iClickNation.com

Adidas has released a fun microsite called impossiblestory.com. Impossible Story lets users create a personalised animation in a matter of minutes. Although it takes a while to load, the site has a lot of redeeming qualities. It’s fun to create the animation. It’s fun to watch the animation. It gives me an opportunity to share with friends. Unlike some virals, I actually know who it’s from. The viral relates to Adidas’s current campaign. And above all, it allows me to put myself in the movie (check out my adventure). Not that I’m a total ego maniac but I do love the personal touch.

One thing Adidas should have done is create a female option. The current face-import functionality might cause a woman to look bald.

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Here’s an example of a campaign that demonstrates the fact that just because you have a good idea doesn’t mean that it’s a viral idea.

Ourchurch.com recently launch a campaign called AIDS Clickathon. By simply clicking on a link, visitors will help raise money for children in Africa orphaned by AIDS. Each click will trigger a donation from various sponsors.

Although it’s an endearing cause, the fact that the campaign is missing a few viral characteristics makes me think that this fundraiser will have problems getting its website to go viral. In addition, the concept has already been done by a number of other organizations and the execution can use more focus.

Check out this case study and a great forum discussion regarding this campaign…and don’t forget to click.

Apex Corp is set to launch a vending machine project called “MediCafe”. Adapting a very popular web business model, Apex will soon start providing the Japanese public free drinks for simply watching a 30-second commercial.

In roughly the time that it takes to pour a hot cup of coffee, the thirsty individual will be “entertained” with a commercial. If they don’t want to waste 30 seconds of their life on yet another ad, there will be an option to purchase the drink for $0.60 to $1.

It’ll be interesting to see how many people actually pay attention to the commercials. Let’s face it, most ads aren’t worth watching even if there’s nothing else to look at. Perhaps this would be a great vehicle to showcase viral videos. Just because you’re providing something free doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be concerned with crafting an engaging commercial.

Via Japan Probe

Today I ran across an article in the Harvard Business Review that made me raise one of my eyebrows. It’s titled “Viral Marketing for the Real World”. In this article the two authors propose a viral marketing technique they call “big-seed marketing”.

The authors suggested that we combine viral marketing tools with “old-fashioned” mass media to produce better results. My first reaction was to ask whether we really need a new name for this. Isn’t this just another name for an integrated marketing plan?

My second reaction was surprise that this isn’t already common practice for most marketers. As anybody that has successfully executed a viral marketing initiative will attest to, you must supply your “child” (the viral piece) with every opportunity you can so that they can grow and be successful. As the parent, you want to use every resource at your disposal. This includes emails, blogs, forums, SEO, PR, banner ads, and anything else your budget will allow.

If you don’t do this already, I highly encourage you to read this article. If what I wrote makes sense to you, then…well, I’ve just wasted a few minutes of your time…sorry.

Photo by: leenient

ForwardTrack
It can trace email forwards, map the impact of blogs, and facilitate web-based sign-ups and social networking.

Viral Vortex
This tool is said to have the ability to see valuable social referral networks, identify who a company’s top brand evangelists are, and provide independent access to campaign results.

Ray-Ban has recently released a YouTube initiative that has a couple of guys playing catch with a pair of glasses. The cool part is that one of them is catching the Wayfarer glasses with his face. Even though it’s obviously fake, it’s still really interesting to look at.

This video does a great job tackling Ray-Ban’s uncool image. However, even though the video is entertaining to watch, and will most likely go viral, they forgot to do one thing. Nowhere in the video does it say that they are Ray-Bans. As far as I’m concerned, they look like the cheap pair of glasses I picked up at Zellers in the mid 80’s. My guess is that most other people will also have no clue that these are Ray-Bans (unless they read this blog). I’m not saying it should turn into a complete Ray-Ban commercial, but just a little name dropping wouldn’t hurt…especially when the video is this cool.

So is this viral campaign a total lose? Nope. I’m sure Ray-Ban has other marketing initiatives that will incorporate this video; however, it’s definitely a missed opportunity.

Move over Warner Music Group, EMI, and Def Jam. You have new competition…kind of. MINI, the car manufacturer, recently launched a minisite (pun intended) called “DEF MINI Records“. The attention to detail on this fake record site is impressive. From funny bios to cheesy videos by artists like Wayne Trapper or N´CAP this website has a lot of fun features to explore. Great site!

Since the recent release of the 2007 Viral Marketing Survey, there has been a lot of chatter on the Internet regard microsites. Here are two opposite views on this topic:

5 Reasons To Put Viral Content On Mini-Sites

5 Reasons Not to Put Viral Content on Mini-Sites

This doesn’t have anything to do with viral marketing, but I think it’s just too interesting not to post. I found this political birthday card (click image to enlarge) at a local drug store. I was actually surprised that it’s produced by a major greeting card company like Carlton Cards.

Monday, something viral…promise.

Business Week - Instant Stampede
Talks about Peerflix.com viral marketing campaign.

Baekdal.com
“Viral marketing is 100% about emotions.”
Great article that shows numerous example of viral videos and guidelines for making them.

Heineken’s Fly to the Secret Final
Example of a viral microsite. Shoot yourself out of a canon…what’s not to love!