This is both brilliant and gross at the same time, with a very close connection to the movie’s theme.

Via Brandflakes for Breakfast.

BlendTec has had some tremendous successes with their viral clips on the theme Will it blend? Among them the iPad, the iPhone and (imitation) Diamonds.

Here is the BlendTec predecessor it seems. And really, this Machine Destroys everything!

This is really, really well made!

Very impressive execution! Very nice integration of other brands, which did it for free in exchange for the free attention.

Of course you can challenge a friend via Facebook or email, or share your results on Facebook or Twitter. Great concept and brilliant execution! According to Dagens Media, the site got 50 000 visitors last night, from all, over, the, world, and they spent on average 8 minutes on the site. The creative was made by Lowe Brindfors, production by B-Reel and sound & music by Plan 8.

Love it!

Language can be a barrier to viral spread. But, in this case no one understands anything… … or?

That fact, that no one understands anything, and the way it seems these “da da-twins” understand, is definitely one of the viral triggers.

This clip really intrigues me. It starts my imagination. It makes me think, “what if”. It makes me reconsider what I previously had thought almost impossible.

My first line of thought is like this. It seems these baby twins are really having a conversation. What if they really understand what the other one is saying? I doubt it, but what if?

The second one is almost as improbable, but nonetheless the one I think is the correct one. These small kids are imitating a conversation between adults. And they do it almost to perfection. They are talking, waiting for their turn to talk, making gestures as they speak. They even laugh as if the other one was pulling a joke! And almost most amazing of all – they often use a rising intonation at the very end of a sentence, something that we usually do when asking a question. I know kids are curious, I know they imitate, but all in all, the perfect imitation makes me think there is a lot more going on in those small heads than I thought before. I never thought they would be capable of imitating with such accuracy how we speak when we have learnt the language.

Don’t miss out on this lesson in “da da” that has just exploded on the Internet the last couple of days.

Here are three viral clips and links currently being passed around a lot:

The Best Handball penalty you’ll not ever and never seen! (yes, that title makes me have to read it at least twice too!) An amazing penalty, fooling the goalie entirely.

Back to the Future : Irina Werning – Photographer. Amazing before and after shots of people re-enacting previous photos from years ago, like when they were kids or teenagers.

And then of course the Baby trashes bar in Las Palmas . Funny to see how babies have the same movement patterns as drunk people!

P.S. Dont forget to download “Viral Thinking – a “Viral Marketing Toolkit” – my ebook about how to maximize the potential for viral spread. D.S.

There are always some SuperBowl-commercials that go viral. This year, my personal favourite is Volkswagens “The Force” featuring a tiny Darth Vader who all of a sudden realizes his powers in front of a new Volkswagen Passat.

A lot of people, from several generations, have seen the Star Wars movies and some kind of memories from them. Everybody recognizes Darth Vader and the music. It is in our collective memories, which gives this clip a kind of a dry forest to start the fire in. The cuteness and the humorous twist is probably the spark that sets it all on fire.

As a smart add-on, they have now also released an equally funny “The making of: The Force” featuring bloopers and deleted scenes.

Volkswagen seems to be on a roll when it comes to creating viral content. Their The Fun Theory (originally Rolighetsteorin, in Swedish) went viral late 2009 and the other recently launched SuperBowl clip, Black Beetle, have also gone viral.

Via: Laughing Squid.

All 2011 SuperBowl Commercials
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P.S. Dont forget to download “Viral Thinking – a “Viral Marketing Toolkit” – my ebook about how to maximize the potential for viral spread. D.S.

This is not my usual kind of post, and the reason I wanted to post it first didn’t have anything to do with viral marketing, word of mouth or customer satisfaction. I wanted to post it because I love the video, I love the lyrics and I love the message.

But when I come to think about it, it does belong here. This is a viral video. It has gotten more than 108 million views! Maybe more than any other video I have posted here. And, I believe it has spread around the net just because it does carry an important message (in addition to being a catchy song with a great video). So, I will post both the video and the lyrics here. I like it, and I hope you like it too! Enjoy!

Katy Perry – Firework

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag
Drifting through the wind, wanting to start again?
Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin
Like a house of cards, one blow from caving in?

Do you ever feel already buried deep?
Six feet under screams but no one seems to hear a thing
Do you know that there’s still a chance for you
‘Cause there’s a spark in you?

You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine
Just own the night like the 4th of July

‘Cause baby, you’re a firework
Come on, show ‘em what you’re worth
Make ‘em go, oh
As you shoot across the sky

Baby, you’re a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make ‘em go, oh
You’re gonna leave ‘em falling down

You don’t have to feel like a waste of space
You’re original, cannot be replaced
If you only knew what the future holds
After a hurricane comes a rainbow

Maybe you’re reason why all the doors are closed
So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road
Like a lightning bolt, your heart will blow
And when it’s time, you’ll know

You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine
Just own the night like the 4th of July

‘Cause baby you’re a firework
Come on, show ‘em what you’re worth
Make ‘em go, oh
As you shoot across the sky

Baby, you’re a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make ‘em go, oh
You’re gonna leave ‘em falling down

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
It’s always been inside of you, you, you
And now it’s time to let it through

‘Cause baby you’re a firework
Come on, show ‘em what you’re worth
Make ‘em go, oh
As you shoot across the sky

Baby, you’re a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make ‘em go, oh
You’re gonna leave ‘em falling down

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon

P.S. Dont forget to download “Viral Thinking – a “Viral Marketing Toolkit” – my ebook about how to maximize the potential for viral spread. D.S.

