by Dionne Aiken
I had to do a double take when I saw a tweet from Chelsea Handler yesterday:
This attention-grabbing tweet which at first glance appeared to be yet another celebrity sex tape leak was actually a very witty YouTube video ad for Smartwater. (Small children might want to leave the room … the puppy scene is a bit much!):
A good point Jennifer Aniston makes is that it’s not enough to just tell everyone to drink Smartwater. You have to take it a step further and “go virus” to get noticed.
Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and other social media platforms operate on the very concept of the viral spread of information. These sites are major catalysts in the continuous reshaping of our online behavior. On these platforms, we see the phenomenon of an idea, message and or campaign start with one person or group of influencers and spreading exponentially, taking shape with each share, retweet or like.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sean-smith/how-facebook-really-won-t_b_828629.html
If you’re familiar with the terms “Tiger Blood” and “Winning!” then you’ll also notice how Charlie Sheen was able to capitalize on this as his website livethesheendream.com became a viral success in such a short span of time.
http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2011/03/viral-charlie-sheen-fan-site-cashing-quotable-star
We continue to see this change in the model of how people and brands are reaching their audiences to adapt to a dynamic social landscape to set themselves apart from the masses.
Whether you “go virus” or not, an important take away from this is that without strategy, the message is lost and “Winning!” becomes a difficult feat.
Posted by thestrategicfirm 
