360DigitalInfluence

I knew I was on board with Josh Warner, the president of video syndication shop Feed Company, when he told a crowd at the WOMMA Summit that it’s time to kill the word “viral” as a prefix for “video.” My San Francisco teammates are probably tired of hearing me make the plea not to describe short videos as viral until online viewers have deemed them so. It’s a word that should be limited to describing branded entertainment after the fact, not in proposed scopes of work.

In his session about the myths of using online video to create word of mouth, Warner described lessons learned while generating attention for Ray Ban’s “Guy catches glasses with face” and Levi’s “Guys backflip into jeans”–two videos that generated massive attention from viewers and media alike. His words of wisdom on making entertaining content work harder included:

• Realize that the viral videos your clients are clamoring for may be a fad. The piece that will stick around, however, is engagement with potential customers that generates two-way dialogue.
• Plan multiple messages for different audiences. Customizing short notes with reasons why bloggers and reporters representing different categories should care isn’t just smart—it’s imperative.
• It’s important to leave enough time to strategize video rollout. After weeks and often months of production, it’s easy to limit the window of time to post and distribute video and send it out at random. Advance planning and treating the rollout with the same care can make the difference between 100 views and 100,000.

Transparency and subtlety of brand links were major focuses of WOMMA attendees’ questions. Warner said that his company creates YouTube channel names that don’t include the client’s brand name, such as “Unzipped Productions” for the Levi’s video. A Gatorade entertainment lead at the session mentioned that the company created two versions of its ball girl catch video: the subtle version that took off and featured only a bottle of Gatorade at the girl’s feet, as well as a more branded version that was ready if the first didn’t spread virally. No matter the overt branding (and I lean toward more in the name of transparency), timing and close monitoring are crucially important when it comes to the launch and reveal.

Warner’s plea to “move beyond the view” and consider metrics outside a single number to live and die by was much appreciated. YouTube search results, feature placement, mainstream news mentions, and forum threads are all important additional considerations. Because, as Warner and his audience agree, audience engagement is just beginning to realize its potential.