viral case study examples

50+ Best Viral Marketing Campaign Examples & Case Studies To Get You Inspired (2024)

In this guide, I’ve curated some of the best viral marketing examples and campaigns that I’ve saved on my own personal swipe file over the years, and did some further research on others that are so good to learn from. Regardless of the growth stage of your business (large brand or small), you’re going to pick up some epic takeaways and learnings that you may be able to apply to your own campaigns for growth. Either way, they’re just fun to read, watch and go through! And you never know, you may have the next best viral campaign that gets millions of eyeballs (just let me know and I’ll add you to this guide ;).

If you’ve been on this site and read my articles before, you know I love a good case study (haha). I always enjoy coming across new ones as there’s always new things you can pick up that you can add to your marketing ideas bank or your own swipe file. 

Now for this particular guide, this was really fun to create and analyse/summarise.

I’m excited to introduce you to some of the top viral marketing examples and campaigns that truly went viral (some of the numbers these campaigns have achieved are insane). 

You would have seen many of these campaigns over the years play out in real-time, and whilst there’s always good analysis at the time of people sharing their thoughts/ideas (you know, over LinkedIn and the Twittersphere in particular), it’s actually awesome to look back and see what the end results were, and how it impacted the business in terms of awareness, acquisition, sales, and overall business growth. 

So, what makes these case studies and examples worth reading further into?

There are lots of ‘viral’ studies and examples out there, but I picked a good balance between those businesses who experienced insane viral numbers, to then those who achieved impressive results based on the budget/resources they had available at their disposal. 

What can you can learn from going through the summaries and reading the dedicated studies? Also, what makes these case studies good quality?

Here’s what I kept in mind when going through these case studies (and a small checklist of what to analyse/pick up as ‘golden nuggets’ that you can learn from and potentially incorporate into your marketing strategy):

• Strategies/tactics they used - Is there a good analysis and why campaigns were successful? (some do a really good job at this, whilst others brush over it a bit. However, they were still good to include). 

Note: In many of the summaries, I shared my own thoughts/takeaways.

• Data/stats performance - Do they share a good breakdown in terms of numbers? 
• Budgets - some of the studies share budgets, but most of the time, you can tell whether or not serious investment went into it due to the nature of the campaign.
• Uniqueness of campaign - what made the campaign stand out in their industry, and why were audiences drawn into engaging/sharing?
• What made the campaign perform? - what were the psychological/emotional triggers that sparked people to share?
• When it comes to the content, what’s the nature of it? Do you think it involve numerous resources to achieve the outcome? Was the content entertaining in nature? Or was is thought-provoking, problem-focused content that sparked further thoughts and actions from audiences?

Depending on your context and the industry/role you’re in, you’ll naturally have some other attributes and criteria that you’re looking to get out of those studies.

So, can you replicate similar success like these example viral campaigns? 

This is obviously down to the business you’re involved in, but this should be a criteria you should think about (I mean, that’s the primary reason you’re probably here, right?). 

Some of the video campaigns are hard to replicate due to the nature of the videos, and keeping in mind how big the brands are. Unless you’re someone from a bigger brand reading this with a big customer and subscriber base across your channels, it can be hard to replicate success if you’re a smaller startup or eCommerce brand on a lean budget. 

However, there are always (yes, always) key takeaways that you can cherry pick from and formulate into your own strategy.

Without further ado everyone, I hope you enjoy this guide I put together. 

Oh, and feel free to share with other marketing friends, founders, colleagues (or even family members) that you think will enjoy this. :) 

Related reading: In this guide, I talk about social media, UGC and viral competition campaigns that brands utilised to generate some epic results. Some of those platforms/tools that these brands have used (and that I have used as well) are in this pre-launch waitlist and viral competition platforms guide I put together. The good news is that there is a plethora of software solutions that are cost-effective and accessible to any brand, regardless of their size. So, it’s worth the read if you’re serious about viral growth.

Video Viral Campaigns

1. this video campaign reached the youtube top 100 charts in over a hundred countries.

Watch the video here (over 270+ million views).

• Created to inform the public about rail safety, Dumb Ways to Die has over 270 million views on Youtube.
• When ideating, the team emphasised the thought process of the audience .
• They produced a relevant video with a catchy song, appealing to a wide market.
• This turned into karaoke versions, posters, books, and more.
• After the campaign was released, there was a 21% decrease in railway accidents and near misses.

2. This campaign incited engagement, generating over 338,000 UGC photos in two weeks

Watch the video here (over 42k+ views). 

• TOMS’ One Day Without Shoes Campaign promised that for every photo without shoes posted on Instagram with their hashtag, they will sponsor a pair of shoes for a child in need.
• The premise is simple, easy to do, and builds towards a greater purpose.
• By participating in the campaign, people feel like they contributed to a good cause.
• This resulted in more brand exposure for TOMS’.
• The participation of big stars and brands also helped spread the word.

3. This challenge-based campaign took a viral trend and turned it into something better

Watch the video here of the Ice bucket challenge with Bill Gates - you’ll find plenty of others with a simple search on YouTube (over 37+ million views). 

• Good chance you won’t forget how big the ice bucket challenge was (and the amazing viral success and eyeballs it gained).
• The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge took the existing ice bucket challenge and made it into a fundraising tool .
• People who did the challenge were tasked to nominate others to help raise money for research towards ALS.
• The ice bucket challenge campaign was literally shared everywhere (like you couldn’t stop seeing it at the time), across different social media channels, gaining impressive traction.
• The campaign made waves in over 150 countries, raising $220 million.
• Hashtags and celebrity endorsements propelled the growth of the campaign.

4. Volvo launched a video that gained over 90 million views

Watch the video here (over 116+ million views).

• Volvo Trucks decided to make an ad that would appeal beyond their usual audience, and it worked.
• They used to focus primarily on physical marketing materials, and this was their way of making a name in the digital space.
• The video included a stunt done by a famous action star, sparking spoofs and challenges.
• Themes in the video were 100% relevant to their target market and were designed to be entertaining for others.

5. This Dove video ad hit over 100 million views a month after it was released

Watch the video here (over 70+ million views).

• Dove’s “Real Beauty Sketches” experienced insane view counts across multiple platforms and media outlets, and even became one of the most-watched video ads of all time .
• The video was made available in over 30 languages and sparked a series on Youtube.
• By appealing to the beauty pain points that women may experience, the campaign became an encouraging and empowering tool.
• Because of its messaging, women naturally shared it with other women, inciting virality.
• To maintain the distribution, Dove did a seeding strategy by launching in key markets before releasing the video worldwide.

6. The Range Rover video which has managed to gain over 100 million views

Watch the video here (over 100+ million views).

• The Range Rover Evoque's marketing campaign in London successfully tackled a notorious speed bump by showcasing the car's capabilities. 
• It went viral on social media platforms, resulting in millions of views, which increased brand awareness.
• The team behind the campaign addressed a common problem faced by drivers and connected with the audience emotionally, which made the campaign effective.

7. This campaign was the most popular ad in 2015

Watch the video here (credit: Droga5)

• Google’s Furever Friends campaign was shared over 6 million times across different social media channels.
• These numbers actually make it the most shared video ad of all time.
• The ad tapped into the affection and nostalgia people would generally feel for pets.
• This incited strong feelings of warmth and investment from the viewers, leading to them sharing the video.

8. The Old Spice deodorant commercial which drove an increase of over 100% in sales

Watch the video here (over 60+ million views)

• Ah yes, who could forget the infamous Old Spice ad which was seen all over the net back in 2010 - "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" campaign. - it was designed to be multi-platform, incorporating TV ads, social media, and a dedicated website. Almost like I couldn't escape seeing it everywhere at one stage.
• The company established a unique brand voice by creating a humorous and irreverent character that connected with their market.
• They had a team respond to comments and create personalised videos during the campaign to increase user engagement.
• When the video went viral, followers were further encouraged to participate in user-generated content and social sharing.
• Overall, the strategies leaned into the importance of data-driven marketing.

9. The "Love Has No Labels" video focused on breaking biases and promoting gender acceptance

Watch the video here (over 60+ million views).

• The "Love Has No Labels" campaign celebrates diversity and inclusion, highlighting the beauty and uniqueness of all individuals, regardless of their race, gender, age, religion, or sexuality.
• Upworthy leveraged social media to reach a wider audience, using hashtags and images to encourage user engagement and sharing.
• The video fostered an emotional connection with the audience, showing people and their loved ones embracing each other in public, which elicits feelings of love, acceptance, and unity.
• This drove millions of people to the campaign website, increasing the reach across all channels.
• Media support eventually resulted in over $6 million in coverage.

10. The "World's Toughest Job" campaign got over 6 million views within two days

Watch the video here (credit: Mullenlowe)

• The "World's Toughest Job" campaign featured a fake job interview for a position that requires standing for 135 hours straight, working on holidays, and having no breaks.
• There was then a revelation that this job perfectly fit mothers everywhere.
• They utilised a hashtag, #worldstoughestjob, encouraging people to share their stories and appreciation for their moms.
• Measuring the success of the campaign as two-fold: it positively impacted the brand's perception and sales, as well as the cultural conversation around Mother's Day and motherhood.
• In the end, the campaign generated over 25 million views, millions of social media engagements, and significant media coverage and awards.

11. This toilet deodorant campaign went viral with over 40 million views and counting

Watch the video here (over 44+ million views)

• Poo Pouri released a video advertisement titled "Girls Don't Poop", which quickly gained the attention of people on the internet.
• It features a woman in a fancy bathroom explaining the benefits of using Poo-Pourri - hilarious yet relatable.
• The campaign’s humour and real messaging helped it gain widespread popularity.
• Its approach departed from traditional advertising techniques and relied on social media for attention.

12. Budweiser promoted responsible drinking and went viral because of it

Watch the video here (over 2+ million views).

• The Budweiser "Don't Drink and Drive" ad featured an emotional storyline that resonated with viewers and encouraged them to make safer choices.
• It established the heartfelt relationship between pet and owner and used this relatability to convey their message effectively.
• The ad received widespread recognition and has won multiple awards with the fact is resonated with large audiences (and a super important message to push).
• Its messaging also helped Budweiser establish be seen in the market as a socially responsible brand, helping reinforce strong brand credibility.
• This shows us how effective marketing can be used to promote social responsibility and make a positive impact on society, all while scaling the brand name.

13. This Super Bowl ad helped boost a cat food brand

Watch the video here (over 4+ million views).

• "Dear Kitten" is a video ad campaign created by Friskies to promote their cat food products, which they released during the Super Bowl.
• It features a series of videos with an older cat giving advice to a new kitten in the house, using humour and relatable situations to engage its audience.
• Beyond the Super Bowl, the ad was promoted through social media and online advertising, making it accessible to a wide audience.
• This helped Friskies establish a strong brand identity and increase sales of their cat food products.
• The success of the campaign shows the importance of understanding the target market and using creative and innovative marketing techniques to connect with them.

14. Volkswagen's "The Force" ad banked on pop culture to gain traction

Watch the video in link below (credit: Time.com)

• Volkswagen's "The Force" ad, which also aired during the Super Bowl, is widely considered one of the most successful ads in Super Bowl history.
• With almost 100 million views, it’s also the most shared Super Bowl ad to this day.
• The ad's use of nostalgia and pop culture references helped it connect with its target audience on a deeper level.
• As released during a time when Volkswagen was facing controversy, the ad helped improve its image and restore positive marketing.

Social Media & Hashtag Campaigns - TikTok, Facebook & Instagram 

15. this campaign by coca-cola helped pull in millions of dollars over the past decade.

(image credit: Coca-Cola Company )

• One of my personal favourite campaigns from Coca-Cola, which anyone reading this would know quite well, is the "Share a coke" campaign .
• It was certainly one of the more highly successful marketing campaigns Coca-Cola has run (and they've done plenty of them over the years) that aimed to make the brand more relatable and shareable - which ultimately helped them to an increase in sales.
• It used personalisation to engage its audience at scale, which is great for audiences to feel connected more with Coca-Cola.
• The team behind the campaign had to run through thousands of ideas in order to come to their catchphrase, “Share a Coke with…”
• This happened during a time when most other brands were still banking on traditional marketing.
• The campaign encouraged user-generated content and social sharing, which helped it go viral and reach a wider audience.

16. The “Do Us a Flavor” campaign in just 10 months saw over 20 million page visits per week

( image credit )

• Frito-Lay Lay’s was an already popular brand, but they wanted to create buzz about their flavour line-up.
• They came up with a campaign, “Do Us a Flavor”, which is a contest primarily targeting millennials.
• The goal is to have contestants submit ideas for new Lay’s flavours.
• An app was created to increase access to interested participants, where they could also see mock-ups of their proposed flavour.
• In the end, almost 4 million flavours were submitted, and enthusiasm for the brand was reignited.

17. Purina, a pet food company, used a hashtag to reach almost 40 million people on Twitter

(Image credit: Shorty Awards )

• The Purina #PetsAtWork campaign won the Best in Pets Social Media Campaign at the 6th Shorty Awards.
• The program aims to encourage companies to allow pets in the workplace, based on the idea that pets in the workplace can improve employee well-being and productivity.
• Purina conducted research to support this claim and created a toolkit for companies to help them implement a pets-at-work policy.
• User-generated content ran this campaign, including photos and stories of pets in the workplace.
• As a result, the Purina Pets at Work program has been adopted by many companies worldwide, with over 5,000 companies participating.

18. An organic interaction inspired this hashtag campaign crafted by Audi

( Image credit )

• Audi's hashtag campaign on Twitter, called #WantAnR8, started when a user wouldn’t stop tweeting about wanting an R8.
• After a while, Audi decided to give her a chance to drive an R8 for one weekend, then went on to use the hashtag she started as an entire campaign.
• The hashtag quickly became popular on Twitter, with celebrities and influencers joining in on the conversation.
• It generated over 75,000 tweets and over 100 million impressions, and Audi's Twitter following grew by over 700% during the campaign.
• This ended up birthing a sequel campaign, #WantAnRS5

19. This UGC campaign by Red Bull is 100% organic and drew up thousands of posts - one of the first UGC successes

(Image credit: Redbull )

• The Red Bull #PutACanonOnIt campaign won the Best Use of Instagram at the 7th Shorty Awards.
• It encouraged users to share creative photos featuring their Red Bull on top of vehicles.
• This spiralled and drew users to put cans on top of places, people, and even pets.
• Overall, the #PutACanonOnIt campaign is an example of how a brand can use social media to engage with its audience and increase brand awareness through user-generated content.

20. This campaign by Chipotle was a huge hit among the Gen Z market

( Image credit & video ) 

• Chipotle’s "Lid Flip Challenge” encouraged users to upload videos of themselves flipping their Chipotle bowl lids onto their bowls.
• The challenge was started by a Chipotle employee, who was really good at assembling the bowls.
• This helped increase sales, as participants had to use an actual Chipotle bowl.
• TikTok saw over 100,000 videos use the hashtag within one week.
• Engagement with younger customers and positive brand recall were boosted after the campaign.

