How dumb can a huge corporation get on Youtube and Facebook?

16 replies
As you know, the corporate (and IM) world in general is obsessed with social media.

Here is a recipe for how NOT to do it:

1. Think that you'll have a "viral" campaign
2. Loads of people will see your cool stuff
3. You will increase "brand awareness" and somehow, it will help increase your profits.

In other words don't do this:


I can bet you this is what happened:

- Day 1 - Somebody in "corporate" read an article about social media in FT
- Day 2 - They pitched their brilliant idea and got the go ahead to work with an agency (or even worse, the agency pitched the idea to them)
- Day 3 - Tens of thousands of pounds were shelled out
- Day 4 - A few struggling artists, actors, and other show-business personel got a phone call. This month's rent will be paid after all!
- Day 5 - Excitement! Creating the "viral videos" etc. There were some "artistic differences" but hey, at the end of the day everything came together.
- Day 6 - Well, we're not getting that many views, but sometimes these things take time... (translated:"Sh!t !! what have we done?!!")
- Day 7 - They wanted to rest but there is a meeting about the Social Media budget tomorrow

Here is a million dollar tip:
People who buy Whiskas are interested in real cats, not broke @ss modafunters who got high, and decided to live like a cat.

And next time look in the "Warriors for Hire" section, if you want to create a social media campaign that works
#corporation #dumb #facebook #huge #youtube
  • Profile picture of the author Mark Hess
    They started promoting their Facebook page in the video descriptions: The Cat's Whiskas | Facebook

    44,000+ people 'liked' the page and people are now posting pictures of their own cats and saying things like "My cat Chandler will do anything for Whiskas treats!" followed by a home video.
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4485299].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    lol ... pretty ridiculous video. What were they thinking?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4485404].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author K Smith
      It kinda of had some sense of going some where until about a minute in, then... I think they had multiple people (or one with multiple personalities) with different visions working on this haha! Weird. Then again I'm not a cat person though, show me a cute frolicking wiener dog with floppy ears and I'm good!
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4485791].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Ansar Pasha
    Banned
    Lol... this is why you shouldn't try to be funny when you pitch products and services. It might get attention but it's not the attention you want.

    Just like when a certain beer company decided that singing frogs was going to help sell more and ended up dropping their market share by 2% (correct my figure if I'm wrong, it was fairly significant though).

    Ansar
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4485815].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author AdwordsMogul
      Originally Posted by Ansar Pasha View Post

      Lol... this is why you shouldn't try to be funny when you pitch products and services. It might get attention but it's not the attention you want.

      Just like when a certain beer company decided that singing frogs was going to help sell more and ended up dropping their market share by 2% (correct my figure if I'm wrong, it was fairly significant though).

      Ansar
      Don't you just love it when sh!tt like this happens? In the UK, I think at least 5 established retailers went into administration. Officially, they say it's because "competition,recession, and other B.S.". Well, I say it's because they refuse to readjust their marketing, for the most part. I think our world has become to sophisticated for stupid gimmicks.

      At some point, getting attention might have been enough, because there wasn't that much choice. Things have changed though...
      Signature
      "Those who can - DO IT. Those who can't, say it's impossible."
      Jean Paul a.k.a AdwordsMogul
      PHPDevelopers.net - Top of the range PHP developers

      Easy Link Saver - Are you tired of the pain of constantly searching for your affiliate links? ( Chrome extension - FREE )
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4485992].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Ansar Pasha
    Banned
    Adwords, I know what you mean...

    It still baffles me that these giant companies don't use tried and true advertising methods that have been tested for decades.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4486653].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author AdwordsMogul
      Originally Posted by Ansar Pasha View Post

      Adwords, I know what you mean...

      It still baffles me that these giant companies don't use tried and true advertising methods that have been tested for decades.
      You see it really depends. The biggest thing is that these companies don't just rely on product sales for their money. They sell shares. And the shareholders, venture capitalists etc. have an ego.

      They like to look good. So these companies have to do what makes them look good.

      Look at it this way. If we find it so hard to have our friends, and families to accept what we do, how do you expect investors to accept it? It's a complete paradigm shift, not everybody is willing to go through it.

      Now, some of these companies survive because they have products that people want - always a prerequisite. Business is not rocket science. Other companies survive because they have deep pockets.

      Felix Dennis (the print media mogul) wrote in his book "How to get rich" about how it's sometimes cheaper to keep a failing magazine running.

      The loss such a magazine makes is better than the chunk of money that would go into liquidating it. The same goes for certain companies.

      They won't try the tested methods because they think some of these methods are below them.
      Signature
      "Those who can - DO IT. Those who can't, say it's impossible."
      Jean Paul a.k.a AdwordsMogul
      PHPDevelopers.net - Top of the range PHP developers

      Easy Link Saver - Are you tired of the pain of constantly searching for your affiliate links? ( Chrome extension - FREE )
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4487482].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author AdwordsMogul
    Originally Posted by Chris Kent View Post

    So big companies are testing out a new avenue of promotion, one that is likely to become the most important in the world, perhaps even surpassing TV.

    What's the big deal here? We all make mistakes, big companies included. They can easily recover from them and learn new lessons.
    Well, first of all, depending on the business you are in, and your business model, there are many media that surpass TV.

