A mobile phone company made international news last week following its release of a YouTube video as part of its marketing activity. The viral video was created using Royal lookalikes dancing a mock Kate Middleton and Prince William wedding entrance dance. T-Mobile’s highly creative video project, supported through public relations, has received global media coverage as a result of engaging people through humour.
Similarly, in September last year Nummies, a maternity bra manufacturer, released a video encapsulating the meaning of becoming a Mum. The video was quickly picked up by parenting and mainstream media. Like T-Mobile, the Nummies viral received a strong following, connecting with parents around the world.
We can learn a lot about videos that turn viral. Short movies, such as those filmed for T-Mobile and Nummies, demonstrate the power of connecting with audiences and consumers through their feelings, telling engaging stories in creative ways as enabled by digital media. Companies that make people laugh, cry or feel better about themselves, and brands that stand for something and influence consumers on an emotional level, are in a very powerful place. Consumers want to be involved with these brands because they understand them and connect with them.
Understanding the essence of a brand, and communicating it in a way consumers understand and enjoy, is at the centre of what we do in lifestyle PR. Award-winning public relations campaigns are developed based on an intimate understanding of consumers and the emotions that drive them. Digital media allows brands to connect with consumers and tell stories in more than just the written form. Embracing and harnessing the power of online channels, such as YouTube and social media, differentiates consultancies with story-selling skills from the ones that don’t understand the power of compelling content.
Great public relations consultancies always remember that people love brands when they can buy more than a product – they can buy an attitude, a belief, a thought. I believe that this understanding is the foundation for campaigns that create change and deliver world-class results for clients.