21. Peloton leaned on social impact to gain greater brand awareness

(image credit: Pelobuddy )

• Peloton’s marketing approach focuses on building a strong community of users who feel connected to each other and the company's values.
• They promote their products as a way to achieve fitness and health goals, while emphasising the social and emotional benefits of working out with others.
• The company has also launched various social impact initiatives, such as “The Comeback ,” where people can nominate someone they think deserves a free bike.
• Partnerships with charitable organisations and fundraising events also helped further these initiatives.
• This approach helped Peloton build a loyal customer base and establish a strong brand identity as a responsible and community-oriented company.

22. This hashtag campaign by Apple ended up on over 10,000 billboards across the world

(image credit: Adweek )

• The #ShotOniPhone campaign was released by Apple to showcase the iPhone's camera capabilities.
• Apple selected the best photos and videos from the hashtag and featured them on their website, billboards, and even in-store displays.
• This led to a huge success, with millions of people using the hashtag to showcase their photography skills.
• In the process, Apple was able to establish a reputation for producing high-quality cameras on their iPhones.
• The campaign also helped create a community of iPhone users, further building their brand loyalty.

23. The e.l.f Cosmetics hashtag challenge got over 9 billion views on videos in 6 days

(Image credit: TikTok)

• e.l.f. Cosmetics partnered with TikTok creators to create a successful marketing campaign, #TikTokGGT.
• It aimed to build brand awareness and reach a younger demographic, featuring music, dancing, and creative use of e.l.f. Cosmetics products.
• Their videos went viral, and the company gained millions of views and new followers on TikTok.
• It was a big success in terms of view counts due to the authenticity and creativity of the TikTok creators, who were able to showcase the products in a fun and engaging way.

Related reading: I talk about the effectiveness of creators as part of your TikTok growth strategy when it comes to accelerating growth.

24. ASUS saw over 80,000 UGC submissions through their TikTok hashtag

(Image source: TikTok)

• ASUS came out with a targeted TikTok campaign to reach gamers and promote their ROG gaming laptop, called #CreateWithASUS.
• The videos were created by TikTok creators who were gamers themselves and had large followings within the gaming community, amassing over 220 million views.
• Delivery was highly targeted, with the company using data analysis to identify potential customers and deliver the videos to them.
• The authenticity and expertise of the creators made this ASUS campaign a success, as they were able to showcase the features of the laptop in a way that resonated with gamers.
• This helped ASUS establish a reputation for producing high-quality gaming laptops.

25. Grammarly reached over 5 million people on Facebook and Youtube

Watch video here .

• Grammarly’s “Write the Future” campaign used a storytelling approach to generate brand awareness.
• The videos are designed to appeal to a large audience, showcasing customer archetypes and the impact Grammarly had on their lives.
• It was successful, reaching over 5 million people and achieving a lower CPM and higher engagement rate than direct response campaigns.
• Video-view rate increased by 33%, and cost-wise, they landed on $0.02 video views, and $0.59 video completes, with a reasonable CPC of $1.87.

26. This campaign saw over 4 billion image impressions within the first three months

(Image credit: Effie )

• Always came up with the #LikeAGirl campaign to challenge gender stereotypes and inspire girls to stay confident.
• It started with an ad that highlighted the negative stereotypes associated with doing something "like a girl" and how these stereotypes can affect a girl's self-esteem.
• This went viral, sparking a global conversation about gender stereotypes.
• The company expanded the campaign with the social media hashtag #LikeAGirl and encouraged people to share their stories and pictures using the hashtag.
• They also partnered with organisations like TED and Girls Scouts of the USA to amplify the message of the campaign.

27. Under Armour saw over 4 million views in 8 days

(Image credit: from article)

• Under Armour launched its #IWillWhatIWant campaign , which targeted women and aimed to challenge traditional notions of femininity and beauty in sports.
• The campaign showcased female athletes who had overcome obstacles to achieve success in their respective fields, such as Misty Copeland and Lindsey Vonn.
• They also had a digital component with a website that allowed users to create inspirational messages using the hashtag.
• Their sales increased by 28% in the quarter following the campaign's launch, leading to an increase in brand awareness and affinity.
• As a plus, its success led to the expansion of Under Armour's product line for women and the inclusion of more female athletes in its marketing campaigns.

28. KFC’s campaign was released across multiple channels, resulting in an almost 20% increase in sales

• The #UnboringMorning campaign of KFC came out in Singapore, aiming to promote its breakfast offerings and attract a younger audience.
• While the ad was released in traditional media like television, the brand leveraged social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to reach its target audience and encourage engagement with the campaign.
• The campaign also included interactive elements such as a social media contest that encouraged users to share their own "unboring" morning routines for a chance to win prizes.
• They partnered with local influencers to create buzz around the campaign and generate more attention.
• Search activity increased by 18% in the first month of the campaign, significantly increasing brand awareness and affinity.

29. Calvin Klein, the clothing giant, became even more iconic after it launched its social media campaign

• Calvin Klein had the #mycalvins campaign , featuring celebrities Justin Bieber, Kendall Jenner, and other young stars, to target millennials.
• The ads featured the stars and other well-known internet personalities in their underwear, using their massive social media following to drive engagement and shares.
• This helped the company increase their followers by millions across all social media channels.
• The brand used the campaign to move away from its previous branding, which was seen as too conservative and not targeting younger consumers.
• Through this move, Calvin Klein became a brand perceived as current and cool.

30. Adidas, the footwear and sportswear clothing behemoth, made personalised videos for over 30,000 athletes 

• Adidas' "Here to Create Legend" campaign utilised cutting-edge technology to personalise content for each runner joining the Boston Marathon.
• It was based on the idea that young people want to create their own legacies rather than just follow in the footsteps of others.
• The company used data to understand the interests and preferences of its target audience and created content that resonated with them.
• This meant utilising a mix of content formats, including video, social media, and experiential activations.
• Personalised efforts made the athletes feel seen and important, which led to a sales spike of over 1,000% post-marathon season.

31. This Disney campaign raised millions of dollars for charity

(Image credit: Disney )

• The #ShareYourEars campaign was run by Disney and involved asking people to take photos of themselves wearing Mickey Mouse ears and sharing them on social media.
• Disney committed to donating $5 to Make-A-Wish Foundation for every photo shared, up to a total of $2 million.
• It was timed to coincide with the holiday season. Good timing for a campaign like this when audiences/people in general are in a ‘giving’/charitable state of mind.
• Use of user-generated content (UGC) also helped to build a sense of ‘momentum’, inclusiveness and community, which in turn helped encourage more every day people to get involved in some way.
• In the end, so many people joined in that Disney saw itself making a profit of $150,000 because of how many ears were sold during the campaign.

32. Zoom banked on community to build its audience (and paid off big time)

(image credit: from article)

• Zoom's success during the COVID-19 pandemic can be attributed to its leveraging user-generated content to build engagement and credibility with its audience.
• They used humour and light-hearted content to connect with their audience and show they understood the challenges of working from home.
• The company also responded to customer feedback and complaints on social media, demonstrating its commitment to customer service.
• This social media strategy helped to drive brand awareness and adoption.
• Zoom's success on social media shows the importance of staying agile and responsive during times of crisis and how providing value to customers can help build brand loyalty and trust.

Viral & UGC Competitions 

33. gopro, an established action camera brand, launched a contest with a million-dollar prize.

• GoPro came out with the Million Dollar Challenge , which asked users of the new HERO8 Black + MAX to come out with highlight reels of their shots.
• The contest was promoted primarily through social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, with the use of influencers helping to increase reach and engagement.
• There was a big focus on UGC, which in turn helped build a thriving and engaging community for GoPro.
• In total, the company got over 40,000 videos amounting to over 350 hours of reel time.
• As a plus, the contest provided valuable insights into consumer behaviour and preferences by analysing the data collected.

34. This viral contest leaderboard generated over 7,000 leads

(Image credit: Vyper)

• Vyper's viral leaderboard contest is an effective marketing tool for increasing engagement and driving user-generated content.
• It incentivised participants to share the contest with their friends and followers, which helped increase the reach and impact of the campaign.
• The company platform makes it easy to track and measure the results of the contest, which helped their marketers understand what was working and make adjustments as needed.
• The turnout also saw 8,000 new email sign-ups as new people became interested in the brand through their campaign.

35. IKEA used targeted UGC to increase conversion by 3x

Watch video here . 

• IKEA invited customers to submit photos of their homes , and the company selected some of the best ones to feature in a print advertisement. 
• As a result, the campaign captured IKEA's products in real-life situations and helped build a sense of community and connection with its customers.
• It also helped create a more diverse and inclusive representation of IKEA's customer base.
• The UGC element helped drive social media engagement, as people shared their photos and encouraged others to participate.
• Overall they got an epic result where they saw a 27% increase in reach and 3x increase in conversion.

36. FlySafair went from inception to a famous carrier in four years

(Image credit: Viral Sweep)

• FlySafair, a low-cost South African airline , used a social media contest to make a name for itself.
• They created a contest that asked people to submit photos of their pets, and the winner received a free flight for themselves and their pets. 
• Along the way, FlySafair was responsive to customer feedback and complaints on social media, which helped demonstrate its commitment to customer service.
• The prize was attractive and aligned with the airline's brand personality, which helped to strengthen its overall image.
• Further, the contest fostered a sense of community among participants who shared their photos and engaged with the airline on social media.

37. Adore Me, a lingerie company, ran a contest to gain market share

(Image credit: Gleam.io)

• Adore Me created a giveaway that asked people to follow them on social media and share the contest with their friends for a chance to win a year's worth of free lingerie. 
• Leaning into the sharing aspect of the contest helped increase the brand's reach and exposure.
• The prize promoted the brand's product offerings, which added to the contest's appeal - they’re offering things customers won’t get anywhere else.
• Propping up the brand’s items helped increase sales by driving traffic to the website and encouraging people to purchase.
• Their social media strategy also utilised Pinterest, with product images as the focal point.

38. 40,000+ followers were added to this eCommerce store’s audience after they ran a giveaway (one of my favs)

• The Instagram giveaway of Coconut Bowls was also used to collect over 40,000 email addresses and drive sales -  and guess what!? It only cost them $1,000 to run the campaign (wow!)
• They capitalised on FOMO messaging, partnering with influencers to get the word out.
• Because the campaign was set up to generate UGC, they saw over 15,000 posts come up promoting their brand within 4 weeks.

39. This music producer capitalised on his connections to run a viral campaign

(Image credit: Upviral)

• Gabe Schillinger is a hip-hop engineer who has worked with Snoop Dogg.
• By banking on this connection to promote his campaign, he was able to set up a collaboration with Snoop Dogg as a prize.
• He ran a referral program to incentivise customers with a chance to win this on top of other rewards.
• Gamifying the program, people understood that they could win more if they did more - so they did.
• Along the way, he was even able to sell out a product he had propped up within minutes, just from the traction he got through this contest.

40. Mailchimp used company swag to increase brand recognition

(Image credit: Viral Loops)

• Mailchimp launched a series of giveaways , each with a unique theme and a grand prize of company merch.
• They used a variety of promotional channels, including social media, email, and influencer partnerships, to reach a wider audience.
• The company created a sense of urgency by limiting the time frame for entering the giveaways and promoting them heavily in the days leading up to the deadline.
• Centering on swag helped to create a sense of community among Mailchimp's customers and incentivised them to engage with the brand on a deeper level.
• It came to the point where the merch became collectibles, driving up value.

Marketing Focused 

41. this bank used social media influencers to help them gain over 3,000 new twitter followers.

(Image credit: article below)

• Axis Bank's marketing strategy focuses on "The Thought Factory, " which is a platform for innovation and creative thinking.
• They launched an event to which influencers were invited, which had a huge pool in their local market.
• Further, the messaging is centred around the idea of "Progress," which resonates with its target audience.
• The company backed this up with visual branding.
• Making sure that their action follows the message, they leaned hard on customer service, which has helped to build trust and loyalty among users.

42. Netflix used a TikTok filter to promote a new show

(Image credit: Neo Reach)

• Netflix came out with its own creative filter and hashtag to promote Cobra Kai.
• They identified and partnered with influencers who had a significant following and who would resonate with the show's target market.
• Going with a mix of macro and micro-influencers helped them reach a wider audience and create more engagement.
• This was a massive success, with #CobraKaiChop gaining over 4 billion views.
• As a plus, they helped foster a sense of community among show fans, which helped build loyalty and excitement.

43. American Standard, a bathroom brand, created a renovation campaign to promote their products

(Image credit: The Shelf)

• American Standard collaborated with micro-influencers who had a strong following in the DIY and home improvement niche, as well as home design and lifestyle bloggers.
• The campaign was centred around #MyAmericanStandardJourney, which aimed to emphasise the role of the brand in their home living.
• Before and after images and videos helped drive the hype and interest of the general public.
• They were allowed to experiment with various content formats, including blog posts, Instagram stories, and YouTube videos.
• This resulted in positive sentiment towards the brand, with many consumers expressing interest in purchasing the product after seeing the influencers' content.

44. Bacardi, a mojito company, used UGC to improve sales by 14%

(Image credit: Tribe Group)

• Bacardi, the spirits brand, leveraged organic marketing to promote their drinks as the product of choice.
• First, they teamed up with several influencers to create content promoting the #MojitoMoment.
• Then, they took the content tagged with the hashtag and scattered them across digital panels, which were located 15 minutes away from bars where their products were sold.
• This allowed them to subconsciously incite desire among passers-by and old consumers alike to participate AND get the drink.
• Overall, they generated over 1.5 million social media impressions and over 25,000 engagements.

45. This computer company partnered with influencers across Twitch, Youtube, and Twitter

• Nvidia made sure they were visible on the platforms where their target market was present.
• The influencers were chosen for their expertise in PC gaming and their influence over their respective gaming communities.
• Content included product reviews, gameplay footage, and live streams showcasing the company’s new graphics cards in action - things that their audience would want to watch in their free time.
• This helped Nvidia increase brand awareness and reach new audiences, particularly among PC gamers.
• From just partnering with 11 creators, they saw over 40 million impressions.

Referral Marketing

Related reading: if you’re looking to replicate similar success to these studies below from some of these household names, then make sure to check out my ultimate guide to the best referral marketing platforms that you need to look into. 

46. Tesla hit $1 trillion in value without spending a dollar on advertising

(Image credit: Referral Factory)

• Tesla's referral program shows the importance of creating a straightforward yet rewarding program.
• It was designed to incentivise customers to spread the word about Tesla and help the company grow its customer base.
• They kept rewards attractive, like free $1,000 credits, limited edition merchandise, and even a free Tesla Roadster for those who referred the most number of new customers.
• Customers loved the rewards, which caused them to share their experiences with their followers, increasing brand affinity even more.
• Though it cost the company a bit, it helped them achieve significant growth without spending money on traditional advertising.

47. Harry’s had over 100,000 interested customers before it even launched

(Image credit: harrysprelaunchreferral.com )

• Harry's ran its referral program using a viral loop pre-launch to get the word out.
• They gave out a free shave kit for every 5 referrals to keep the program attractive to customers.
• A lot of teasers were involved in solidifying the interest in the product.
• The referral program resulted in a significant increase in customer acquisition and sales for Harry's.
• Overall, participants had a higher customer lifetime value than non-participants.

