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Is viral marketing just fashionable – or does it really sell fashion?
By Peer Hartog and Clemens Gerlach
DEFINITELY NOT. WAS IT VIRAL?
Yes, cause this press ad was shown around and discussed by lots of readers- and widely broadcasted by the media throughout Germany at no cost!And in fact it created media revenues of round about 2 million Deutschmarks. And this after paying 28.000 Deutschmarks only to run that single press ad in some newspaper.
SO ... ONCE AGAIN:
What is viral advertising?
Our definition:
Viral advertising is not a catagory, but an
EFFECT?
A viral effect begins, as soon as people start to spread your message on their own.Or even the press.
Our assumption:
Any communication medium can kick of a viral effect. A press ad as well as a facebook group.A street guerilla as well as a spot on the internet.
BE OUTSTANDING, TOUCHING, SURPRISING, RADICAL, RESPECTLESS, AMUSING, SHOCKINGThe criterion for the rating of ideas of viral ad-activities must not be the same as for classic brandcommunication.The benchmark here are the people out there and those approximately 60.000 new videos every day only on Youtube, fighting for attention.
So - as we say in Germany - we have got no chance, let´s take it!
Welcome to the from our point of view most promising basic approaches for viral communication for fashion brands!
1ST APPROACH: CLIMB ON THE BANDWAGON
The crucial question:On which upcoming event could you jump on, to use it for your purposes?
Then next we talk to the community or leaseholder who is located in that specific area and create a huge message that will be possible to identify from a far distance. By planting flowers!
THE IDEA GOOGLE EARTH
Through the company homepage, social forums, through press releases as well as through email marketing we spread hints, that you can solve a mystery with Google Earth. And this is what you see entering the right longitudes and latitudes:
HIDDEN HINTS
Every participant receives a product sample.And even more: Because it is a quite unique love message, it can be sent to however you love.
So here for example „the Earth“ becomes the ad medium!
A PRODUCT SAMPLE
Game
2ND APPROACH: MAKE PEOPLE PLAY!
The crucial question:How can a game look like, that is carrying my brand message in an entertaining way?And that ideally puts more relevance to my brand, as the „grouse shoot“ (dt.: „Moorhuhnschießen“) did for Johnnie Walker? How about this:
OR AN APP AS A GIVE AWAY
How should an application look like, that boosts the core of your brand?That is not only fun, but also presents your latest collection.
THE IDEA „FASHION TOP TRUMPS“
This virtual game can be played with yours and your counterparts on your mobile phone.Instead of cars you will find models wearing the outfits of the latest collection.And instead of horse power or top speed you will tip on parametres such as price, glamour factor, material, sexyness etc. – and the program will generate the one who wins the card.
Street
3RD APPROACH: TAKE YOUR IDEAS INTO THE STREET!
Fashion is a happening in public. But fashion communication by far doesn´t give consideration to that fact. The crucial question:What can we do in the environment of our target group, to attract and win their attention and sympathy?
NIKE JUST DID IT
Nike did a quite nice street-guerilla a couple of years ago in Amsterdam, just before an international football match: Over night and all over Amsterdam they placed Nike logo stickers on to the orange coloured traffic light bowl. Orange – you know is the colour of the dutch soccer team. So – without fail – car drivers or even pedestrants couldn´t escape from thinking of the national team sponsor thad day.A huge effect for the cost of a couple of 100 bugs and a bunch students applying the stickers.
DESSOUS AGAIN ...
The PR-agency Schubert & Schubert did a viral PR-stunt for the dessous brand LASCANA, when they turned the pavement into a catwalk.Within seconds they managed to roll out a carpet, to make music and to get some great models walking up and down.
THE MODELS RECEIVED A LOT OF APPLAUSEAnd the audience received the new dessous brochure. Obvious, that LASCANA finally got a lot of press coverage and created some word of mouth after they had informed the press right before the event took place.
GUERILLA CAN ALSO BE DONE MODESTLY
That street guerilla can make sense even on a smaller scale, shows „revers graffity“, something we developed for a fashion brand.
IS IT LEGAL?
The contractor says:Yes, because you don´t add colour but simply take the dirt from the area inside a pattern.Ask your legal department – but you will anyway cause people start sweating.That is the same with any good street guerilla activity, that is leaving the usual framework.Lawyers tend to see problems.So think twice if you really want to consult a lawyer. Insofar again this advice:
WE HAVE NO CHANCE, LET´S TAKE IT!
For example, when you realize, that the media revenues through PR are much higher than a civil penalty ever could be.
FOR THOSE WHO ARE MORE ANXIOUS
The right idea can produce a viral effect even for the good old outdoor billboard:
THE STREET IS VERSATILE
And there are poster areas, who don´t know that they are billboards. House fassades for example.With light intense beamers it is possible to project some astonishing and artisticly worthful effects onto fassades at night.
4TH APPROACH: VIRAL VIDEO
To reach a couple of hundred thousand people with a viral video today isn´t as easy as it used to be 2 years ago. But it´s still possible.The crucial question:How should a film look like, that loads up the core of your brand, but is so significant, that people start sending it around?
RAY BAN
Ray Ban is a synonym for sun glasses. With such a high market share, that the brand can afford to do generic category advertising for sun glasses:
QUICKSILVER
Quicksilver stands for passion in surfing. And exactly that stages the well known viral – this time without featuring those usual „surfer-in-the-tube-scenes, but buy telling an incredible story:
5TH APPROCH: FICTION TV FORMATS – NOW ONLINE
The crucial question:How could a series look like, in which your brand would be integrated as a homogenious part into the plot? In 2009 the Otto-Versand gave an example:
ATTENTION: EXPENSIVE!
