There have been some great examples of viral marketing campaigns over the past few years.  Burger King’s subservient chicken was a classic. Who would have guessed “having it your way” would extend to commanding a person in a chicken suit to dance like MC Hammer. The Blair Witch Project famously convinced much of the online world it was a genuine event, encouraging viral marketing from pretty much every blockbuster movie since. For example, horror film Cloverfield attempted a complex campaign making use of everything from fictitious company websites to MySpace profiles for the film's main characters.

But for every successful viral campaign you can remember, you have to ask yourself how many don’t achieve that viral ‘buzz.’ How many brands have seeded content which has disappeared into the cyber ether? In our opinion, it’s the majority. What’s really amazing, however, is that many advertisers are labouring under the impression that their lame duck viral campaign was actually a roaring success.

To understand why, we need to go back to what viral marketing really means. The true barometer of viral success should be ‘pass on.’ In other words, a genuine viral campaign will result in a proportion of users forwarding content to their friends. Pre-social networks and Instant Messenger, this was mostly done via email. Nowadays, you’re more likely to be pinged a URL over messenger or be notified via your Facebook page. 

In reality, even the most successful viral content will be passed on by only 15-20% of viewers at best. However, this is more than sufficient to keep the content disseminating through the myriad of web communities. The problem is, many clients and agencies are not actively tracking pass on. Or monitoring ‘sparked conversations.’ From our experience of managing viral campaigns, the primary goal remains number of views achieved.

Here’s the rub. High number of video views should not necessarily determine a successful viral campaign. Pass on or conversation tracking needs to be factored into the equation.

Currently, seeding of viral content often starts with placement across high traffic video entertainment sites. Usually subtle commercial placements, these bookings can generate views quickly in high numbers. In the space of a few days or weeks, the client can receive hundreds of thousands of views. But let’s not kid ourselves. This is really no different from a conventional media buy.

Of course, this still has value – the client’s content has been seen by hundreds of thousands of people. That doesn’t mean it’s ‘gone viral’ though. Has it been passed on? Are people talking about it in blogs, social networks and forums?  Is it being disseminated organically or does it always require a commercial incentive?

If the answer to these questions is no, brands and agencies should face some hard truths. You don’t have a viral campaign. You have a media campaign on video entertainment sites.

To some extent, this may be old news. More and more, we are seeing agencies and brands demanding more from their viral seeding partners. Clients in particular are recognising that you really do get what you pay for. It’s not too difficult to deliver a low cost per view campaign on commercial sites. However, building a strategy to seed on relevant, contextual, non commercial sites to encourage genuine pass-on is a specialist service that requires more patience and investment.

A successful viral campaign requires a bespoke seeding strategy. Content should be analysed. Seeding placements need to be researched to ensure relevance, and emphasis should be placed on community video sites that facilitate pass-on.

High traffic commercial placements do have a role to play - they can of course be crucial to deliver an initial burst of awareness. However, they should not be used in isolation. 

To be fair to viral seeders, often any attempts to generate organic dissemination are futile as the content is just not good enough. Most viral seeding agencies will carry out panel research, which is a service brands would do well to use before launching campaigns.

Which leads me to my final point.

If you want a successful viral campaign, make sure it’s funny. Or topical. What was the last viral you looked at and felt duty-bound to pass on?