When it comes to viral campaigns, there is more involved than just numbers with many “zeros” on social media. There is a strategy beyond the technique, mere button pushing, and advertising investment. What can be learned from actions that gain public recognition is that any movement of a brand aiming to engage the audience needs to touch the heart, in a way that it’s almost intuitive to want to comment and share content.
André Carvalho is CEO of Tempus Inova and has distilled five lessons learned from successful marketing campaigns over the years. More than admiring, it’s possible to learn from “goals” like these.
1. Simplicity Revolutionizes
It is not always necessary to shower the target audience with confetti, as the “Share a Coke” campaign proves. Replacing the Coca-Cola logo with names was a simple idea, but with a profound impact. It was personal, direct, and resonated with every person who found their name on the bottle.
Another campaign that exemplifies this is the “Thank You Mom” from P&G, which honored Olympic athletes’ mothers. Without extravagance, the message valued the everyday. The lesson here is clear: simplicity, when well applied, can be revolutionary.
2. Selling Purpose
Viral campaigns do not sell just products; they sell stories. The “Real Beauty Sketches” from Dove, for example, extolled the real beauty of women and connected the brand to deep feelings of self-esteem and identity.
Brands that focus on emotion as the central pillar of the narrative can create something beyond just a purchase – they create a sense of belonging. This exceeds the consumer relationship from a one-time purchase to loyalty. As the great Guimarães Rosa said, ‘what life wants from us is courage.’ In this context, a brand’s courage lies in creating empathy.
3. Not missing the ‘right moment’
A viral campaign is deeply connected to the moment it is launched, taking into account what is happening at that time. Nike demonstrated this with ‘Believe in Something,’ featuring Colin Kaepernick, in a crucial period of discussions about racism and social justice.
4. Focus on people
Among all trends, the key lesson from viral campaigns is that the focus should be on people, not the product. When brands position themselves as agents of change, creating human and authentic stories, they transcend the role of sellers and become symbols of a revolution.
5. Consumers want to smile!
In contemporary marketing, excessive seriousness no longer fits, especially when considering the new generation of consumers. The irreverent humor of the Old Spice Man campaign shows how to create closeness in a humorous but sensitive way. Another undeniable successful case, taking into account humor, is the Red Bull commercials.
The slogan “Red Bull te dá asas” always comes accompanied by a metaphor, whether it is about a person who can move very quickly from one place to another or about a turtle that gains speed with the use of products. Either way, the message is so impactful that consumers read the phrase in the same tone of voice as the advertisements.
As Rubem Alves would say, “there are schools that are cages and there are schools that are wings.” In marketing, the same happens: there are brands that imprison and others that choose to fly like Red Bull. This decision can determine how the consumer perceives the message: just another advertisement or a communication that will be remembered for a lifetime.