Related reading: if you’re in eCommerce, you will like these eCommerce referral marketing examples from top brands, where you can get inspiration on how they communicate and grow their referral strategy. 

48. Dropbox saw almost 4,000% in growth in just over a year

(Image credit: Growsurf)

• Dropbox's referral program offered users free extra storage space in exchange for inviting their friends to join.
• Both the referrer and the referred user were incentivised, which helped encourage participation.
• They made it easy for users to track their referrals and see how much storage space they earned.
• It was largely because of this campaign that the company reached 100 million users in just five years.
• The success of Dropbox's referral program shows the power of word-of-mouth marketing.

49. PayPal literally gave out money (one of the first ever successful referral campaigns)

(Image credit: Flyy)

• PayPal’s referral program is considered as the first ‘famous’ (well-known within the tech startup scene) viral growth marketing campaign.
• Dropbox’s campaign was actually inspired by the success of PayPal in this case.
• The premise was simple: Give $20, get $20 - and the rest is history (as we all know, so many SaaS and eCommerce companies have double-sided referral programs).
• Because of the nature of the company, they utilised social proof to encourage people to join by highlighting the success of others who had already referred friends.
• The company’s focus on creating a positive user experience helped to retain users and drive repeat referrals.

50. Robinhood used referrals to hit 1 million users before it even launched

• Robinhood offered a referral program where customers get others to join the platform and receive a free share of stock.
• This was integrated into the onboarding process, making it easy for new users to invite their friends.
• They also kept the signup process short and simple to fit the short attention span of its market.
• Unlike others, Robinhood set a limit on the number of free shares each user could receive, creating a sense of exclusivity and urgency.
• The referral program's success helped Robinhood establish itself as a disruptor in the financial industry.

51. Uber gave free rides and bonuses for successful referrals

(Image credit: Smile.io)

• Uber’s referral program gave riders free rides in exchange for referring friends to the service, and it also gave drivers bonuses for referring new drivers.
• It was easy to use and promoted heavily within the app , making it simple for everyone involved.
• To make it more fun and engaging, users were able to personalise their referral code.
• The company ​​also used social proof, displaying the number of successful referrals in the app to encourage others to participate.
• This allowed Uber to acquire new customers at a low cost, which helped them grow rapidly.

⚡Frequently Asked Questions ⚡

Which are your favourite viral marketing case studies that are really worth reading and sharing with colleagues.

Well, as you can see, there are so many epic case studies and examples of brands that have achieved incredible results with virality. Some of the numbers are truly staggering. Pretty much all of them are worth reading and watching (I mean, that’s why I included them in this guide), but if I had to pick seven (7) of my favourites, they would have to be - Old Spice, Volvo Trucks (so good), Red Bull #putacanonit, Go Pro “Million Dollar Challenge”, Coconut Bowls, Harry’s, and of course, one of my favourite platforms and tools I love, Dropbox’s referral program (one of the most famous in the tech startup scene). If you can, try read/watch all these studies and take notes because there are a lot of learnings you’ll be able to pick out.

What are some of the key attributes and elements that go into a viral marketing campaign?

There are lots of advice out there around key elements that goes into making a viral campaign, and it’s also just as important to define what ‘viral’ is (expectation management is important here). The reality is, going viral into the millions is really tough (chances are really low), but you can still spark a level of virality that generates a good ROI and reach for your brand. Having worked on a few campaigns which haven’t gone ‘super viral’ (like the videos you see on YouTube like Volvo Trucks and Old Spice), you can still give yourself the best chance when going into campaign creation. So, whatever channel you’re working on or type of campaign, these are some of the key elements I believe that matter to focus on - First, follow a particular trend that’s happening (i.e. TikTok trends is a great example). Second, use your existing audience and relationship with influencers to generate that initial spark (i.e. a UGC social media comp and they engage/share with others to get involved who may not already be following you). Third, related to the above, ensure you have distribution channels in place, whether it be PR or larger influencers ready to share (again, need to create some sort of groundswell at the start). Fourth, have a great hook (e.g. maybe be somewhat controversial or have a reason for people wanting to read/engage/join the conversation - anything that taps into the emotional triggers of your target audience), and finally, make it super easy to share whatever it is you’re working on (i.e. if you’re driving people to a landing page, social share buttons should be obvious). There are plenty of other elements/variables that go into campaigns like this, but the above strategies/tactics I’ve seen work really well through clients/projects I’ve worked on and what I’ve seen/analysed from top brands.

What’s one of the top strategies you recommend for startups and eCommerce brands to consider to ‘go viral’?

One of my favourite strategies and initiatives I’ve done a few times now is by running viral competitions. You’ll see some of the examples I’ve mentioned above and the results some of them have achieved. Yes, even on a tighter budget, you can achieve pretty epic results similar to the brands/companies that ran great comps. You’ll see what I mean when you take a read through the studies. Although when you do read them, you’ll see the importance of having a good prize (which requires a budget) and using a platform like Gleam Viral Loops or Vyper (there are a few others as well). Additionally, depending on where you live/are located, you also do need to check jurisdiction laws around competitions. I’ve seen brands myself generate thousands of leads and even a decent number of customers (revenue) through these viral competitions. Highly recommend you check the studies out (and others you can find across the net) to get some inspiration that you can consider for your business/team.

For brands on a budget, what do you recommend are ‘viral’ based marketing initiatives that can generate sales and referrals?

In the above question, I mentioned that viral competitions are a great strategy for building up a huge list, awareness and drive sales, but there are some other low-cost initiatives that you should incorporate into your overall marketing strategy. First, make sure you have a referral program in place. The number of brands that I come across with no referral program in place astounds me, as there are plenty of cost-effective tools/solutions on the market. Even if it’s not performing, there’s always room for making optimisations and improvements. Second, in relation to competitions, is UGC social comps (which I mention more below in the next question). Third, do partner/collab campaigns with other related brands (that aren’t direct competitors). For example, you can do email campaigns through both your audiences to get exposure to new subscribers, as well as do social media collabs. Fourth, this strategy can add up if not careful, but I personally believe micro-influencers are really good for smaller brands on a budget. However, it can only work if you effectively measure the ROI from the engagement (i.e. use coupon codes, tracking links, etc.). Working with numerous brands, I’ve seen first-hand it can still work incredibly well, especially at scale when you grow. Plus, the benefits of awareness and sales is one thing, but it’s the accelerated trust building and content that can really pay off dividends for your business. Fifth and final strategy suggestion is getting good at creating engaging content, and then focus on building relationships for distribution. If you get good at this (and stay consistent), in no time, you’ll get the awareness and viral exposure you’re looking for. I’ve suggested five strong strategies here that have worked time and time again for myself and various clients I’ve worked with over the years. However, there are naturally plenty of others you’ll get exposed to - it all comes down to testing and experimenting but ensuring you measure it effectively to track ROI.

Do UGC campaigns on social platforms still work effectively for brands on a leaner budget?

The short answer is yes, UGC social comps and posts are a great way to build awareness as well as followers and, ultimately, drive sales of new customers. However, it’s becoming more of a challenge as social media platforms reduce/tighten their organic reach. A great strategy actually I’ve started to see a lot of brands do is co-branded/collab UGC competitions with other related (non-direct competitor) brands. It’s a win-win by cross-promoting audiences and getting that initial ‘boost’ of organic reach. Naturally, though, you’re always going to need some sort of budget (not just for the prize) to really get the wheels turning when it comes to getting awesome engagement that can increase your chances of getting huge numbers of entries. So for those on a budget, definitely look into UGC comp collabs on Instagram.

I'm here to help teach and provide value to all visitors from around the world about growth marketing. Let's become friends. Email me anytime. 😊

I use Plausible Analytics as my analytics tool as it's privacy friendly.

Having fun writing & doing marketing from Sydney, Australia. 💛 

It's Fun Doing Marketing | Owned by Growth Marketers Worldwide Pty Ltd

• Digital Marketing
• Facebook Marketing
• Instagram Marketing
• Ecommerce Marketing
• Content Marketing
• Data Science Certification
• Machine Learning
• Artificial Intelligence
• Data Analytics
• Graphic Design
• Adobe Illustrator
• Web Designing
• UX UI Design
• Interior Design
• Front End Development
• Back End Development Courses
• Business Analytics
• Entrepreneurship
• Supply Chain
• Financial Modeling
• Corporate Finance
• Project Finance
• Harvard University
• Stanford University
• Yale University
• Princeton University
• Duke University
• UC Berkeley
• Harvard University Executive Programs
• MIT Executive Programs
• Stanford University Executive Programs
• Oxford University Executive Programs
• Cambridge University Executive Programs
• Yale University Executive Programs
• Kellog Executive Programs
• CMU Executive Programs
• 45000+ Free Courses
• Free Certification Courses
• Free DigitalDefynd Certificate
• Free Harvard University Courses
• Free MIT Courses
• Free Excel Courses
• Free Google Courses
• Free Finance Courses
• Free Coding Courses
• Free Digital Marketing Courses

10 Incredible Viral Marketing Case Studies [2024]

Viral marketing is counted among the most successful strategies in the current marketing landscape, captivating viewers worldwide with its ability to amplify brand messaging through organic and explosive exposure. This collection of “10 Viral Marketing Case Studies” showcases various campaigns—from Old Spice’s humorous rebranding efforts to the profound social experiments of Heineken’s “Worlds Apart” campaign. Each case study is a testament to the innovative use of digital platforms, emotional engagement, and clever content creation that achieved tremendous reach and fostered deep, meaningful connections with consumers. Through these examples, we explore how brands like GoPro, KFC, etc., have successfully navigated the tests of standing out in a saturated market by deploying creative strategies that resonate on a global scale, leading to increased sales, enhanced brand loyalty, and in some cases, societal impact.

Related: Digital Marketing Case Studies

1. Old Spice: “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like”

Task or Conflict

Old Spice faced a significant branding challenge as perceptions of the brand were increasingly tied to older generations, limiting its appeal among younger consumers. The task was formidable: reposition Old Spice as a desirable and modern choice for personal grooming among the young generation.

Old Spice responded to this challenge by launching the “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign, featuring the charismatic Isaiah Mustafa. This campaign was designed to capture attention through high-energy, humorous monologues that transitioned swiftly between surreal and exotic locales, emphasizing the fantastical effects of using Old Spice products. The campaign utilized a unique blend of humor, sex appeal, and a rapid-fire delivery of dialogue that made it stand out in the media landscape.

Overall Impact

• Sales Increase: Old Spice saw a remarkable 125% increase in product sales following the campaign.
• Social Media Growth: There was a significant spike in social media followers, particularly on Twitter and YouTube, where the videos accumulated millions of views.

Key Learnings

• Humor Works: Effectively using humor can engage a younger audience and refresh a brand’s image.
• Direct Engagement: Speaking directly to the audience can create a personal connection that enhances message retention.

2. Dove: “Real Beauty Sketches”

Dove aimed to challenge and transform the conventional standards of beauty imposed by the beauty industry, which often glorified unrealistic and narrow ideals. The brand faced the critical task of reinforcing its ongoing commitment to its “Real Beauty” campaign, which seeks to celebrate diverse and natural beauty across all women.

Dove addressed this challenge through the innovative “Real Beauty Sketches” campaign. The initiative involved a forensic artist who drew two portraits of women without ever seeing them—first based on their own descriptions and then dependent on a stranger’s description. This poignant approach highlighted the discrepancy between self-perception and external perceptions, revealing that women often have a harsher view of their appearance than is warranted.

• Viral Sensation: The campaign video quickly became one of the most viewed advertisements on YouTube, garnering widespread attention.
• Global Conversation: It sparked global conversations about beauty standards and self-esteem, reinforcing Dove’s position as a thought leader in beauty positivity.
• Emotional Engagement: Leveraging emotional storytelling can powerfully resonate with audiences, driving message impact and sharing.
• Authentic Content: Campaigns that reflect genuine and relatable experiences can enhance brand credibility and audience connection.

3. ALS Association: “Ice Bucket Challenge”

The ALS Association faced a significant challenge in raising awareness and funds for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive neurodegenerative disease. ALS was relatively unknown to the broader public, and the organization needed a creative strategy to draw widespread attention and inspire donations to support research and patient care.

To tackle this challenge, the ALS Association launched the “Ice Bucket Challenge,” a campaign hinged on social media’s viral potential. Partakers were filmed pouring ice-cold water on them and then challenging friends to do it or donate to the ALS cause. This initiative not only aimed to simulate the sensation of the disease, which affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, but also used a peer-pressure element creatively to spread the activity virally.

• Awareness Boost: Significantly increased global awareness of ALS, with numerous celebrities and millions of individuals participating.
• Research Advancements: Funds raised directly contributed to research breakthroughs, including the discovery of a new ALS gene.
• Celebrity Involvement: Leveraging celebrity participation can amplify reach and impact.
• Social Good: Campaigns tied to social causes can generate substantial public support and meaningful outcomes.

Related: Weird Marketing Strategies that Worked

4. Blendtec: “Will It Blend?”

Blendtec faced the challenge of demonstrating the strength and durability of their blenders in a market crowded with competing products. The company needed an innovative marketing strategy to showcase the superior performance of its blenders.

Blendtec met this challenge head-on by creating the “Will It Blend?” video series. Tom Dickson, the company’s founder, starred in these quirky and captivating videos, blending everything from marbles to smartphones to show the power of Blendtec blenders. Its humorous and sometimes shocking visual content drove the campaign’s success.

• Sales Increase: The campaign led to an incredible 700% increase in sales.
• Media Coverage: Attracted extensive media coverage, further amplifying the brand’s message.
• Product Demonstration: Creative and extreme product demonstrations can effectively highlight product quality and durability.
• Viral Potential: Content with shock value and humor has high viral potential.

5. Burger King: “Subservient Chicken”

Burger King sought to differentiate its brand in the highly competitive fast-food market by reinforcing its ‘Have it Your Way’ brand philosophy. The test was to create a marketing campaign that would highlight this customer-centric message and engage consumers in an innovative and memorable way.

Burger King introduced the “Subservient Chicken” campaign, featuring a website where consumers could interact with a man in a chicken suit who would perform actions based on user commands. This bizarre yet intriguing setup was designed to emphasize customer choice and control, mirroring the brand’s promise that customers could have their meals exactly how they wanted them. The campaign combined humor, interactivity, and a slight edge of surrealism, engaging consumers by giving them direct control over the content.

• Sales Growth: Contributed to a noticeable increase in Burger King’s sales.
• Brand Engagement: Enhanced consumer engagement and reinforced Burger King’s brand identity as fun and customer-focused.
• Alignment with Brand Message: Creative campaigns that align closely with the brand message resonate more with audiences.
• Innovative Approaches: Employing innovative and slightly unconventional approaches can set a brand apart in a crowded market.