It is finally ready! Download by clicking the image or link below.

Viral Thinking – a “Viral Marketing Toolkit” is my ebook about how to maximize the potential for viral spread. Creating something that is viral is sometimes the goal, but it is not easy. In this ebook I have tried to cover the areas you can work with to improve the odds.

You could call it a “viral marketing toolkit”. However, just increasing the spread improves the ROI, even if it doesn’t go viral. So, my hope and belief is that it is helpful for anyone who works within marketing, PR or communications, whether online or offline.

I would like to thank the people who have generously helped me with feedback on this text and made it a lot better.

In alphabetical order: Valerio Franco (doublebblog.it), Anton Johansson (antonjohansson.com), Henrik Johansson (theviralcompany.com), Daniel Mencák (danielmencak.se), Patrick Möller (flavors.me/patrickmoeller), Cédric Rainotte (bwat.be), Niclas Strandh (digitalpr.se) Pere Tufet (tonterias.com) and Emmanuel Vivier (emmanuelvivier.com).

And of course, if you have feedback to give, do not hesitate to send me an email on kristofermencak[at]gmail[dot]com.

I hope you enjoy it!

And feel free to pass it on!

Not all companies can build their business on viral successes like the ones BlendTec has experienced with Will It Blend. Believing you can create something viral is pretty optimistic. However, I do believe there are tools you can use to make it more possible. I do think you can optimize for it, and that’s why I write posts like 12 viral content triggers, Some help with the viral loop and Network effects, game mechanics and stickiness.

But, something that might be even more important is how to use this thinking in the shift that is taking place today, where marketers have to fight for attention in a fragmented media landscape, on the user’s terms. Optimizing for spread becomes more and more important. I agree to what Niclas Strand writes in All marknadskommunikation är viral (in Swedish). Today, whether the goal is to create something viral or not, marketers need to understand a new way to work – and that is to participate and create content that is worthy of conversations. Content needs to involve and engage the consumers. And it must be easy to pass it on.

I believe “viral thinking” is important for any marketing efforts, in an online world as well as offline, through word of mouth. Creating and participating in conversations is fundamental for brands and businesses today. And that is why we need to optimize campaigns and use the same tools we use when trying to create something viral.

To illustrate why, let’s look at some numbers:

Say you manage to reach 100 000 people with a campaign that no one passes on.

What happens if the content actually makes people pass it on? Say someone who receives it passes it on to, on average 0.25 new people – that is, a basic reproductive number of 0.25. If this spread goes on, we multiply the previous number of people in the loop by the basic reproductive number, like so:

100 000 (first paid 100 000 people reached)
100 000 * 0.25 = 25 000
25 000 * 0.25 = 6 500
6 500 * 0.25 = 1 563
1563 * 0.25 = 391
391 * 0.25 = 98
98 * 0.25 = 24
24 * 0.25 = 6
6 * 0.25 = 1.5

As you can see, with every loop, the returns are decreasing. Adding it all up, we end up at 133 333 – a nice increase in effect by 33.3 %!

Performing the same calculation with a basic reproductive number of 0.5, with our example we would reach 200 000 – an extra 100 000. We get an increase in effect by 100 % – doubling the value of our money spent!

And, with a basic reproductive number of 0.75, we reach out to 400 000 people – an increase in effect by 300 %!

Yes, these numbers are hypothetical in the sense that there will be some saturation as the loop goes on.

And as Seth Godin writes:

The more people you reach the more likely it is that you’re reaching the wrong people.

So, there will be some saturation, you will reach some people who might not be interested (although I could argue that the ones who receive it from a friend might be even better targets), and it is not viral. But, looking at these numbers, the money is still much better spent!.That is why it is important to think about what can be done to incentivize people to pass the content on and make it really easy to do so, even if the result is not truly viral.

In addition to great content (12 Viral Content Triggers), there are several incentives you can play around with to make people pass your material on.

Network effects
If you can build in network effects in your campaign, built on incentives for the users or receivers, you can also create a campaign that goes viral. And, if you succeed to combine great content with network effects, you might just have one of those spectacular campaigns everybody dream about!

In short, a network effect is something that makes doing or owning something more valuable the more other people or other friends are using it. A classic example is the fax machine. If there is only one fax and one user, there’s nothing you can do with it. If there is another user and another fax, we can at least fax each other. If there are three, the utility doubles. The more people that have it and use it, the higher the utility. If you can create the same mechanics in your campaign, you’ve got a shot at viral success.

Challenges & Competitions (Game Mechanics)
If there is something we have learnt from applications such as Farmville and location based iPhone apps such as Gowalla and Foursquare, it’s that people like to compete. Feedback mechanisms such as points, badges, leader boards, and different levels can incentivize us to do things we otherwise might not do. In a way, you could say it is classical conditioning. The rewards we get for performing the action teach us to do it again. In viral marketing, game mechanics can form the rules and incentives that encourage a receiver to pass content on.

Stickiness
Here I am not really referring to the stickiness of the message, how long you remember it. But rather I am talking about how sticky the campaign material is. If you can create reasons to come back for more of the campaign material, there is a greater chance that users also will want to pass it on to just one more person. The chances for viral spread go up. Reasons to stay longer or to come back could be to get more information or a campaign in several steps, or maybe to get more points.

So, network effects, cliffhangers and game mechanics can be a great help. A recent example of something both sticky and viral is chatroulette.com. Whether you think it’s interesting or horrible, there’s no denying it is sticky. You never know what awaits you if you click “Next” instead of closing down the browser or going to another site. Just one more click…