Viral - Can it be measured –

A short film by Public Mojo that was created more than a year ago for Schweppes has raced into the world’s viral video top 20 after online users belatedly fell in love with it.

“Signs” was originally created to promote an online Schweppes short film festival.



In the last month, the 12 minute movie, which does not feature the brand and has only one subtle reference to a character putting her finger to her lips, has surged in popularity.

On YouTube it has picked up over half a million views, 1200 text comments and a Facebook Group has acquired the film nearly 2,000 fans. According to the website Viral Video Chart, it is currently the world’s 17th most viral video. Globally, more than 300 blog posts have been written about it in the last 28 days. It has become particularly popular with Portugese and Spanish audiences.

The movie provides a great case study on Viral using social media tools... as of today, Youtube, facebook, blogs and twitter have all been used to create more reach for the brand and the short film.

Viral marketing works because people trust the opinions of their peers. Author and industry expert George Silverman says, "Word of mouth is the most honest advertising medium there is. People don't want to hurt their friends and family and colleagues with bad information."

Comments and recommendations coming from peers will be perceived as reliable even if the information slyly originates from a marketer.

A successful viral marketing campaign also helps consumers cut through the online clutter. With so many advertisers vying for the same customers, a personal recommendation from a friend or colleague will help direct your online audience to your site without much additional effort like a banner or paid search advertisement.

While creating conversation and buzz is fantastic, all the publicity will not do advertisers any good if it doesn't relate back to their brands. For example, I was forwarded an interactive widget that I spent the better part of an hour using, but by the end of the day, I could not tell you what brand was behind it. This is ultimately a failure because, while the campaign got my attention and my time, there was no subsequent call-to-action or brand attached to benefit from the interaction.

So how do we feel about the Schweppe’s short film?



We will let the users decide