6. KFC: “FCK” Apology Ad

In 2018, KFC faced a significant crisis in the UK when supply chain issues led to a chicken shortage, forcing the closure of hundreds of its restaurants. This disruption not only risked tarnishing the brand’s reputation but also disappointed countless customers expecting their favorite meals.

KFC addressed this crisis head-on with a bold and clever print ad. The ad featured a KFC chicken bucket with its letters rearranged to “FCK” on the front, humorously playing on a swear word, with an apology note below it. This straightforward, humorous approach acknowledged the mistake directly, showcasing the brand’s humility and human side.

• Media Praise: Received widespread acclaim across media for its clever approach to crisis management.
• Customer Loyalty: Enhanced brand loyalty through transparent and relatable communication.
• Crisis Humor: Using humor in a crisis can defuse tension and humanize a brand.
• Customer-Centric Approach: Showing understanding and responsibility towards customer inconveniences builds trust and loyalty.

7. Netflix: “Spoiler Billboards”

Netflix aimed to promote its vast array of series in a way that sparked curiosity and engagement among potential new subscribers and existing users in France.

Netflix creatively launched a campaign featuring billboards with spoilers from popular TV series and movies available on its platform. The idea was to intrigue those who saw the billboards and motivate them to watch the series on Netflix to avoid spoilers in the future. This campaign played on the fear of missing out (FOMO) and utilized the element of surprise to grab attention and create buzz.

• Subscription Boost: Contributed to an increase in new subscriptions in the French market.
• Social Media Buzz: Generated extensive buzz and discussion on social media platforms.
• Leveraging FOMO: Effectively using FOMO can drive people to take immediate action.
• Engagement Through Curiosity: Provoking curiosity can lead to increased engagement with a brand’s offerings.

Related: How can data engineering be used in Marketing?

8. Heineken: “Worlds Apart”

In a polarized world, Heineken sought to position itself as a brand that promotes open conversations and brings people together, despite their differences.

Heineken launched the “Worlds Apart” campaign, a social experiment that paired strangers with opposing views on various social and political issues to work together on a task. After the task, their differing opinions were revealed, and they were given the option to discuss their differences over a Heineken.

• Social Impact: Sparked conversations about the importance of dialogue and understanding.
• Brand Perception: Enhanced Heineken’s image as a socially conscious and unifying brand.
• Emotional Connection: Creating emotional connections through storytelling can significantly enhance brand image.
• Promoting Unity: Campaigns that promote unity and understanding can foster positive brand associations and customer loyalty.

9. GoPro: “Fireman Saves Kitten”

GoPro, known for its action cameras, needed to showcase its products’ versatility and emotional impact beyond just extreme sports usage. The brand aimed to reach a broader audience by demonstrating that GoPro cameras could capture profound, heartwarming moments in everyday life.

GoPro capitalized on user-generated content for an emotional viral marketing campaign. The company shared a video called “Fireman Saves Kitten,” which featured footage from a firefighter’s GoPro helmet cam. The video showed the firefighter rescuing an unconscious kitten from a smoke-filled house and subsequently reviving it. This touching rescue was a showcase of heroism and highlighted the GoPro camera’s ability to capture intimate, first-person perspectives of real-life heroes at work.

• Brand Image Enhancement: Enhanced GoPro’s brand image by associating it with positive, emotional storytelling.
• Increased Product Interest: Sparked interest in GoPro cameras from consumers outside the traditional sports and adventure niche.
• Emotional Storytelling: Leveraging emotional storytelling in marketing can create a strong connection with audiences, driving engagement and brand loyalty.
• Versatility of Product Use: Demonstrating the versatility of a product in various scenarios can broaden its appeal and market reach.

10. IKEA: “Bookbook”

IKEA aimed to promote its annual catalog in a way that would stand out in the digital age, where traditional print media often gets overlooked.

IKEA created a tongue-in-cheek promotional video titled “Bookbook,” parodying Apple product launches. The video treated the IKEA catalog as a revolutionary technological innovation, highlighting its “features” like eternal battery life and tactile touch technology—cleverly alluding to the physical pages of the catalog. This humorous approach showcased the catalog’s content and played on the tech obsession prevalent in contemporary culture.

• Media Coverage: Received extensive media coverage for its creative approach to traditional advertising.
• Catalog Interest: Increased interest and anticipation for the annual IKEA catalog release.
• Humor in Marketing: Effectively using humor can make traditional products appealing in the digital era.
• Engagement Through Innovation: Innovative approaches to presenting traditional media can rejuvenate interest and engagement.

Related: How can you switch careers from Technology Marketing?

Closing Thoughts

As demonstrated by these ten case studies, the power of viral marketing lies in its reach and remarkable ability to engage and connect with audiences personally and emotionally. These campaigns highlight the creativity and strategic thinking necessary to cut through the noise of the digital age. As we reflect on these diverse examples, it becomes clear that the most successful viral campaigns understand and leverage human emotions effectively, aligning brand values with the consumer’s experience.

• 10 Ways AI Is Being Used in Instrumentation [2024]
• 10 Ways AI Is Being Used in Speakers [2024]

Team DigitalDefynd

We help you find the best courses, certifications, and tutorials online. Hundreds of experts come together to handpick these recommendations based on decades of collective experience. So far we have served 4 Million+ satisfied learners and counting.

Role of Digital Transformation in Marketing Leadership [2024]

How Can Creating a Course Lead to Marketing for Your Business? [2024]

Career in Marketing vs. Cybersecurity: Which Is Better? [2024

7 Mistakes That Every CMO Should Avoid [2024]

12 CDO KPIs That Every Digital Officer Should Know [2024]

Building a Brand as a Marketing Leader [2024]

Viral Marketing Case Study: Stanley’s TikTok Marketing Triumph

Stanley tumbler viral marketing case study.

In a world where social media can turn a single moment into a global conversation, the power of viral content in shaping brand perception is undeniable. The Stanley Tumbler viral moment was seen when a TikTok video by @danimarielttering captured a remarkable event: her car caught fire, and amidst the devastation, a Stanley tumbler emerged unscathed. Showcasing the product’s durability, the surprising survival story set the stage for an exemplary response from Stanley and produced social media brand success. Exploring the strategic nuances of Stanley’s reaction and drawing parallels with the viral Ocean Spray incident, let’s find key lessons for marketing directors and social media managers, serving as a real-life viral marketing case study.

Leveraging Viral Content

Achieving over 3.1 million views, 1.1 million likes, 102,000 comments, and 52,000 shares, the TikTok video by @danimarielttering quickly captured the internet’s attention. Its extraordinary reach is a testament to the power of viral content in today’s digital landscape. Skyrocketing Stanley’s visibility, the incident highlighted the potential of social media as a platform for organic brand promotion. Similarly, the Ocean Spray TikTok case , where a simple video of a man skateboarding and drinking cranberry juice went viral, demonstrates how unplanned moments can become pivotal marketing opportunities. Both cases underscore the importance of being prepared to leverage unexpected opportunities to amplify brand messaging and connect with a broader audience.

@danimarielettering Thirsty after you catch on fire? @Stanley 1913 is like no problem i gotchu #fyp #carfire #accident #stanleycup ♬ original sound – Danielle

How to Leverage Viral Marketing Moments

Recognizing the unique opportunity presented by @danimarielttering’s video, they quickly reached out with a gesture that was both generous and astute: offering to replace her car. Going beyond standard corporate communication, this move showcased Stanley’s commitment to customer satisfaction and its product’s reliability. It also highlighted the importance of timely and empathetic responses in today’s fast-paced digital world, where brands are expected to engage with their audience in real time. Enhancing brand reputation and setting a new standard for customer engagement, such responsiveness demonstrates how brands can effectively use digital platforms to connect with audiences and build lasting relationships.

Empathy and Authenticity in Viral Marketing

A masterclass in empathetic and authentic brand messaging was displayed by Stanley’s response to the viral incident. By offering to replace the woman’s car, they not only acknowledged the customer’s ordeal but also reinforced confidence in the product’s durability. Deeply resonating with the audience, this human-centric approach reflected genuine care and empathy, qualities highly valued by consumers. In today’s market, where customers increasingly look for brands that align with their values and demonstrate social responsibility, such gestures of goodwill can significantly enhance brand loyalty and trust. Contrasting with traditional marketing tactics, the approach focuses on building a genuine connection with the audience and showcasing the brand’s values in action.

Leveraging User-Generated Content for Authentic Viral Marketing

Highlighted by the incident is the power of user-generated content as a marketing tool. Stanley’s strategic use of @danimarielttering’s experience to showcase their product’s durability is a prime example of how brands can leverage real customer stories to authenticate its claims. Validating the brand’s messaging and fostering a sense of community and customer involvement, the approach is crucial for building brand loyalty in the digital age. Providing a level of authenticity that cannot be achieved through traditional advertising, user-generated content comes directly from the experiences of real customers. Particularly effective on social media platforms, this form of content is highly valued for its authenticity and relatability.

The Ripple Effect of Viral Marketing

Significantly boosted by the viral incident was Stanley’s brand awareness, showcasing the expansive reach and impact of viral marketing. The surge in engagement following its response not only increased the brand’s visibility but also demonstrated the potential of viral moments to enhance a brand’s market presence. Serving as a powerful tool in the digital marketing arsenal, the ripple effect allows brands to reach new audiences and gain exposure in a way that traditional marketing methods cannot match. Recognizing these opportunities and responding in a way that aligns with the brand’s values and resonates with the audience is key.

Social Media Crisis Management

Stanley’s handling of the situation is a prime example of effective crisis management and opportunity seizure. Turning a potentially negative situation into a positive narrative, it not only mitigated any potential damage but also used the opportunity to reinforce the brand’s image. Agility and creativity in crisis management are highlighted by the strategic response, demonstrating how brands can use unexpected situations. Further engaging with the community, the CEO of Stanley created a stitched response on TikTok, showcasing effective leadership and a commitment to open communication.

@stanleybrand #stitch with @Danielle Stanley has your back ❤️ ♬ original sound – Stanley 1913

Brand Responsiveness in Viral Marketing

Likely to have a lasting impact on Stanley’s marketing strategies is this incident, emphasizing the importance of adaptability and readiness to capitalize on unforeseen opportunities. In a rapidly changing digital landscape, brands must be prepared to pivot strategies in response to viral moments, using them as opportunities to enhance a brand image and connect with an audience in meaningful ways.

Offering invaluable lessons in adaptability, empathy, and strategic social media engagement, the Stanley Tumbler incident, paralleled with the Ocean Spray TikTok phenomenon, highlighting the importance of being prepared to leverage viral moments for brand success. 

Social Media Viral Marketing Response Checklist

• Monitor Social Media Regularly: Stay alert to potential viral moments.
• Act Quickly: Time is of the essence in responding to viral content.
• Show Empathy: Humanize your brand with a compassionate approach.
• Leverage User-Generated Content: Use authentic customer experiences in your messaging.
• Maintain Authenticity: Ensure your response aligns with your brand values.
• Engage Directly: Use social media platforms for direct interaction with your audience.
• Evaluate Impact: Assess the response and adapt your strategy accordingly.

Q: How important is the speed in responding to a viral moment on social media?

A: Speed is crucial. A timely response can capitalize on the moment’s momentum and maximize its impact.

Q: Can any social media viral content be beneficial for a brand?

A: Not all viral content is beneficial. Brands must assess each situation carefully to ensure alignment with their values and public image.

Q: How can small brands leverage social media viral moments?

A: Small brands can leverage viral moments by being agile, authentic, and engaging directly with their audience to build a strong community presence.

Get In Touch

• How can we help? * Looking for more information on services Offering Colling Media marketing products or services Interested in working for your company
• Full Name: *
• Email address: *
• Phone Number: *
• Company Name: *
• Brief Message: *
• Name This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

20 Best Social Media Marketing Case Study Examples

Please enable JavaScript

How would you like to read the best social media marketing case studies ever published?

More importantly, how would you like to copy the best practices in social media marketing that are based on real-world examples and not just theory?

Below, you’ll find a list of the top 20 social media case study examples along with the results and key findings. By studying these social media marketing studies and applying the lessons learned on your own accounts, you can hopefully achieve similar results.

Social Media Case Study Examples

793,500+ impressions for semrush on twitter  – walker sands social media case study, viral oreo super bowl tweet  – social media case study.

This is a popular case study to learn valuable insights for B2C marketing. During Super Bowl XLVII, the lights went out in the football stadium and the Oreo brand went viral with a single tweet that said “Power out? No problem. You can still dunk in the dark.” Read the historical account of that famous social media marketing moment from the people who lived through it so you can gather ideas on how to be better prepared for future social media campaigns that you can take advantage of in real-time.

Facebook Posting Strategy That Lead to 3X Reach & Engagement  – Buffer Social Media Case Study

In this social media case study example, you’ll find out how Buffer cut its Facebook posting frequency by 50% but increased the average weekly reach and engagement by 3X. Hint: The strategy had to do with creating fewer, better-quality posts, that were aimed at gaining higher engagement.

Achieving a 9 Million Audience by Automating Pinterest SEO  – Social Media Case Study

This is a good social media marketing case study for marketers who use Pinterest. Discover how Chillital went from 0 to 9 million engaged audience members and 268 million impressions. You’ll learn about the step-by-step research process of finding where your audience lives and breathes content, get a detailed analysis of how the author used Pinterest to generate brand awareness, and learn about using community-driven content promotion to scale social media results.

5X Increase In App Installs from TikTok  – Bumble Social Media Case Study

With the use of TikTok on the rise, social media case studies are now being shared about how to get the most value out of marketing on this platform. This one, in particular, is good to read because it explains how Bumble, a dating app, used TikTok more effectively by following the mantra, “Don’t Make Ads, Make TikToks”. This case study in social media marketing resulted in a 5X increase in app installs and a 64% decrease in cost-per-registration.

330% Increase In Reach for the Make a Wish Foundation – Disney Social Media Case Study

Check out this case study to find out how the Make-A-Wish Foundation increased its social media reach, audience, and engagement by partnering with Disney in a Share Your Ears campaign. The strategy was simple: ask people to take a photo of themselves wearing Mickey Mouse ears, post it on social media with the hashtag #ShareYouEars, and a $5 donation would be made to Make-A-Wish. The results were unbelievable with over 1.7 million posted photos and 420 million social media impressions. This led to a 15% audience increase on Facebook and a 13% audience increase on Instagram with a total increase of 330% in social media reach and a 554% increase in engagement during the campaign.

How 3 Schools Used Social Media Advertising to Increase Website Traffic & Applications – Social Media Case Study

Client case studies – lyfe marketing social media case study.

LYFE Marketing is a social media management company that helps clients gain new customers, generate sales, and increase brand exposure online. This page includes several of its top social media marketing case studies along with the approach and key results from each campaign. It’s packed with screenshots of the social media posts and engagement metrics so you can understand how each strategy worked for success, and get inspiration for your own campaigns.

3X Leads for a Local Business – Vertex Marketing Social Media Case Study

This is a good case study about finding the right balance between organic reach with social media posts and paid reach with social media marketing ads. You’ll find out how Vertex Marketing helped a local kitchen and bath remodeling business increase the number of leads by 3X. As for the return on investment (ROI) for this campaign, each lead for the client was worth about $10,000. The result was 6,628 audience reach, $12.43 average cost per conversion, and 18 conversions.

