The title of this post is very meticulous. Remember Reddit’s Mr. Splashy Pants? Well, this post will be about replicating that effect. The theme of this article, of course, will be the use of video for marketing purposes.
For those who don’t know, Mr. Splashy Pants was an option given to the public by Greenpeace when they were naming a whale. Among 20+ names based off deities, like Aiko, Mira and Shanti, Mr. Splashy Pants won the large majority of polls. People wanted Mr. Splashy Pants for various reasons, among which were, “everybody wants to hear their news anchor say ‘Mister Splashy Pants’” (as said by Reddit’s Alexis Ohanian). So what does video marketing have to learn from not only Greenpeace, but the viral audiences of sites like BoingBong, Reddit, and dare I say, 4Chan?
To make a splash with your video, you have to get people to talk about it. But of course, you already knew that; the trick is, HOW do you get people to talk about it (and, consequently, share it with others)?
Each marketing plan ought to have it’s “thing,” or even better, an array of “pre-planned things” that need to happen to get people excited. In essence, the audience is trolling the web as it is; there’s no need to grab more people by the ears, until you can get the ones who are already engaged to come and check you out. For a company, this means coming up with clever ways to catch people’s attention. I’ve already written about how much I despise the use of babies in non-baby related product ads, yet that’s one way to catch attention. I would argue that it’s overused, but clearly, it still works.
So before we can make a cohesive “formula” for making a splash with your video, let’s look at some more examples. After all, Mr. Splashy Pants is just one of thousands. I’ll be brief and to the point.
- Susan Boyle – went viral online after deceiving appearance displayed hidden talents inside of an amazing singer, populated by a British TV show. Boyle’s talent went global overnight. How did she do it? In a nutshell, she shocked people with her voice after her appearance set false assumptions in the audience’s mind.
- Kevin Smith’s Zack and Miri Make a Porno initially got NC17 ratings. After the movie sued the ratings board (and getting a LOT of media coverage in the process), they not only got their rating overturned, but also made a lot of people curious about the movie’s contents.
- United Airlines broke an expensive guitar. Instead of taking a personal boycott to the company, a singer-songwriter decided to put his story up to the public’s judgment. His 11-plus million view video, United Breaks Guitar, even put a dent to United’s stocks for a little while!
Let’s see what these three examples have in common. All three got worldwide coverage, thanks to the Internet. All three aroused people’s curiosity, but for different reasons. Susan Boyle was “one of those things you’ve got to see,” Zack and Miri were tabloid celebrity gossip, and United Breaks Guitar was a good old-fashioned viral YouTube video.
I think the Susan Boyle “phenomenon” was a bit pre-mediated by the directors of Britain’s Got Talent, but so is all good marketing. Could you imagine how that event changed her life? I’m sure plenty of people around her made money, as well. Zack and Miri were an interesting case. In Kevin Smith’s book, “Tough Sh*t,” he writes about how the movie’s fight with the MPAA generated a ‘story out of nothing,’ which is essentially the most top secret pillar of amazing marketing. You’re welcome, by the way. Also, I would argue that the United video became popular because it’s actually creative, and enough people have had problems flying before that they could relate.
So, how do you make a splash with your video? You’ve got the principles. Now’s the time to come up with ideas. Let’s make a splash with your video:
