Viral Spiral

Viral marketing is the new buzzword in business today. My knowledge of viral marketing is about the same as my comprehension of cars. All I know is the more you see of them out and about, the more money the manufacturer probably makes. But once I open the hood and look at the inner workings of its engine, I’m clueless. I have a feeling a lot of ad and PR people are also still trying to figure out the formula for a successful online campaign.

Let’s take a look at Youtube, which is by far the most popular viral marketing tool out there right now. I’ve whacked my brain trying to figure out what makes a video get a ton of hits and I could find no rhyme or reason to it. How can a stupid clip of a cat meowing get a million hits, while a well written, competently produced social commentary about the uncontrolled smog in the city get a measly 23 hits? I don’t get it. In my Youtube channel (youtube.com/timtayag), I’ve uploaded around 50 videos, mostly of my best standup routines shot with expensive cameras and high-end lighting. But the clip that gets the most viewers by far, is this silly video of me going inside a public bathroom in Japan and playing with a high powered hand dryer, which I shot with my cell phone because I was bored at the airport waiting for my flight.

My conclusion is content is still king. I don’t even mean good content, just content that you wouldn’t see on television. It’s so simple it almost bit me on the behind: people want to see online videos of things they don’t normally see on the boob tube. Forget about good production value, as long as it’s there, it’s amusing, and it’s constantly updated. That’s it! This explains the success of online celebrities like the girl in Happy Slip (doesn’t hurt if you’re relatively cute too), that Moi Moi Palaboy guy, and a lot of the guests on the Ellen Show.

With this in mind, and some discussion with my manager Patrick (who is now a new man after he was spared by Ondoy), I embarked on an experiment to prove my theory. I started posting daily videos of myself brushing my teeth (a page out of the Big Brother page). I’m giving this project a few months. If I am right, in a few months the show should be picked up by a major toothpaste or toothbrush company and Ellen’s staff should be contacting me soon for a guest spot. If it disproves my theory, at least I’ll have clean teeth and fresh breath. Here is the 21st episode of the toothbrushing series.