235% Increase In Conversions with Facebook Ads Funnel – Marketing 360 Social Media Case Study

This is one of Marketing 360’s case study examples that demonstrates the effectiveness of a Facebook ads sales funnel for B2B marketing. An ads funnel is a series of social media advertisements that target a specific audience at each stage of the buyer’s journey. By mapping out the buyer’s journey and creating a social media marketing ad campaign for each stage, you can guide new leads through the sales funnel and turn them into paying customers. This case study resulted in a 235% increase in conversions for a truck lift manufacturer.

15% Increase In Social Media Followers In 6 Months – Hootsuite Social Media Case Study

This is one of the best social media marketing case studies available online for businesses in the hospitality industry. Find out how Meliá Hotels International incorporated social media directly into its business model, both as a channel for client communication and as a platform to listen and learn about client needs and preferences. As a result, Meliá Hotel’s social media following grew from 5 million to 6 million in six months; an increase of more than 15%.

The Impact of Social Signals On SEO – Fat Stacks Social Media Case Study

This is a good case study for understanding the effect social media can have on SEO. By building links for a web page on social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc, the rankings for long tail keywords improved in Google’s search engine.

96 Link Clicks for a Vacation Rental – Maria Peagler Social Media Case Study

As the title of this social media case study example suggests, you’ll learn how Maria Peagler helped a vacation rental get 96 clicks out of 3,274 audience reach on a single Facebook ad; about a 2.9% click-through rate (CTR). What’s most important about this B2C example is those clicks were of the highest quality the client could receive because Maria dug into the analytics to find out the best time during the day to post the ad and the perfect age groups to target while also using specific language to only drive clicks that would more likely convert.

Vienna Tourist Board Uses an Instagram Wall to Attract Tourists – Walls.io Social Media Case Study

Complete instagram marketing strategy for sixthreezero – vulpine interactive social media case study.

This is an in-depth case study on social media marketing with Instagram. You’ll discover how Vulpine Interactive was able to turn an existing, unmanaged account into a strong company asset for Sixthreezero, a bicycling company that uses ecommerce to drive sales. There was a lot of strategy and planning that went into growing the account by 39%, increasing website traffic from Instagram by over 300%, and achieving 77,659 total engagements. Inside, you’ll get the complete social strategy, tactics, key performance indicators (KPIs), and results

Twitter Marketing Success Stories – Social Media Case Study

How 3 big brands use pinterest for marketing – smartinsights social media case study.

This is a case study page by SmartInsights with an overview of how 3 big brands use Pinterest for marketing. Although it’s a quick read, you can learn some valuable tactics that Nordstrom, Sephora, and Petplan are using to market their brands on this social media platform.

25+ TikTok Social Campaign Results – Chatdesk Social Media Case Study

Reddit for business: meet your maker – social media case study.

Want to learn how to use Reddit to market your business online? This new social media marketing case study page by Reddit called “Meet Your Maker” showcases the people behind some of the most innovative and creative brand activations on our platform. Examples include campaigns by Adobe, Capcom, and noosa Yoghurt.

How Boston University Uses Snapchat to Engage with Students – Social Media Case Study

With more than 75% of college students using Snapchat on a daily basis, it became clear that Boston University had to make this platform a primary marketing channel. This social media case study outlines all of the top strategies Boston University uses to connect with prospective and current students.

What Is a Social Media Case Study?

A social media case study is an in-depth study of social media marketing in a real-world context. It can focus on one social media tactic or a group of social media strategies to find out what works in social media marketing to promote a product or service.

Are Case Studies Good for Social Media Marketing?

Summary for social media marketing case studies.

I hope you enjoyed this list of the best social media marketing case study examples that are based on real-world results and not just theory.

As you discovered, the social media case studies above demonstrated many different ways to perform well on social platforms. By studying the key findings from these case study examples, and applying the methods learned to your own accounts, you can hopefully achieve the same positive outcome. New social media case studies are being published every month and I’ll continue to update this list as they become available. So keep checking back to read the current sources of information on social media.

Viral Video Campaigns: 7 Fantastic Case Studies to Learn From

Although ‘it’s gone viral ’ is a line that every marketing team longs to hear in their office, it’s not a common occurrence.

Stats from Stanford University suggest that only one per cent of all online content goes viral.

Fortunately:

Research shows you’ve got a better chance of going viral if you deliver your content in video form.

Not all videos are made equal.

In this article, we’ll look at some of the most sensational viral video campaigns of both the past and present to see what the secret sauce to their success might be.

A bit of background.

Viral campaign marketing in a nutshell

So what counts as a viral video campaign?

The jury is actually still out on that one.

In an analysis of dozens of different opinions and studies , Forbes writer Robert Wynne concluded:

“If your friend in the next cubicle posts a video on YouTube and it spreads to 100,000 people in four hours, that’s probably viral.”

The advantages and disadvantages of viral marketing

We’ll keep this brief:

Advantages of viral marketing

• A better bottom line – after the Greggs video mentioned below was released, the company’s shares hit an all time high and annual sales broke the billion pound barrier for the first time
• Exposure to new demographics and audiences
• Better brand loyalty – because sharing videos is an interactive activity, so it helps potential customers feel more connected to the brand.

Disadvantages of viral marketing

• Lack of control: once a video goes viral, the brand that made it has no control over how people respond to it and has no power to retract it if the message is received the wrong way
• Effort: because there’s no silver bullet when it comes to trying to get a video to go viral, marketing departments can end up putting a lot of effort in for little return

7 sensational viral video campaigns you can learn from

One of the top viral marketing campaigns of 2019 has to be the video in which Greggs introduced its new vegan sausage roll to the world.

The film parodied the revelatory techy tone of an iPhone commercial and it garnered five million views on social media within 10 days of its launch.

What exactly did this video do right?

It was short. Lasting just 37 seconds, it was a quick watch, freeing up viewers’ time to go on to share it.

It was humorous. A study by The New York Times Insight Group found that one of the main reasons people share content online is to enlighten and entertain valued people . And humour is always enlightening and entertaining.

At the end of 2017, a CarMax video clocked up more than 400,000 views on YouTube alone.

How did they do it?

They embraced social listening and humour.

Before the video was made, CarMax had seen another video made by a filmmaker in order to sell his girlfriend’s beaten-up Honda Accord.

In CarMax’s own video, it made the film maker a market-price offer for the car and then continued to offer him money for other things featured in the video such as an old mug, a coffee machine and his girlfriend’s threadbare jumper.

The overall value of the offer?

Range Rover

Range Rover’s Evoque Speedbump Stunt video was named the viral video of 2018.

Here’s the deal:

For filming, the Range Rover team set up a huge speed bump in the middle of a South London street and they filmed the reactions of real-life motorists who encountered the bump.

At the end of the video, the footage revealed how a Range Rover could get over the bump when no other car could. The secret ingredient to Range Rover’s success?

The filmmakers didn’t follow the traditional storytelling arc that begins with rising tension and a climax and ends in a resolution.

The production crew used the emerging story arc, starting the video with suspense and maintaining that suspense through to the end.

Although Dove’s Real Beauty Sketches video was created way back in 2013, it’s still listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the most viewed video ad of all time .

It’s been watched more than 124 million times in more than 110 countries around the world.

Well, in addition to the emotional aspect, the makers of this video had a support plan.

The company used PR strategies to ensure the video was picked up by key media channels such as Mashable, Huffington Post and the Today Show before it released the video to the world.

Love is a Gift

At Christmas 2018, a video called Love is a Gift by filmmaker Phil Beastall attracted six million Facebook views in a matter of days.

The footage showed a man listening to the final tape in a series of cassettes that his deceased mum had left for him to open every Christmas Day after she died.

Some viewers said the video was better than that year’s John Lewis advert and called for the department store to hire Beastall to create the brand’s 2019 video.

The bottom line?

What this video did perfectly was tap into viewers’ emotions.

In his book Contagious: Why Things Catch on John Berger explained that the most sharable content tended to evoke strong emotions in viewers.

Made for just £50, the film shows that viral video production doesn’t have to cost the earth.

Dumb Ways to Die

The animated Dumb Ways to Die video is the world’s most shared public service announcement and it’s a great example of how viral marketing campaign videos don’t need to feature real world locations or actors.

Made for Melbourne Trains the video, which showed animated characters dying in dumb ways, racked up 50 million views on YouTube and was retweeted more than 100,000 times on twitter.

In addition to featuring humour, the video succeeded thanks to a catchy music soundtrack that charted on iTunes in 28 countries.

In early 2018 The Sun ran the headline:

‘Nike’s advert ‘Nothing Beats a Londoner’ hailed as one of the best ever made.’.

The three-minute video starred celebrities from sport and music alongside London youths who were trying to make it big in certain sporting fields.

A lot of money was ploughed into the making of this video.

That’s not the only reason it succeeded.

In addition:

It featured humour – the producers cast Gareth Southgate as God – and it included a strong emotional element – showcasing stories of young Londoners fighting to fulfil their dreams.

Making a piece of marketing content that goes viral is no small order.

Video tends to be more sharable and therefore more likely to go viral than other forms of content.

The world’s most successful viral video campaigns do have a few things in common. They all:

• Feature humour
• Milk the zeitgeist or are topical
• Include an emotional element
• Tell a story
• Often feature a memorable soundtrack

Despite the fact that some brands ensure their videos go viral by enlisting major celebrities, the success of videos made for as little as £50 shows they don’t have to blow a business’ budget.

Articles / Keep making great videos

10 Brilliant Healthcare Marketing Videos

10 Great Testimonial Videos to Inspire Your Tech Business

10 Great Video Commercial Directors of 2021

10 Mistakes to Avoid in a Video Marketing Campaign

15 Amazing Animated Explainer Videos

12 Tips For Keeping Your Content Marketing Plan Creative

Start a video project with us today.

Phone Number:*

About The Project:*

Let's create your video

• Inbound Marketing
• People-Led Marketing
• Funnel Advertising
• Data Science
• Video Marketing
• Email Marketing
• Native Advertising
• Content Marketing
• Advertising Audit
• In-Company Training
• Success Stories
• Advertising
• Digital Resources
• Video Content

Viral Marketing Examples: Great Campaigns and Their Effects

• There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

By Shanon Roberts , on 11 April 2023

Viral marketing can work like magic for marketers. It’s an organic, insanely rapid way to spread awareness about a brand, product, or service. That being said, it can be very challenging, and sometimes you need a little bit of inspiration to get your creativity flowing.

In this article, we’ve gathered some of our favorite viral marketing examples such as Oreo's Dunk in the Dark, e.l.f.'s #eyelipsface, Wendy’s Chicken Nugget Retweet Challenge, and Volvo's Epic Split. We’re going to take a look at what made them successful and the key lessons that be taken from their success.

8 Examples of Viral Marketing Campaigns

1. oreo: dunk in the dark.

The Super Bowl is a notoriously competitive time for marketers, with 30-second spots costing upwards of 5 million dollars. However, in 2013, Oreo completely bypassed the expensive spots with one simple tweet.

When the Mercedes Superdome experienced a power outage that lasted over 30 minutes, Oreo was quick on its feet and tweeted this:

What ensued next will live on as one of the top viral marketing examples of all time. Oreo’s quick thinking and wit allowed them to momentarily steal the attention from the game and focus it on their brand.

This viral tweet had a huge impact on the marketing world and effectively changed how many marketers viewed the function of social media.

Key Lesson: Marketers need to always be ready to take advantage of timing and brands need to make it easy for decisions to be made quickly.

2. e.l.f.: #eyeslipsface on TikTok

TikTok is one of the biggest platforms for marketers these days, especially if they’re trying to target Gen Z. Budget makeup company, e.l.f. (which stands for eyes, lips, face) has basically written the book on effective viral TikTok marketing.

They created a song specifically for the campaign (produced by the same record label that Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande work with) and created a hashtag that encouraged users to post videos of their eyes, lips, and face to the song. The viral campaign became hugely successful on TikTok, with over 2.8 million videos created by users.

Key Lesson: This serves as a great example of viral marketing because it shows the importance of understanding your audience. By studying what kind of content Gen Z enjoys and shares, e.l.f. was able to capitalize on that knowledge and present themselves as one of the few brands that truly understood TikTok.

3. Dollar Shave Club: Our Blades Are F*cking Great

While Oreo and e.l.f. are great viral marketing examples, you may be thinking that their strategies seem a bit out of reach for smaller, lesser-known brands. Well, let me introduce you to our third example: Dollar Shave Club.

In 2012, the razor subscription service was looking for a simple way to explain what made their product so special. They ended up creating this hilarious, simple video to explain exactly that.

After the release of the video, the previously unknown brand’s website crashed multiple times and ended up receiving over 12,000 new subscribers in 48 hours . The video currently has over 28 million views on YouTube.

Key Lesson: This is a gem of a viral marketing example because it shows that you do not have to have a huge budget (the video cost $4,500) or brand following to create an effective viral video. Also, using humor and taking a chance can be incredibly effective techniques.

4. Wendy’s: Chicken Nugget Retweet Challenge

It all started with a simple tweet in 2017. Carter Wilkerson tweeted at Wendy’s, the fast-food chain, asking how many retweets he would need to earn to get a free year of chicken nuggets. The chain took the bait and quickly shot off their answer: “18 million.”

Carter pleaded for help to reach his goal, and the internet delivered. While his tweet didn’t quite reach 18 million tweets, it did become the most retweeted tweet of all time (at the time) and Wendy’s decided to reward his efforts.

Wendy’s likely didn’t expect this tweet to go anywhere, but when it started to go viral they encouraged other users to help Carter reach his goal.

Key Lesson: This viral social media example shows what to do when your brand receives positive attention from an unlikely source. Wendy’s never could have planned the life this tweet took on, but they embraced their time in the limelight and made the most out of the momentum.

5. Popeye’s: Chicken Sandwich Insanity

Viral marketing can seem like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for brands, but Popeye’s proved that it is possible to make lightning strike twice.

In August of 2019 Popeye’s, a fast-food chicken restaurant, introduced their new chicken sandwich and effectively broke the internet.

Many people couldn’t help but compare it to Chick-fil-A’s popular sandwich, including Chick-fil-A itself. They posted a tongue-in-cheek tweet, positioning themselves as the original inventors of the chicken sandwich, which Popeye’s retweeted with a sassy response.

After that, it was officially on.

Thousands of people went to Popeyes to try the sandwich themselves, and share their reactions. Eventually, the craziness led to the sandwich being out of stock for over 2 months. But, Popeye’s took what could have been a disaster and made it even better, when they announced their relaunch for the first Sunday of November. (It’s worth noting that Chick-fil-A is closed on Sundays.)

Their announcement proved that excitement wasn’t yet dead for the sandwich and they were able to generate as much conversation about the relaunch as during the original launch, as shown by this graph from Bloomberg Business.

