A Great Viral Video Flops: 3,328 Views For Parrot?
June 23rd, 2008 by Alec McNayrPosted in Advertising, Comedy, Marketing, Online, Viral |
Rob Delaney sent me a link to Parrot for State Bird on YouTube, a really well-done fake political news short starring himself as the snarky host.
The video showcases a debate between a parrot and a valley quail, who argue over which should be official state bird of California (currently the quail).
The video refers to the upcoming legal deadline for California drivers: that they must use hands-free devices for their cell phones starting July 1, 2008.
The video encourages the viewer to check out ParrotNotQuail.com, and only after visiting did I realize that the video was an attempt at localized viral humor, and backed by hands-free device maker Parrot.
The site itself is as good a satirical political site as I’ve seen online. It features a parrot holding babies, walking wing-in-hand with a racially diverse group of people, a open letter to Arnold, and even a chance to win $10,000.
One problem. The video only has 3.328 views on YouTube.
What went wrong? The video is high-quality. The site design and satire is top notch. Perhaps the target market is too niche: Californian drivers who use cell phones and are paying attention to upcoming laws that affect them.
Or perhaps the “just upload it and it will get a million views” strategy doesn’t work. You can have all the right elements, but if you don’t generate conversation and marketed attention to your media, you will end up with just over 3,000 views. (3,000 is the friends-and-family viewcount, btw)
Some advice for Parrot in the days leading up to July 1 (your viral video’s deadline as well): pitch bloggers on the site. Contact your distributors and give them brochures that will drive traffic back to the site. Stage a PR stunt. Go to local zoos. Generate a conversation.
It takes time and energy (and money) to draw an audience. Otherwise, you’re just taking a low-odds risk. You should work just as hard at generating traffic as you did making your content. There are too many other birds squawking in the online video market for you not to.
3 Responses to “A Great Viral Video Flops: 3,328 Views For Parrot?”
By Bob Gustafson on Jun 23, 2008
100 million dollar blockbuster spends an additional 100 million dollars marketing their film and getting people to buy tickets. There’s a reason the big guys in Hollywood use that formula, it works (most of the time - Speed Racer anyone?).
I wonder what the production budget was for this project vs. how much they’ve spent spreading the word since they’ve uploaded it.
A good post and a good lesson.
Bob