' Donuts decided to pull the online ad after conservative bloggers suggested the scarf she wore in the ad looked like a keffiyeh, a traditional headdress worn by Arab men that some associate with jihad. Margie Meyers, senior VP-communications for Dunkin’ Brands stated in an article, "Rachael Ray is wearing a black-and-white silk scarf with a paisley design. It was selected by the stylist for the advertising shoot. Absolutely no symbolism was intended."


Many people can argue that Dunkin Donuts intentionally used the scarf as a marketing ploy. These days advertisers and marketers are known for using more controversial ways to get their message across to audiences. However, I highly doubt that Dunkin Donuts’ intention was to cause uproar over Rachael Ray’s scarf. Was it successful? From a marketing standpoint, I think it was very successful because the controversy caused more people to visit the website and as a marketer, you want brand awareness for your product. So, Dunkin Donuts should be thankful to those conservatives who caused curious viewers to visit their website. I just find it funny how the conservative bloggers nitpicked a scarf’s design in a commercial. Seriously? Aren’t there more important things to worry about than a scarf?

Viral Videos and Advertising with Pre-Existing Content

Who says you have to make your own content when going viral? Why not leave it to the experts in content creation?

There are multitudes of extremely talented individuals posting content on the Web. The very nature of the Web allows these folks an outlet for their media - media which could be serving your needs! Ruling out the idea of third-party content is like refusing to hang a Rembrandt or Van Gogh because you didn't paint it yourself.

One great example of this is how Honda licensed content from JibJab for a President's Day campaign.

So the next time you find yourself surfing YouTube, Google Video, the aforementioned JibJab, iFilm or any other site that is rich with User Generated Content (hopefully not on company time!), why not be productive and think about how that content could work for you?

A Safer Way to Proliferate Viral Videos?

YuMe Networks, a new advertising body, launched last week. They promise "access to a premier network of online video publishers and a catalog of brand safe, contextually relevant and targeted advertising solutions."

What does all of that really mean?

Have you ever caught an ad for a company on a site that is completely inappropriate? It's likely that you have. Many buy banner advertising with no guarantee of what type of content will be present on the site that the banner appears on. These incidents can range from awkward, to embarrassing, to downright hilarious. Sure, that's not video, but you get the idea.

One example that comes to mind is a forum that does not allow talk about online gambling sites, yet would routinely have banner ads for them. Another example is of a major manufacturer of digital cameras who often has ads on sites that promote the pirating of digital content - unlikely their intention. I'll stay away from specifics here.

So this service just may help in certain circumstances, especially for the more brand-image conscious, which often consists of large multi-national corporations.

However, is it right for a viral campaign? Maybe not. It will be unlikely for the content to be able to be transmitted outside of the intended page(s). Therefore, it will probably not make it to YouTube (unless you put it there as well - maybe a consideration to make if going this route) and then not posted on numerous blogs or social networking sites.

It is an interesting concept that will be surely be of use to some, but it might not be the easiest way for your video to go viral.