Key Lesson: It is possible to re-generate excitement about the same product. Viral campaigns are a great way to announce product launches and Popeye’s is a great example of how to do it.

6. Dove: Real Beauty Sketches

Not all viral campaigns have to be funny or shocking. Dove proved this with its powerful Real Beauty Sketches viral video from 2013.

The video is incredibly moving and reveals the internal struggles that many women face every day. Not only does the video spread the brand’s message and belief in confidence, but it also serves as a great guide for viral marketers.

The video went on to receive over 163 million views globally and generate 4.6 billion media impressions .

Key Lesson: Viral video marketing is best when you are trying to connect with consumers’ emotions. In general, viral marketing thrives on emotions like joy, shock, or humor , but this video had the unique ability to make its audience feel seen.

7. Aviation Gin's Play on Peloton

In 2019, Peloton released an ad for its exercise bikes that went viral for all the wrong reasons. The commercial showed a husband who got a Peloton bike as a Christmas present for his wife and it was criticized for being sexist and promoting body shaming. Some people also thought that the wife character looked dazed and trapped in her workout routine. This led to a 10% drop in the company's stock.

However, it also inspired Aviation Gin to make a commercial for their product. They hired the actress from the Peloton ad and showed her drinking Aviation Gin with her friends but looking shell shocked and like she was clearly still recovering from her ordeal with the exercise bike.

This ad got 9.4 million views on Twitter in just a few days and went viral itself. Nevertheless, all was not lost for Peloton. Although their ad received a lot of criticism, their sales increased by 172% during the Coronavirus pandemic as more people looked for ways to stay fit at home.

Key Lesson: Content can go viral for both positive and negative reasons but you can still capitalize on it. This example also goes to show that if you have a good product, you can recover from bad press.

8. Volvo Trucks: The Epic Split

In 2013, Volvo released a creative and eye-catching ad that quickly went viral. The commercial featured action star Jean-Claude Van Damme doing the splits across two Volvo trucks while they were in motion. The ad was shared and viewed millions of times and even became a meme!

Since then, the advertisement has garnered 116 million views just on YouTube and is widely considered to be one of the most compelling ads ever made.

Volvo actually released this ad on the internet before they ran it on television. They understood that they were more likely to go viral by promoting their brand online first rather than prioritizing a TV spot.

Key Lesson: Consider all the channels at your disposal to see which one is likely to have the most impact with your audience and be most cost-effective. Keep in mind that using a combination of channels may be the ideal option to get your message across.

More Viral Marketing Examples on Social Media Platforms

If you enjoyed these examples, our free ebook, Secrets of Viral Marketing, covers even more and includes two in-depth case studies. This ebook examines top viral marketing campaigns, the ingredients found in all viral campaigns, and the secrets to viral social media campaigns, viral video campaigns, and trend jacking.

Shanon Roberts

Shanon es una diseñadora multidisciplinaria especializada en la creación de diversos activos digitales, como campañas digitales, videos o ebooks. Con experiencia en marketing digital y inbound marketing, Shanon destaca en el desarrollo de landing pages y webs para clientes usando HubSpot.

Front-End Developer & Graphic Designer. Shanon is a multidisciplinary designer specialized in creating diverse digital assets, including digital ads, videos, ebooks, and more. With a background in digital and inbound marketing, Shanon excels in developing impactful landing and web pages for clients using HubSpot.

Receive news by email

• Digital Marketing (147)
• Social Media & Social Ads (134)
• Online Marketing & Digital Marketing (128)
• Inbound Marketing (75)
• Digital Advertising (63)
• Online Sales (62)
• SEO & SEM (62)
• Strategy (58)
• Email Marketing (41)
• Content Marketing (40)
• Google (40)
• Data Science (36)
• Happiest Company (23)
• Twitter (23)
• Video Marketing (20)
• Instagram (19)
• Social Marketing (16)
• Artificial intelligence (15)
• Native Advertising (15)
• App Marketing & Publicidad Móvil (13)
• Cyberclick (13)
• Redes Sociales & Social Ads (12)
• Branding (11)
• Facebook (11)
• YouTube (11)
• Ecommerce (10)
• Web Design & UX (9)
• HubSpot (8)
• Influencer Marketing (6)
• Performance Marketing (4)
• Diseño Web & UX (2)
• Machine learning (2)
• Podcasting (2)
• Publicidad Online & Publicidad Digital (2)
• AdBlocks & Bloqueadores Publicidad (1)
• Captación de Leads (1)
• Display (1)
• Google analytics (1)
• Marketing Viral (1)
• Remarketing (1)

4 Case Studies Of Real-Time Viral Marketing Responses

Table of contents, showing off your brand in real time.

With the help of the Internet, everything's so much faster: we can message friends from the other side of the world in less than a second, video chat with families away from home, and even check what's happening internationally in real-time. For marketers, it means that every single event can now be an opportunity to improve the publicity of their products.

Advertising is no longer just about putting up a commercial on TV or designing a billboard, but being able to respond to real-time events, which provides brands a chance to demonstrate the true "who is" of their brand.  In this blog post, Hollywood Branded shares 4 examples of real-time viral marketing responses and provides insight into 4 case studies of successful viral campaigns.

How to Make Real-Time Viral Marketing Responses?

To be able to respond to viral topics, companies need to stay on top of social media trends. There are four ways to do that:

• Twitter trends : On the left side of your Twitter homepage, there is a section called "Trends for You". Pretty simple. It tells you what's trending on Twitter;
• Buzzsumo : a paid app that shows you the hottest trends in your industry;
• Trending section on TODAY : Sometimes the easiest way to figure out the trend is to read some news! Here's TODAY's website:  Today.com/trending
• Keep up with your competitors' accounts : Of course, no one wants to plagiarize anyone else's idea, but sometimes a little conversation between you and your competitors can benefit both of you. This worked pretty well on the IHOb campaign which is discussed in more detail below.

This seems easy, but real-time response means it's more likely to make mistakes.

Often, controversies on trending social media posts emerge when companies try to make a real-time response without scrutinizing the message. For example, Wendy's has always been known for giving sassy responses on Twitter. However, in January 2017, Wendy's posted a meme featuring an anti-Semitic hate symbol, Pepe the Frog (as shown below). Although Wendy's immediately deleted the post after it backfired, it still caused some unnecessary chaos, if its social media team did a little research on Pepe the Frog.  It IS hard to keep up with everything on the Internet, especially in our politically correct environment. Therefore, marketers need to be careful when they give a real-time response.

Here are two quick tips to avoid making mistakes:

• Google your messages and images before you publish. It never hurts to double-check your content before it's too late.
• Check your ideas with your team or preferably a diverse focus group (we all remember what happened to the Pepsi commercial featuring Kendall Jenner, don't we?) before you post your content. 

1. Banksy-Inspired Social Media Posts

On October 6 th , 2018, the mysterious British street artist Banksy was at it again. His work, “Girl With Balloon”, a spray paint made in 2006, shredded itself right after it was auctioned for $1.4 million at Sotheby’s “Frieze Week” evening contemporary art sale.

Banksy then posted a video on his Instagram showing that he had built a shredder into the frame of that painting. "A few years ago, I secretly built a shredder into a painting, in case it was ever put up for auction." The video soon hit 2 million views. Many marketers quickly hopped on this viral marketing train and created social media content related to the shredded painting.

As Banksy once again impressed us with his creativity, many marketing-minded creatives also shared their pieces inspired by the street artist. 

One of the first to get on this trend was McDonald's. The agency that it often works with, DDB Vienna, posted the following image on its Facebook page about 2 days after the incident.  This image cleverly incorporated the shredded painting with McDonald's beloved French fries coming out of the frame. 

Millennial-focused insurer Lemonade had a different way to relate itself to the conversation. Destruction? We've got you covered!

In case your art starts self-destructing… #banksy #banksyed pic.twitter.com/ASRkn5mu2I — Lemonade (@Lemonade_Inc) October 9, 2018

Perrier, on the other hand, tweaked it into a visual metaphor to illustrate the natural quality of its own product.

No need to break the bank for a work of art 😏 #PerrierLemon #GoForTheExtraordinaire pic.twitter.com/hCf2epASez — Perrier (@Perrier) October 9, 2018

2. IHOP Became the Center of the Conversation

IHOP tried to re-brand itself as a burger house as a publicity stunt. As someone who had never been to IHOP then, I really thought I could never say I've been to IHOP anymore (seriously, they ACTUALLY changed the signage in some IHOP locations). The whole thing started on June 4th, 2018, when IHOP announced on Twitter that they were changing their name from "IHOP" to "IHOb". Although the whole thing about changing its name to "IHOb" - International House of Burgers - was later revealed to be temporary in the light of promoting their burger menu, it became the trending topic on Twitter during its 7-day campaign.

At first, IHOP didn't specify what "b" stood for in "IHOb", which not only let its fans wonder but also created an opportunity for other brands to participate in the conversation. 

For 60 pancakin' years, we've been IHOP. Now, we're flippin' our name to IHOb. Find out what it could b on 6.11.18. #IHOb pic.twitter.com/evSxKV3QmT — IHOP (@IHOP) June 4, 2018

Chiquita Bananas joined the fun by saying it stood for "International House of Bananas".

It only stirred up the conversation more when IHOP announced that "b" stands for burgers and invited its burger competitors, such as Wendy's, White Castle, and Burger King, into the conversation.

White Castle "threatened" to rename to "Pancake Castle."

Wendy's response to its new competitor was rather sassy: "Not really afraid of the burgers from a place that decided pancakes were too hard."

Burger King, on the other hand, changed its profile picture and Twitter handle to "Pancake King" for a day. 

 3. Tide Tackled The Tide Pod Eating Challenge

In 2012, P&G released a new form of detergent, Tide Pods. The combination of stain remover, color protector, and detergent all in one little pod is such a life-saver for millennials. It saves so much time from pouring out the right amount of detergent and trying to figure out the ratio between that and other fabric conditioners. However, at around the beginning of 2018, a weird Tide Pod eating challenge went viral on YouTube. 

The Tide Pod challenge became a video trend involving people popping the detergent pods and chewing on it. Many teenagers posted videos of them doing the challenge, even some major YouTube influencers. This viral trend, however, led to major health issues. According to the American of Poison Control Centers, in the first month of 2018 alone, at least 86 cases of intentional misuse of laundry detergent were reported among teenagers, while there were only 53 in total in 2017. It was so bad that YouTube had to delete all the Tide Pod Challenge videos. You'd think kids are smart enough to not consume laundry detergent, something that's used in washing clothes. Naturally, the moment inspired a meme world that went crazy about the challenge as well. Some people even concluded that people eat Tide Pods because the color combination reminds them of candy. 

Instead of burying its head in the sand and waiting for the negative publicity to pass, Tide created a meme-like video featuring Rob Gronkowski exclaiming that Tide Pods are not for anything but washing clothes. 

What should Tide PODs be used for? DOING LAUNDRY. Nothing else. Eating a Tide POD is a BAD IDEA, and we asked our friend @robgronkowski to help explain. pic.twitter.com/0JnFdhnsWZ — Tide (@tide) January 12, 2018

4. ASOS Responded To Their Misprinted Bags

Unlike the examples we mentioned above, social media also enables brands to respond in real-time to their own mistakes. ASOS was able to respond to their misprinted bags with a sense of humor. Their fast response gave them a chance to laugh at themselves before everyone else made a comment about it. It also allows them to establish a brand personality that's more relevant to their customers.

This tween received more than 500 comments, 8,400 retweets, and 49,000 likes. 

Brands like Wendy's have even captured new fans and followers through unique social media marketing that is more about finding humor in trending events than it is about their own industry. Social platforms are not just a way to promote your brand through paid advertising but to connect organically with a sense of humor, proving that effective social media marketing isn't just about your product or imaging but your brand's ability position itself in a world of constant inter-connectivity.

Want to learn more about other forms of viral brand marketing? Check out some other blog posts we've written about digital marketing...

• 10 Social Media Marketing Tips For Small Businesses
• 4 Social Media Platforms You Should Use That Your Brand Probably Isn't
• 5 Ways To Make Your Brand Stand Out To A Social Media Influencer
• 5 Tips For Social Media Marketing In The Wellness Industry

Want to learn more about promoting your brand through social campaigns and the entertainment industry? Check out our free Product Placement & Promotions e-book!

• Social Media Management
• Review Management

10 Successful Viral Marketing Post Types (With Examples)

Discover how to make your brand unforgettable with our roundup of 10 viral post types on social media with examples for each of them.

It encouraged people to share their joy within different relationships – boss, friend, partners, etc. Their audience loved this idea, and the campaign proved to be a huge hit.

The Korean singer Psy’s Gangnam Style is another good example of viral content that resonated with the audience. A few days after the video’s release, it became the ‘most viewed’ on YouTube’s homepage.

How Does it Help in Boosting Your Presence?

Given the fact that social media is a rapid medium where things can be posted and seen in a matter of seconds, it makes sense why it’s a good place for viral marketing.

While some might say that viral marketing is similar to a ‘blink-and-you-missed-it’ appearance in the huge marketing space, it can do your brand’s online presence a huge favor.

Let’s see how.

• Reduces the cost: Distributing the content is usually the next step after content creation. But in this case, your consumers do most of the distribution for you. Hence, it reduces the cost of distribution.
• Increases reach: This is a big advantage if you are a small company finding it difficult to reach consumers in different countries.
• Engagement: The consumers themselves decide to share your content among their social groups. Hence, you manage to build a positive equation with them.

10 Types of Viral Posts & Examples

1. puzzles and riddles.

Blog posts are the most common kind of content shared online. Though some can go viral, the results produced with other online content are also worth considering—for instance, quizzes and riddles.

Can you solve it?

It seems to taunt you till you manage to solve it. Messaging apps like Whatsapp are the most likely places where you’ll find such puzzles and riddles.

For example, BuzzFeed has an entire Facebook page dedicated to such puzzles and riddles.

The best thing about puzzles and riddles is that besides being challenging and engaging, they are cool to develop a viral nail that would trigger you to share them with your friends.

2. Infographics

Did you know that 67% of B2B marketers create infographics ? It is a great format in case you are aiming for visual appeal.

They are short, concise, attention-grabbing, and can be used to entertain, engage and educate the audience. Infographics are also an exceptional way to bag quality backlinks.

Start with choosing a topic that is in demand at present. Give insights in numbers or steps that your audience would like to share.

3. Motivational Content

In today’s fast paced life, everyone needs something that pushes them to wake up every morning, go to work, and strive to be better every day. Hence, one of the most common bits of content you’ll find on YouTube, Reddit, Instagram, Facebook and other social networking sites are motivational posts.

They talk about positive acts, quotes of famous and rich people, proverbs etc. that evoke a feeling of positivity among the consumers.

So, what does it do?

If a piece of content has a solid message that’s very inspiring, people would relate to it and will want to share it with others.

A great example is Gary Vaynerchuk, who is one of the top idols for budding entrepreneurs. His inspiring quotes and motivational posts nudge you to push your limits. In this post, Gary talks about being kind to yourself is also a crucial part of the process.

