THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION TO ASK WHEN MAKING A VIRAL VIDEO IS…

So What? It’s a hard question to ask, especially after everyone has just been applauding the brilliant creative idea or the killer viral concept. But it’s a question that brings validity and purpose to your idea. It is a safeguard for the future and integrity of your brand. It tests the veracity of the brilliant idea and ensures it is doable. So What? demands an explanation. It strips the creativeness out of the idea and seeks the truth behind the message. I came across a viral video case study yesterday and on the surface it seems like it was a raging success. The brand didn’t even have to show a logo and yet it became one of the hottest videos in Europe over the Easter break. You might have seen it already. It’s the Jesus Kit Kat campaign.

I encourage you to watch the case study, but ask the question “So What?” as you watch it. Having hundreds of thousands of views, and even more comments about your product on social media networks is a marketer’s dream come true. But all these views and commentary and free PR all amount to nothing if it doesn’t change consumer behaviour or perception. I openly admit I do not know the result of this campaign in terms of conversion to sales. The video doesn’t mention it once. Perhaps they didn’t ask the question at the start of the campaign, or at the end. For them, Jesus was on their side and that’s all that mattered. Perhaps it was purely about brand awareness. Cool. The atheists of the world are now aware that Jesus has time for a break, which suits them just fine. The cynics will give it the two fingers (chocolate ones of course) given the timing of the release of this contrived promotion at Easter. I’m not saying I don’t like the idea. It was a successful viral campaign that spread across 150,000 websites. There was plenty of conversation created about Kit Kat (and Jesus). But as a marketer I think it’s important to ask at both ends of the campaign…So What? If you’re intention is to simply make brand noise, then asking So What? is pointless, much like your campaign. But if your client is expecting a return on investment, which most are, then perhaps we need to move beyond ‘virality’ and get back to reality. If you’re thinking of developing a viral video, think about the outcome you want in real terms: conversion to sales, brand perception, consumer behaviour, social commentary, product differentiation or thought leadership. And if your great idea can’t survive the So What? question, you should start again, putting strategy before execution.