    Secondly, they do this kind of stuff on TV, and other media as well. This time they are bringing it to the internet.

    They are not testing out anything. They bought into the hype. They thought they could get something for nothing. Somebody's ego got in the way and an agency cashed in once again.

    This is just an example of stuff that happens all the time.

    Anyway, they don't like marketers like those on the Warrior forums, and personally I don't like them either. I'm saying this because I had an encounter with a few agencies who can talk for hours about brand building, but can't answer a simple question such as "How will this pay the bills?"

    You see, it pays theirs but not the business owner's. The trouble is, these guys care more about creativity than profit. I'm a filmaker, I sing, and I play guitar. I do get paid for those things.

    But when it's time for business, you gotta think ROI, not brand awareness.
    Signature
    "Those who can - DO IT. Those who can't, say it's impossible."
    Jean Paul a.k.a AdwordsMogul
    PHPDevelopers.net - Top of the range PHP developers

    Easy Link Saver - Are you tired of the pain of constantly searching for your affiliate links? ( Chrome extension - FREE )
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4488008].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Michael D Forbes
    That might just be one of the most irrelevant, dull and not funny (same thing?) videos I've ever spent 3 minutes watching. I would have much rather seen the man trying to act like a feline, as it started out looking like he would do.

    What was that all about again? *Snore*
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4488418].message }}
  • {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4488670].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author AdwordsMogul
      Originally Posted by Legend Dude View Post

      The video has 10,000 views in 2 days, it's on track to be a hit. What do you mean?
      10,000 views and then what?

      10 000 views from who?

      10 000 views doesn't mean money.

      The illusion is that 10 000 views is a lot - well, from a highly untargeted audience, that's next to nothing.

      The mistake they are making (very common with ad agencies) is that they are looking at the internet as an advertising medium, like TV.

      In other words, here is a screen, we'll put something on, and they will watch it. Which is an extreme oversimplification of how consumers actually interact with the internet.

      Here is your lesson:

      if you want to create a video, first find out what will make that video sell product, or get them people into your sales funnel.

      Your video needs be entertaining, but at the end of the day, it has to sell something, someone -> it has to lead towards the point where someone gives you money.

      You are free to disagree - it's your bank account that's at stake. As Chris Kent commented, these guys can afford to stuff like this, even if it doesn't bring them money. Most of us here can't.

      The real reason why what they did was dumb

      They could have followed the instructions of any respectable social media expert. Heck, maybe there is a WSO that could help them.

      But, no, they want to be the first to re-invent fire.
      Signature
      "Those who can - DO IT. Those who can't, say it's impossible."
      Jean Paul a.k.a AdwordsMogul
      PHPDevelopers.net - Top of the range PHP developers

      Easy Link Saver - Are you tired of the pain of constantly searching for your affiliate links? ( Chrome extension - FREE )
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4492453].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Rough Outline
    These are the simple rules of viral marketing.

    Rule 1 - Make it funny and/or interesting.
    Rule 2 - Read rule 1.
    Rule 3 - Seriously, follow rule 1.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4492937].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author ExRat
      Hi Rough Outline,

      These are the simple rules of viral marketing.

      Rule 1 - Make it funny and/or interesting.
      Rule 2 - Read rule 1.
      Rule 3 - Seriously, follow rule 1.
      I think that you have to be careful when stating rules for something as absolute and all-encompassing.

      In my opinion, there are two distinctly different types of viral marketing typically being employed online.

      Type 1 is the classic type, as stylised by hotmail - where the key aspect is 'usefulness' coupled with the secondary hook of 'free' - with this type, the users of the product virally spread the word simply by using the product - that is how it is advertised and spreads like a virus.

      Type 2 is the one you are referring to, such as viral videos which are passed around and viewed - like a spreading virus because they might be funny or interesting - but it is probably incorrect to suggest these two things are the ONLY key factors.

      For example, you might have something that is not funny at all and only mildly interesting - but it is highly controversial.

      EG - that 'worst song ever' by the 14 year old girl. It went viral not only because it was interesting (IE worst ever) but because it polarised and created controversy which captured mainstream media's attention due to the number of views (and it possibly had a marketing force behind it, giving it the kick-start it needed.)

      You make a good point, but to try and suggest that those are the only two things required to go viral to the exclusion of everything else is to only see the small picture.
      Signature


      Roger Davis

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4493425].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author AdwordsMogul
    Just to add to what ExRat said...

    The fact that a video goes viral doesn't mean it will bring financial success.

    The proverbial "throw enough mud against the wall..." strategy doesn't tend to work online. That's what people in huge corporations (and in general) don't seem to get.
    Signature
    "Those who can - DO IT. Those who can't, say it's impossible."
    Jean Paul a.k.a AdwordsMogul
    PHPDevelopers.net - Top of the range PHP developers

    Easy Link Saver - Are you tired of the pain of constantly searching for your affiliate links? ( Chrome extension - FREE )
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4493833].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author jaiganeshv
    you cannot create/plan for something to be viral. it only goes viral without your control. thats what viral is.. you cannot define viral also...


    Thank you
    Jai
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4493947].message }}

Trending Topics