Viral Video for the Global Good
We know viral video is good for business. It contributes to brand development, increases exposure and builds your customer base. But there are also those who are harnessing viral video’s power to bring people together for the greater good—to instantaneously access millions of web users for the sake of an environmental, cultural, educational or medical cause. Below are some examples of recent success stories in this arena, executed by different organizations of varying sizes to generate awareness– and yes, to make a buck.
Going Viral to Stop a Virus
The Lazarus Effect, a new 30-minute documentary presented by AIDS awareness organization (RED) and produced by Spike Jonze, debuted last week not only on HBO and Channel 4, but also on a personalized YouTube Channel page. To complement its online release, (RED) has also created a free iPad app that allows users to read up on antiviral drugs as they watch the film. Available online for the rest of the year, and complemented by several celebrity-spot promos Facebook ads, and Twitter updates, this represents one of HBO’s most expansive distribution efforts. And it’s working! (RED) promotional partner VideoEgg has launched a dashboard to monitor how people are interacting with the campaign by counting the number of seconds each viewer devotes to each type of ad—check out the results for yourself here.
Online Life: about 2 months
# of Views: about 3 million (collectively)
Financial Cuts? Who You Gonna Call…
The New York Public Library, which boasts historic building cred in addition to its impressive collection, is facing $37 million in budget cuts. To help generate awareness (and more importantly, funds), the NYPL enlisted the help of Improv Everywhere—a group of viral video geniuses known for making typically uninvited (and always hilarious) public scenes. In this particular stunt, the group took advantage of the building’s locale to loosely reenact the opening scene of “Ghostbusters.” Online comedy at its best, this campaign represents a smart way for libraries (and indeed any organization involved in the literary/educational realm) to access an increasingly digital and visually stimulated patron base—outsource!
Online Life: about 2 months
# of Views: about 2.25 million
How a Little Guy Plans to Clean Up a Big Spill
With the threat of the spill in the Gulf worsening daily, dozens of major companies, news stations and environmental NPO’s have set up monitoring widgets on the web. In terms of viral video how-to’s, however, few have been as successful as the instructional YouTube clip created by tiny contracting firm CW Roberts. Based out of Tallahassee, and without even their own web site, employees of the company took it upon themselves to come up with a simple solution to the worst spill in history—hay. There aren’t any bells or whistles, and the film quality is as basic as it gets, but the hits are still increasing—evidence of even the smallest company’s ability to digitally do a good deed while making a name (and a little money) for themselves via viral video.
Online Life: about 2 months
# of Views: about 1.75 million
If you’d like to read more about how viral videos have contributed to “cause” campaigns, check out this survey of potential donors conducted by marketing blog Mashable. Alternatively, if you’d like to find ways you yourself can contribute via social media, check out this Digital Charity Toolbox from the same site.
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