The world of advertising has experienced enormous changes over the past few years with new technological changes reshaping the communication environment and shifting consumer preferences on how to receive information along with the rise of social media platforms. Companies are now turning to the world wide web for influential marketing tools to help reach their target audience and achieve brand awareness through different communication strategies. Social communication has evolved into a key aspect in advertising in the new world of brand promotions.

Being that Expand a Sign Canada’s business objective is providing creative branding solutions through a means of portable instant advertising signage, our top 5 favorite Viral Marketing campaigns, both online and offline are provided below.

If you know of a campaign that deserves to be on the list why not write about it in the comments.

Best Job in the World

This once in a life time job opportunity became hugely successful on a global scale with over 35,000 online video entries for the job position. Viral Marketing and Word of Mouth were key success factors in this campaign. By now everyone has seen or heard about this promotion, with the campaign being incredibly well executed across all social media platforms. 2.5 million people visited the website during the time the campaign was running.

The key success factor within this campaign was centered around the actual job description itself. Live on a beauty island for 6 months and receive a six figure salary, the only catch, you have to blog about your experience. This campaign had everyone talking, and received large amounts of publicity even after the campaign had aired.

Blendtec – Will it Blend?

Will it Blend? is a viral marketing campaign designed by Blendtec as a series of infomercials shown on YouTube demonstrating the power and ability of Blendtec’s line of blenders, including the Total Blender. During the infomercials, Tom Dickson, founder of Blendtec attempts to blend various items as a means of demonstrating the power of his blenders.

Jeff Robe, Director of Marketing at Blendtec conservatively estimates that Blendtec’s videos have been seen well over 300 million times. Last month Blendtec featured the new iPad, asking the question Will it Blend? Although the video has only been out for a month now, over 6.3 million people have watched the iPad video alone. Blendtec has also experienced a high number of viewers for other such videos as iPhone with 8.4 million views and the iPod along with glow sticks which had 5.7 million views. All in all this campaign has been a great success for Blendtec.

Lululemon Grand Opening.

Looking for successful publicity on your Grand Opening? Vancouver yoga clothiers Lululemon captured favorable publicity in the media with their nude ad.

The first 30 people to show up naked at our Grand Opening on Robson Street will receive a free outfit.

Over 50 people showed up naked that cold October morning. Several newspapers and magazines along with live TV broadcasts aired Lululemon’s Grand Opening story, which soon became the hot topic of gossip for many people. While receiving very little negative publicity, their Grand Opening was quite successful.

Old Spice – The Man Your Man Could Smell Like.

This new Old Spice commercial, The Man Your Man Could Smell Like, is a great example of Corporate Viral Marketing that works. In only 3 months, this video has had over 9.4 million views. Within their Viral Marketing Campaign, Old Spice has created a brilliant commercial that grabs the viewer’s attention while also leaving them wondering what they just saw.

Procter and Gamble, makers of Old Spice, created this commercial with the intention of telling women what their men should smell like. P&G has shifted their focus off men in this campaign and made women their primary targeted audience.

Statistics show the male grooming market has steadily increased over the past decade allowing the men’s beauty market to achieve best performing segment within the personal care sector.

P&G has also released a funny part 2 version of their commercial, The Man Your Man Could Smell Like.

Office Max – Penny Pranks

Penny Pranks is a Viral Marketing Campaign designed by an advertising agency in the USA for Office Max as a means of showcasing their product line that includes household maintenance and pet products. The end of the commercials highlights many of their products selling for only 1 penny. Office Max has noted last year’s economically challenged back to school timeframe and has launched their cents promotion to combat that market.

The commercials show a man with a hidden camera entering a retail outlets trying to purchase items with his pennies.

Office Max’s Viral Campaign has seen over 2.1 million viewers for their 9 videos and within their campaign have received much success by creating brand awareness for their products and company.

The ability to successfully utilize social media platforms showcases a huge opportunity for branding potentials while allowing a company to concentrate its limited resources on the greatest opportunities of increasing brand awareness. Key concepts within brand promotions and advertising play a much stronger role now than the old-style mass media message of the past. Although mass media still plays a part in the advertising efforts, a much more diverse and dynamic part of the process utilizes different promotional techniques and tools to send the message about brands to customers.

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