4. Personality Quizzes

Most of us won’t be able to resist taking a quiz titled “Which Game of Thrones character are you?”

Well, who doesn’t want to know more about themselves? Today, these quizzes have become a sort of content marketing strategy. They attract a large number of people and cater to a specific group. For example, a quiz targeting mothers would be called ‘Which Celebrity mom are you like?’

Another example is Buzzfeed’s quiz “What city should you live in?” garnered 20 million views, and such quizzes are touted to be record-breaking viral posts put out by the publisher.

Before you get all excited, remember one thing. The results of these quizzes have to be meaningful and sensible in a way that your audience believes them.

Just scroll through your Facebook feed or YouTube recommended list and count the number of times you come across titles like “X Useful tips for …” or “Y Hacks to make your life easy”.

Aren’t there many?

Marketing experts didn’t miss the fact that articles and videos in a list format (titles beginning with a number) were liked, viewed, and shared more times than their counterparts.

Why do you ask?

Well, there can be various reasons. One, they are easy to scan with all the pointers and sub-heads. Two, they have an easy-to-follow format to present a lot of information, segmented under various pointers.

6. Case Studies

What, according to you, is the best way to explain something?

Examples, maybe!

A real-life example helps you grasp a concept very quickly. A case study is one such piece that takes one example at a time and analyzes it in-depth.

Case studies are loaded with research-backed information and are valued by readers. Folks love to see notions and concepts in action and pay considerable attention to their results.

Give a basic introduction of a brand, explain their problem, and how you solved it. If you are into B2B, then you can highlight your solution-centric approach for one of your client’s issues. Have a look at one of our case studies on the milli media group .

7. How-To Guides

As mentioned earlier, ‘how to’ articles and videos are popular as they provide useful information that is quite practical.

Most ‘how to’ content follows a problem-solution approach . In fact, if you look at the search terms people use while surfing the internet, you’ll notice that many begin with ‘how to’.

Hence, such content has better chances of appearing in Google search results. This helps you attain superior organic search traffic.

Look at this example from HowToBasic. This particular detailed guide has garnered 343.3 K views and 4.4 K reactions in just 6 weeks.

8. Top Posts

Top posts can make for a good source of traffic and usually have the tendency to go viral. You might have seen articles titled ‘Top 15 Recipes to impress your guests’. The ‘top’ in these titles may stand for ‘the best’, ‘most popular’ or the ones with ‘best outcomes’.

For instance, Spotify shows personalized playlists for its users having top hits of the week, month, or even year. The audience wants to know about the most popular stuff and tune in.

Take this for an example . Spotify had shared Today’s Top Hits and featured the artist. Followers can click on the bio link to listen to the hit playlist.

9. Long-form Content

For an article to appear at the top of search results, it needs to have a word count of 1500 or more, says Google.

It seems like your audience is looking for in-depth and well-researched articles. While an increase in content consumption on mobile devices and short attention spans led to a surge in short-form content, long-form content still gets more shares.

Wondering why?

A well-researched long article has credibility and is a trusted source of information for your readers. Sharing a long-form article presents the reader as a well-informed, erudite, and intellectually competent person.

So go ahead, and spend some time creating long-form content. If you need some help, we have curated a list of blog ideas can help you create long form content.

10. Humanized Stories

In a hurry to create viral content, you might miss the most elementary thing.

Your readers are human beings. Therefore, they have a natural tendency to relate to strong emotional content – real-life stories about struggle, kindness, determination, and hope.

For example , the Make-A-Wish foundation aims at making wishes come true for hundreds of people. This is one of their campaigns with John Cena that crossed the milestone of 300 million impressions.

Final Thoughts

While creating a viral marketing campaign, remember that the content you make must be unique, which hasn’t been seen before.

It should be interesting enough to tap into your audience’s attention. They should be able to resonate with the theme of your viral marketing. To level up your social media content, you can also rely on SocialPilot’s AI Assistant , which can help you create captivating social media content that resonates with your audience.

You can schedule your viral-worthy content at the best time and reach out to your target audience faster. Start your free trial and be ready to take the cyber world by storm.

Frequently Asked Questions

🌟 What is viral marketing?

Viral marketing promotes content that gets down well with your audience that they pour in likes, shares, comments and view it innumerable times within a short span of time.

🌟 What are the types of viral marketing?

Some of the types of viral marketing are:

• Word of mouth
• Incentivized
• Popular opinions

🌟 What are the advantages of viral marketing?

Some advantages of viral marketing are:

• Faster branding
• Reduces cost of distribution
• Increases reach
• Dripping engagement
• Rapid lead acquisition
• Adds credibility

🌟 How is viral marketing useful for business?

Businesses can leverage viral marketing for branding purposes. They can also promote their products and services, thereby increasing overall lead acquisition.

🌟 Is viral marketing successful?

Yes, viral marketing is successful. This serves as a credible source of trusted information, and potential customers make choices in favor of brands employing viral marketing campaigns.

About the Author

Archana Priyadarshini

Related Posts

Manage social media effortlessly.

• Trial Begins Immediately
• No CC Required
• Change Plans Anytime
• Cancel Anytime

Start Your 14-Day Free Trial

Capabilities

Top Features

• © 2024 SocialPilot Technologies Inc. All Rights Reserved.
• Privacy Policy & GDPR
• Terms of Service
• Cookie Settings
• Follow us :

• Viral Marketing

8 Viral Marketing Examples (and What You Can Learn From Them)

“How can I make my business go viral?” Every entrepreneur who wants to increase awareness, engagement, and sales would ask this question.

Often, it may seem like going viral happens at random. While that can sometimes be the case, the truth is, certain factors increase a campaign’s likelihood to go viral.

Want to know what they are? Read until the end of this post.

We’ve also included a list of the best viral marketing examples from well-known brands and our own users here at UpViral. There are a ton of valuable lessons you can take away and apply to your marketing campaigns.

What is Viral Marketing?

Viral marketing is a method that’s used to encourage people to spread the word about a company online or offline. People spread information similar to how a virus gets transmitted from one person to another ― fast.

There are two ways to increase word-of-mouth (WOM):

One is Traditional word-of-mouth where there’s very little to no effort from a marketer. Rather than planning everything from start to finish to encourage word of mouth, you leave things to chance.

You put something out and when people see it, it’s up to them to actively share it with their friends without restrictions. If they share a positive message, this benefits a brand tremendously. Meanwhile, negative messages backfire.

Two is Amplified word-of-mouth where a marketer plans and structures a viral campaign. The marketer decides the message to be shared, how it should be shared, whom to share it with, and where to share it. Usually, a marketer offers an incentive to motivate their audience to share the campaign. The right incentive will increase the campaign’s potential to go viral.

This blog post focuses on amplified WOM.

So, yes, implementing a viral marketing strategy can turn a business into an overnight success. 🔥 The key? Know what makes your audience tick.

How Does A Viral Marketing Campaign Work?

These are the elements involved in an amplified viral marketing campaign:

• Product or service - What do you want to promote and go viral? It could be your product or service that’s yet to be launched or that hasn’t been selling well.
• Messenger - This is you, the creator of the viral campaign and the source of the marketing message. As the messenger, it’s important to set goals for your campaign. Think about what you want to achieve as a result. Is it to grow your email list ? Increase your social media following? Boost sales?
• Recipient - This is the receiver of your message. If your message resonates well with your audience, they will immediately share it with their friends. Then their friends will share it with their connections. The cycle continues.
• Marketing channel - Rather than using a single channel to promote your product or service, leverage multiple channels. These include email, social media, blogging, and even advertising ( paid social or paid search ).
• Reward or incentive - Give away something that resonates with your audience as a reward for sharing your message. It could be your own product or service or something else related to your niche that you can get from Amazon.
• Mechanics - You need to determine the actions that people should take when spreading your message and to earn the incentive you’re offering.

The Benefits Of Viral Marketing

What is the importance of viral marketing for businesses? Viral marketing can help a business in any niche with the following:

• Brand awareness - Create some buzz around your business using viral marketing. If you can get people to talk about you, you can reach a vast audience in such a short time.
• Social proof - Viral campaigns often result in lots of user-generated content like testimonials, photos, and videos. Raving fans will be happy to share their thoughts about your business. You can then leverage user-generated content to boost social proof, leading to more conversions.
• Cost-effectiveness - With viral marketing, you’ll only be spending money during the initial phase of your campaign. For instance, advertising your campaign on Facebook to gain traction. Once your ad catches your target audience’s attention, they’ll be continuing the work of spreading your content. You won’t have to keep on running that ad for a long time.
• Lead generation - Time and again, viral marketing has proved to be a powerful way to grow your leads. If you can effectively nurture the leads you’ve collected, you can spark new and repeat purchases.

Companies in various industries use viral marketing to reach their goals. These industries include but are not limited to personal care products, music, food, and more.

Top 5 Viral Marketing Campaigns to Take Inspiration From

Below, we’ve compiled campaigns from brands that did viral marketing successfully. Find out why they worked and how you can use their strategies for your own campaigns.

1. Dollar Shave Club

In March 2012 Dollar Shave Club, an American company that sells razors got a huge boost from its YouTube video “Our Blades Are F***ing Great.” The video starred DSC’s founder Michael Dubin. The video wasn’t the kind that you’d normally expect in a razor ad. It was personal, funny, unique, and had just the right length.

Within a few days, the video got 3 million views and thousands of people visited their website and subscribed.

‍ Possible reasons for going viral:

• It featured the founder himself who did most of the acting. People got a sneak peek into Dubin’s personality. This helped them connect with the brand.
• The video took people behind the scenes by showing some of DSC’s employees and its warehouse.
• At the beginning of the video, Dubin hooked his audience with an irresistible offer “For $1 a month we send high-quality razors right to your door.”

2. Old Spice

We won’t list the best viral marketing videos without including Old Spice’s “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign. Everything about the video was catchy, from the scenes to the opening lines “Hello, ladies. Look at your man. Now back to me."

To date, the video garners over 58 million views on YouTube. Even Oprah said that she was “rushing to get Old Spice.”

• Real data was used as the basis for the ad targeting. It revealed that women were responsible for 60% of purchases made on men’s body wash products. Thus, the video was made to speak directly to women.
• The introduction used a great opening line that grabbed attention and convinced the audience to watch until the end.
• It featured a well-known subject ─ actor and former football player Isaiah Mustafa. Not just that, but he was half-naked which appealed to a female audience.

Spotify rolled out its new Wrapped campaign in 2019 which included all the songs, artists, and podcasts that its users discovered during the year. This campaign became a viral success. According to Spotify, over 60 million users engaged with this in-app experience. Millions shared their playlists on Twitter.

• Advertising also played a role in Spotify’s campaign success. The company leveraged offline ads ― inside a train station in Brazil, for example.
• Spotify made sure that users can share their playlists on various social media platforms and even tag their favorite artists.
• Sharing personal music collections on social media made non-Spotify users jealous. This viral experience sparked FOMO (fear of missing out) and encouraged new signups!

4. Starbucks

Starbucks gained public attention when it launched its magical, candy-colored Unicorn Frappuccino. According to Business Insider, the point of pulling off this campaign wasn’t to promote good food but rather to garner people’s attention and drive store traffic.

Starbucks was able to save millions in advertising, thanks to word-of-mouth and social media sharing.

• Unicorn Frappuccino was marketed as a limited-time offer. Imposing deadlines often convince prospects to act quickly. Nobody wants to miss out on great opportunities.
• People posted their own unicorn frappuccinos on social media which convinced thousands to give it a try too.
• Starbucks wasn’t afraid to try something out of the ordinary. Instead of the usual brown-colored drink, they explored pink, purple, and blue. This made the product stand out.

One of the best viral marketing videos is Dove’s “Real Beauty Sketches.” Within 2 weeks, the video garnered 3.17 million shares, making it one of the most shared ads of all time. If you’re a woman, and you watched the video, you’ll be hooked by its pretty powerful message: You’re more beautiful than you think.

• Dove leveraged content that elicited a powerful emotional response from its target audience ― It sparked hope, joy, acceptance, and self-love.
• The content resonated well with its viewers because it was based on a real survey. Dove’s data revealed that over half of women worldwide agree that they are their own worst beauty critic.
• Dove partnered with YouTube which boosted the content’s discoverability.

3 Viral Marketing Campaigns Using UpViral

If those brands we just mentioned were able to hit the bull’s eye through viral marketing, you can, too. Using the UpViral platform , our users were able to do viral pre-launch campaigns, contests, and giveaways.

1. Bunkie Life

David Fraser and his wife started a bunkie business. To promote it and generate sales, David did a 26-day contest using UpViral. He gave away his own product (a bunkie) as the prize and got these impressive results:

• 34, 297 leads
• $300,000 in sales
• 2,546 new Instagram followers

Read the full case study here .

2. Anthony Van Dort

Anthony runs a family-owned business that sells durable kites. He heard how UpViral could help him attract new, highly targeted leads. So, created a sweepstakes contest using the platform. His contest landing page wasn’t too fancy but it had the right elements such as quality graphics and understandable copy.

These were the results of his campaign:

• 4,576 leads
• New social media followers
• Increased app downloads

3. Check City

Short-term lender Check City has done giveaways for years. But this time, they needed a technology that would help scale their campaigns and boost their social media interactions. That’s when they decided to sign up for UpViral. This led to amazing results which included:

• 4,550 total leads
• $136,458.28 worth of traffic
• 5k shares on Facebook

Final Thoughts

Getting your business to go viral may seem challenging at first, but it’s not impossible. With the viral marketing examples we just revealed, you can grow from zero to tens/hundreds of thousands of leads, followers, and paying customers.

There is no one way to go viral but rather a combination of strategies. More often than not, it requires using your common sense ― understanding your target audience, creating content that resonates with them, using FOMO, and tapping into emotions.

If you need a complete solution that lets you create viral marketing campaigns from the ground up, give UpViral a try. You can even get started for just $1 and enjoy full access to all features like custom pages, unlimited rewards, leaderboards, and more!

Got some thoughts to share on viral marketing? Need help with your campaigns? Leave us a comment below.

Related Blogs

What Is the Premise Behind Influencer Marketing?

10 Social Media Posts that went Viral (and spread like wildfire)

How Writing Good Copy Can Boost Your Giveaway

Ready to get started create an account today.

15 Marketing Case Study Examples With Standout Success Stories

Some marketing campaigns leave a lasting impression. We’ve gathered insights from CEOs and marketing leaders to share one standout marketing case study that resonates with them.

Tomas Laurinavicius

Table of Contents

Dove’s real beauty campaign impact, oatly’s bold brand strategy, rockervox’s tax credit success, local bookstore’s community engagement, coca-cola’s personalized brand experience, dropbox’s viral referral program, authentic influencer marketing for cpg brand, airbnb’s “we accept” social impact, amul’s topical and humorous campaigns, axe’s “find your magic” brand refresh, squatty potty’s humorous viral video, old spice’s viral humor campaign, red bull stratos’s high-flying publicity, maple dental’s seo success story, dollar shave club’s viral launch video.

Some marketing campaigns leave a lasting impression.

