What Is The “Value” Of Viral Marketing?
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With the incredible success of its “Responses” campaign, Old Spice is widely credited with having “cracked the code” to viral video and marketing success. Launched last year, their spokesperson Isaiah Mustafa became iconic and the latest take, with Fabio, drew an astounding 17 million viewers last week. But did the campaign help sell more Old Spice?
According to Ad Age’s Jack Neff, yes and no.
It appears that what really moved the needle was something that’s been around a bit longer than viral videos – coupons. Last year they were offered and sales zoomed. This year they were not and sales declined by 24%.
The "Responses” campaign has still had a positive impact on the brand, but the larger point to be realized is that consumers will always prefer something of tangible value from marketing. Yes, they will engage with entertainment – to a point – but in the end what will motivate them to truly bring a brand into their life is when something that improves that life – even in a small way – is offered in return for attention paid to a marketing message.
It’s a reminder that in the digital world, successful marketing comes not from pushing out information, but from providing value.
