viral Articles

The State of Automotive Marketing in Social Video: New Report Sees Huge Opportunity for Auto Marketers

Over the summer, Unruly opened up their social video lab, looking to narrow down viral videos to scientific facts, to the point that the word "viral" has become a dirty word (although we still use it quite a bit, because well, it's still a buzzword). ...

'Buyral' Video Pokes Fun at Shady Viral Video Marketing Tactics

Now this is the ultimate in black hat video marketing.  In the latest video from user johnst172 (Toronto agency john st.'s channel), who brought us "Catvertising," we see a fictional company called "Buyral" which has everyone from "professional clickers" to very young kids to the elderly ...

The Top 20 Social Video Ad Campaigns for October 2012: Redbull, GoPro, Coke, LG, and More…

This month’s video ads chart, from Unruly Media, should come with a health warning. Daredevils skydiving from space, headless magicians, and crumbling elevator floors - October was not a month for the faint of heart. Recent research has found that the secret to social video ...

Viral Video Showdown on Syfy Has Teams Compete to Produce "Viral" YouTube Hits

We have reality competitions for everything else in the world, why not viral videos?  Last night, Syfy premiered "Viral Video Showdown," in which two teams compete to make the best "viral" video with a certain theme, a few limited parameters, and very little time.  You ...

TED Outlines Formulas for Winning Video Ad Campaigns in Ads Worth Spreading Report

For the third year, TED and YouTube will be looking for the top 10 global ad campaigns in the Ads Worth Spreading Initiative.  And while TED does a good job of finding and showing ads that truly hit the mark, they didn't stop there.  They ...

Bodyform Video Apology Shows Brands How To Get Social Media Right

The practice of leaving negative comments or outright complaints on the social accounts of big brand companies is hardly new. Many disgruntled customers will turn on the public face of the corporation they want to vent about and, unless that brand knows how to react ...

4 Ways to Evaluate Your Performance Beyond Video Views [Creator's Tip #61]

There are a couple of ways that you can gauge how effective and successful your online video content really is.  A lot of people focus on video views for that (we've debated the value in views before), but that may not be the best way ...

How the Right Mix of Awkwardness and Hilarity Can Jump-Start a Channel

What makes videos shoot into the stratosphere?  Well, talking to certain experts, it's usually something that is amazing, embarrassing, sexy, random, surprising, illuminating, spectacular, or relevant.  I think most of your Tosh.0, Ridiculousness, Ray William Johnson videos fall under the embarrassing category.  Now how can ...

Does YouTube Care About Amateur Creators Anymore? [Reel Web #61]

While YouTube is still the most popular destination for amateur and user-generated video content, it's clear that times have changed and the online video space has evolved. There's no doubt that YouTube has made a clear and calculated shift towards focusing on more professional grade ...

When Marching Bands Go Viral: Ohio State Turns Video Games Into Halftime Masterpiece

Having never been in a marching band, I don't really know how much work goes into being in one.  But I do know that when I see something like Ohio State's marching band turning video game characters and scenarios into seamless formations while they perform ...

The Top 20 Viral Video Ad Campaigns for September 2012

The US Presidential race dominates Unruly’s Global Ads Chart this month. Eight of the top 20 most shared online video ads across Facebook, Twitter and the blogosphere during September come from the pro-Obama and pro-Romney camps. But while the Republican candidate can boast more spots – ...

How to Make Video Ad Campaigns Go Viral - A Behind the Scenes Look into the Viral Video Process [Case Study]

A couple of months ago, ABC's "Nightline" did a piece on trying to get a video to go viral.  They hired ad agency and online viral video specialists Mekanism for the job: they would take reporter Dan Harris and a cat named George through a ...

The Mekanics of Storytelling for Branded Social Video Ad Campaigns: Interview with Mekanism

I recently had the pleasure of talking with Brendan Gahan, Director of Social Media at Mekanism, a digital ad agency that works with brands to tell stories with their video ad campaigns.  The mission to convert brands to a storytelling kind of marketing, rather than ...

Which Presidential Campaign is Winning in Social Video? The Unruly 2012 Election Tracker [Infographic]

The race for the White House is in full swing, but which campaign is winning in social video? Unfortunately, the interactive chart that was featured on YouTube Politics during the primaries disappeared when the YouTube Elections Hub was introduced on Aug. 22, 2012. So, if ...

5 Social Video Marketing Lessons Brands Can Learn From the Olympics

The battle for Olympic success was not confined to the running track, swimming pool or boxing ring. London 2012 was also a golden opportunity for brands to create spreadable video content across the social web and amplify their message at a moment when the eyes ...