The audience won´t make a difference if this shown on TV or in web.Therefore this soap was professionally produced by the TV-filmproduction MME and featured on bild.deIn this case we assume that the budget was beyond a million euros.
Social Media
LOCATION BASED SOCIAL MEDIA
Using location based social media tools such as Gowalla or Foursquare the idea is to signalize other users where you are right now and why it is that great to be there.
AN EXAMPLE
Diesel NY for instance attracted people to visit their flagshipstore. Visitors received a „be stupid!“ t-shirt and had to upload selfportraits on the „faces of stupid“ site to win „stupid prices“ like swimming with sharks.
BUT WE FEEL THAT JUST FOR NOW YOU CAN RELAX BECAUSE:
In Germany/Austria/and Switzerland location based social media has just begun; Foursquare here in Germany only counts 20.000 members.
AUGMENTED REALITY
Another trend coming from the US:Outdoor promotions, which work with the mobile phone and augmented reality:
PHENOMENON FACEBOOK
A 100 million users within 8 months, 500 million within 6 years – facebook has revolutionized the media landscape.
FACEBOOK AS WELL HAS REVOLUTIONIZED THE PARADIGMS OF COMMUNICATIONCause facebook is not an ad channel.The usual procedure ...„Company bombards target group with consumption recommendations“doesn´t work anymore:
S0 WHY IS SOCIAL MEDIA THAT IMPORTANT?
20% of all drivers are responsible for 80% of the accidents.In communication it´s similar:20% of all people are opinion leaders, By contacing them you can reach 80% of your target group.Because opinion leaders communicate a lot - specifically trough social media networks.In forums such as facebook we have got the chance to win those influencers.The question is not, if social media is useful for brands.But:
Quelle: „Tipping Point“, Malcolm Gladwell
IS YOUR COMPANY READY FOR SOCIAL MEDIA?
In social forums you can´t necessarily always keep control about your brand.Take this instructive example:
FANS REFERRED TO THAT
KitKat, after the „palmoil-attack“ from Greenpeace, mangaged to totally alienate their own fans.They actually tried to eliminate the upload of adbuster-logos. The community angrily reacted on that:
1ST: IN FACEBOOK YOU´VE GOT TO BE A LITTLE BIT LIKE JESUS
Act like a calm person – not like a company.Even accept a slap in your face.
2ND: FACEBOOK IS LIKE RODEO: A LOT OF WORK, LITTLE CONTROL
But:f you consider the opinion leaders as partners, if you listen to them and care about the relationship to them, there will be a great chance of brand loyality, which would be comparable with:
FRIENDSHIP
People use facebook to meet friends.To receive recommentations and to give recommentations.To stay up to date.To share things with friends.Sometimes brands are like friends.And friendship must be taken care about.
The Bogner facebook page on 9th november 2010:
SO, ONCE AGAIN:
Is your brand ready for social media? A reading recommentation for the insecure: a 95 thesis manifest about communication culture 2.0 on cluetrain.com
DIALOGUE!
-Involve people, eg in you product development-Collect ideas-See your fans as partners and advisers-Treat those, who commit openly to your brand on social media platforms preferential
HOW TO TREAT FANS PREFERENTIAL
By giving them the exclusive opportunity to get rarities first for example, even before they are on market. By giving them useful Apps.
OR BY GIVING THEM A STAGE
To show how that could look like, please have a look at the following campaign, we developed for BENCH.
BENCH produces Streetwear, so BENCHs authentic brand world is - the street.
So:Streetwear goes well with street-art.
THE IDEA:
BENCH gives street artists a stage to present their work to a larger audience.The name of the stage: -whatsyourbenchmark.com-facebook/whatsyourbenchmark
Their motivation to join:
BECOME FAMOUS!
Unknown artists can upload their work on whatsyourbenmark.com or on facebook to present it to a broader audience. And Bench becomes THE instance in street art, and a forum for the young street artist community. By the way:
SO HOW DOES SUCH A CAMPAIGN BECOME VIRULENT?
1st. Every artist will mobilize his friends to vote for him on facebook or on whatsyourbenchmark.com. That will kick off a virulent avalanche.The best work will be awarded and be published in the press & poster campaign.This again will reach non-online-target groups which will additionally boost the campaign (and of course Bench.).
2nd.The users vote and by doing that they start spreading their choice in the facebook newsfeed (little unpaid Bench ads).
SO HOW DOES SUCH A CAMPAIGN BECOME VIRULENT?
3rd.Via „I like“ clicks the campaign gets additional distribution in the newsfeed.
4th.Chosen artworks will be charity auctioned for a good purpose. And that will be caught up by the PR-agency again.
SO HOW DOES SUCH A CAMPAIGN BECOME VIRULENT?
5th.With PR-stunts, in which art is produced in public, we attract the press as a powerful messenger.
6th.Films and documentaries from artists at work will be spread online widely.
BE CONTRARY!
When pomp and tulle stand for elegance, develop the „little black dress“ and declare: „Simplicity is the true elegance.“ (Coco Chanel)
BUT: CAN WE SHOW THE LATEST COLLECTION?
It is self explaining, that such concept ideas create an amazing surrounding for collection presentations like in lookbooks, brochures, on the homepage etc.
EPILOGUE
- Ray Ban by the help of a simple Clip reaches almost 5 million views – only on Youtube
- well done internet soaps find millions of viewers
- the completely useless (but funny) Skittles-facebook page gets 14 million fans
- and in overseas an unknown black man with an interactive social media campaign becomes the President of the USA
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