We’ve gathered insights from CEOs and marketing leaders to share one standout marketing case study that resonates with them.

From Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign’s impact to Dollar Shave Club’s viral launch video, explore fifteen memorable marketing triumphs that these experts can’t forget.

• AXE’s ‘Find Your Magic’ Brand Refresh

One marketing case study that has always stayed with me is the Dove Real Beauty Campaign. It really struck a chord when it launched in 2004, challenging the beauty standards and celebrating women’s diversity. What made it stand out was the “Real Beauty Sketches” video, where women described themselves to a sketch artist. Seeing the stark contrast between their self-perceptions and how others saw them was incredibly eye-opening and touching.

What I found so compelling about this campaign was its message of self-acceptance and empowerment. Dove didn’t just try to sell products; they took a stand for something much bigger, and it resonated deeply with people. Using video storytelling was a genius move as it made the message more impactful and shareable. I believe Dove showed how brands can make a real difference by addressing important social issues in an authentic and meaningful way.

Nicole Dunn , CEO, PR and Marketing Expert, Dunn Pellier Media

As a content and brand marketer, Oatly’s brand strategy always inspires me. They are a textbook example of comprehensive brand-building.

Their visual style is instantly recognizable—bold, disruptive, and often filled with humor, making oat milk a statement and something you’d be proud to display on your shelves or socials.

Their tone of voice is witty, sometimes cheeky. They’ve even printed negative feedback on their packaging, which really just shows how they court controversy to spark conversations and enhance their brand’s visibility.

And there’s a strong story behind Oatly, too. They promote sustainability and aren’t shy about their environmental impact, which has simply helped them grow an enthusiastic community of environmental advocates. Clever in endless ways, such that tons of oat milk brands have followed suit.

Wisia Neo , Content Marketing Manager, ViB

One standout marketing case study that sticks with me is the implementation of our RockerVox Restaurant Bundle, aimed at optimizing cash flow through targeted use of employer-based tax credits. The power of this case study lies in its immediate financial impact on the client, a local restaurant chain that was struggling to keep its doors open in the wake of the pandemic.

By integrating the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) and other relevant tax schemes into their payroll setup, we enabled the restaurant to reclaim a significant amount in tax credits. The real game-changer was not just the financial relief but also how it was achieved. We combined this with StaffedUp’s Applicant Tracking System, which improved their hiring processes and decreased employee turnover. This holistic approach led to a sustainable improvement in their operations and cash flow.

What made this case study so great was its tangible results. The restaurant saw a cash flow improvement of over 100%. This wasn’t just a number on a report—it meant being able to invest back into the business, enhance their services, and ultimately, keep their community fed and employed. This approach of integrating technology with financial strategy can be adapted by other businesses striving for similar resilience and growth, especially in times of economic difficulty.

Philip Wentworth, Jr , Co-Founder and CEO, Rockerbox

Certainly, one particularly impactful marketing strategy I led at FireRock Marketing involved a small local bookstore that was facing steep competition from online retailers. Our challenge was to increase foot traffic and reinforce the store’s brand presence in a highly digitalized market.

We initiated a campaign called “Local Pages, Local Stages,” where we leveraged digital marketing alongside community engagement. The bookstore held monthly events featuring local authors and artists, which we promoted heavily through targeted social media ads, email marketing, and local influencer partnerships. This multifaceted approach tapped into the community’s growing interest in supporting local ventures, enhancing visibility significantly.

The outcomes were remarkable. Over the campaign’s six-month duration, in-store sales increased by 40%, and the bookstore saw a 65% rise in attendance at events, which also boosted ancillary revenue from merchandise and cafe sales. Additionally, social media engagement metrics increased by over 150%, reflecting greater brand awareness.

This case study sticks with me because it exemplifies the power of combining digital strategies with community-based marketing to create a sustainable growth model. It shows how businesses can use holistic, integrated approaches to effectively adapt to new consumer behaviors and competitive landscapes.

Ryan Esco , Chief Marketing Officer, FireRock Marketing

A memorable marketing case study is the “Share a Coke” campaign by Coca-Cola. Initially launched in Australia in 2011, this campaign personalized the Coke experience by replacing the iconic Coca-Cola logo on bottles with common first names.

The idea was to encourage people to find bottles with their names or those of their friends and family, creating a more personal connection to the brand. The campaign was an enormous hit and was quickly rolled out worldwide, incorporating more names and even terms of endearment in different languages.

The brilliance of this campaign lay in its use of personalization, which tapped directly into the social media trend of sharing personal moments. People enthusiastically shared their personalized Coke bottles on various social media platforms, significantly amplifying the campaign’s reach beyond traditional advertising media.

This strategy boosted sales and reinforced Coca-Cola’s position as a fun and innovative brand. The “Share a Coke” campaign is a powerful example of how traditional products can be revitalized through creative marketing strategies that engage consumers personally.

Sahil Kakkar , CEO and Founder, RankWatch

For me, a standout marketing case study that really sticks with me is Dropbox’s referral program strategy back in their early days. By offering free storage space for every successful referral, they incentivized existing users to spread the word organically, resulting in exponential growth at virtually no acquisition cost.

What made this case study so brilliant was how elegantly it aligned product experience with viral sharing. Users had a vested interest in sharing Dropbox since it directly expanded their own cloud storage. This created a self-perpetuating cycle where better product engagement fueled more referrals, which then improved engagement further.

It was an ingenious lever that capitalized on the inherent sharing dynamics of their service to ignite explosive growth. The simplicity and potency of this growth hack is what truly resonates as a paragon of effective guerrilla marketing.

Ben Walker , Founder and CEO, Ditto Transcripts

One marketing case study that has always stuck with me was a campaign I led for a major CPG brand a few years back. The goal was to increase awareness and trial of their new line of organic snacks among millennial moms in a crowded market.

We developed an influencer seeding strategy focused on relatable mom micro-influencers on Instagram. Instead of just sending products, we worked with the influencers to develop authentic content that told real stories about the role of snacking and nutrition in busy family life. The photos and videos felt genuine, not overly polished or promotional.

Engagement was through the roof—the content resonated so strongly with the target audience. By the end of the 3-month campaign, we increased awareness by 45% and trial by over 20%. The CPG brand was thrilled, and the case study became an example we still reference today of the power of influencer marketing done right. Authenticity wins.

Gert Kulla , CEO, RedBat.Agency

One marketing case study that stuck with me was the Airbnb “We Accept” campaign, launched in 2017, focusing on social impact. This response to the global refugee crisis aimed to promote inclusivity, diversity, and acceptance within communities worldwide.

What made this case study remarkable was its ability to leverage the Airbnb platform to facilitate connections between hosts and displaced persons, providing them with temporary housing and support.

Airbnb demonstrated its commitment to using its platform for social good and making a tangible difference in the lives of those in need. This aligned with its mission to create a world where anyone can belong anywhere.

At the end of the day, Airbnb’s “We Accept” campaign was a compelling case study showing brands how to address social issues, promote inclusivity, and drive positive change in communities worldwide.

Peter Bryla , Community Manager, ResumeLab

One standout marketing case study that sticks with me is the “Amul” marketing campaigns by Amul, the iconic Indian dairy cooperative, make for excellent and impactful case studies as well. Here’s why Amul’s marketing stands out:

The Amul Girl – The mascot of a mischievous, friendly butter girl has become one of India’s most recognizable brand icons since her inception in 1966. Her presence on topical ads commenting on the latest news and pop culture trends has made Amul’s billboards a long-standing source of joy and relevance.

Topicality – Amul’s billboards and newspaper ads are renowned for their topicality and ability to humorously comment on major events, celebrity happenings, and political developments within hours. This real-time marketing has kept the brand part of daily conversations for decades.

Humor – The not-so-secret sauce is the brilliant use of puns, wordplay, and satirical humor that Amul consistently delivers through the eyes of the Amul Girl. The healthy, inoffensive jokes have earned a cult following.

Longevity – Very few brands can boast an equally iconic and successful campaign running for over 50 years, still keeping audiences engaged across multiple generations. The long-running property itself has become a case study in sustaining relevance.

Local Connect – While achieving pan-India recognition, the puns often play on regional language nuances, striking a chord with Amul’s Gujarati roots and building a personal connection with local consumers.

The impact of Amul’s long-running topical billboard campaign is unmatched—it has not only strengthened brand recognition and loyalty but has also made the cooperative a beloved part of India’s popular culture and daily life. Creativity, agility, and contextual marketing at its best!

Yash Gangwal , Founder, Urban Monkey

Axe (Lynx in the UK) had created a problematic brand image from past marketing efforts. Their focus on ‘attraction is connected to conquest’ hadn’t dissuaded men from buying their deodorants, but had a toxic effect on perceptions of women. Research conducted on brand equity showed that brand equity was declining, with this perception of the brand aging poorly and desperately needing a refresh to continue allowing the brand to be relevant for the future.

That led to a superb partnership with creative agency 72andSunny Amsterdam. Unilever was able to tap into an entirely new philosophy for its brand:

Empower men to be the most attractive man they could be – themselves.

With that idea in mind, 2016 saw the launch of the AXE ‘Find Your Magic’ commercial, a stunning celebration of the diversity of modern masculinity. The campaign also saw the release of a new range of premium grooming products and a supporting influencer marketing campaign featuring brand ambassadors, including John Legend.

While not all parts of the creative were successful, the campaign drove more than 39 million views and 4 billion media impressions in the first quarter after the launch. But most critically, AXE saw a 30+% increase in positive perception of their brand.

This campaign will stand the test of time because it combines several important and brave initiatives:

• A forward-thinking mentality that the brand image you have today may not be suited for a future world
• A broader understanding of what your customer base looks like – women also play a big role in men’s choice of deodorant
• A big and bold attempt to change the way your brand is perceived – and succeeding with flying colors.

Yannis Dimitroulas , SEO and Digital Marketing Specialist, Front & Centre

One standout marketing case study that sticks with me is the campaign for Squatty Potty. The brand created a humorous video featuring a unicorn pooping rainbow ice cream to demonstrate the benefits of using their product. This unconventional approach garnered widespread attention and went viral, generating millions of views and shares on social media platforms.

The success of this campaign can be attributed to its creative storytelling, humor, and shock value, which made it memorable and engaging for viewers. By thinking outside the box and taking a risk with their messaging, Squatty Potty was able to create a unique and effective marketing strategy that resonated with consumers.

This case study serves as a reminder that creativity and originality can set a brand apart in a crowded marketplace, ultimately leading to increased brand awareness and customer engagement.

Carly Hill , Operations Manager, Virtual Holiday Party

The Old Spice ‘The Man Your Man Could Smell Like’ campaign remains etched in my memory. Its brilliance lies in its humor and creativity. By featuring a charismatic spokesperson and employing absurd scenarios, it captured viewers’ attention and went viral.

The campaign seamlessly integrated across platforms, from TV to social media, maximizing its reach. Its cleverness and entertainment value made it unforgettable, setting a benchmark for engaging marketing strategies. The case study showcases the importance of storytelling and humor in capturing audience interest and driving brand awareness.

Dan Ponomarenko , CEO, Webvizio

A marketing case study that has made a lasting impression on me is the Red Bull Stratos Jump. This campaign was for Felix Baumgartner’s record-breaking jump from the edge of space, sponsored by Red Bull. The goal of this campaign was to create buzz and generate brand awareness through this extreme event.

The reason why this case study stands out to me is because of its successful execution in capturing the attention and interest of not just extreme sports enthusiasts, but also the general public.

The live broadcast of Baumgartner’s jump on various channels and social media platforms garnered over 52 million views, making it one of the most-watched live events ever. Red Bull’s strategic use of real-time marketing, storytelling, and high-quality visuals made this campaign a huge success, resulting in a significant increase in sales and brand recognition for the company.

This case study serves as a great example of how a well-planned and executed marketing campaign can effectively reach and engage with a wide audience.

Brian Hemmerle , Founder and CEO, Kentucky Sell Now

One standout marketing case study that resonates with me is the SEO transformation for Maple Dental. This campaign dramatically improved their local online visibility, leading to a substantial increase in new patient appointments. The integration of Google Maps SEO proved to be a game-changer, emphasizing the power of local search optimization in attracting nearby clients.

What made this case study exceptional was the measurable impact on the clinic’s business. For instance, the campaign led to a 230% increase in phone calls and a 223% increase in website visits. Such clear, quantifiable results showcased a direct contribution to business growth. These metrics are vital for demonstrating the return on investment in digital marketing efforts.

Additionally, the use of a targeted approach to enhance Google Maps visibility was particularly compelling. By optimizing their presence on Google Maps, Maple Dental saw a 250% increase in monthly maps impressions, which directly correlated with increased patient inquiries and visits.

Ihor Lavrenenko , CEO, Dental SEO Expert

One case study that always comes to mind is Dollar Shave Club’s launch video in 2012. It was called “Our Blades Are F*cking Great,” and let’s just say it got people talking! This video was hilarious and totally different from those fancy shaving commercials we were used to seeing. It spoke directly to guys, poked fun at expensive razor prices, and offered a way to get awesome blades for much less.

Additionally, it told everyone to check out their website. It was short, catchy, and made a huge impact. This is a perfect example of how a creative and funny video can grab attention, make people remember your brand, and get them to become customers.

Perry Zheng , Founder and CEO, Pallas

Best tips & tools ★ Sent every Monday morning ★ 5-min read

Free Weekly Digital Marketing Newsletter

Subscribe to learn the SEO, social media, and content marketing lessons we wish we had known when we started.

Subscribe for Free Updates

Follow Marketful

10 Best Market Intelligence Tools (2024)

Top 10 content marketing tools (best software for 2024), 10 best sitemap generators in 2024 (free & paid tools).

You are here: Influencer Marketing Hub » Influencer Marketing » Top 3 TikTok Marketing Case Studies & Insights 2024

Top 3 TikTok Marketing Case Studies & Insights 2024

2023 has been one hell of a year for TikTok. It is one of the fastest-growing social platforms in the world, overtaking even Facebook & Instagram, and marking a 75% growth since 2020. Not only has TikTok’s user-base grown substantially but so has the variety and amount of brands who have flocked to get even a tiny piece of the platform. 

At Fanbytes by Brainlabs , we have had the pleasure of working with an assortment of brands to activate TikTok campaigns tailored to their goals such as Warner, Vestiaire, Burger King to more unorthodox brands such as the UK Government & the ACCA. 

This year has posed unique challenges and opportunities for brands, and we’ve created 3 distinctive case studies that will provide insight into how we’ve helped brands navigate TikTok in 2024 and how we were able to collaborate and activate blockbuster campaigns amidst its challenges.

Top 3 TikTok Marketing Case Studies for 2024:

1. idahoan foods, 2. vestiaire collective, 3. wrap me in plastic.

One thing that we saw during early Coronavirus concerns and lockdown measures is a noticeable rise in food content. From the infamous viral ‘Dalgona Coffee’, banana bread, and pancake cereal , users were quick to run to their kitchens and attack all of these recipes with little else to do in isolation.

This presented a unique opportunity for Idahoan Foods , a US instant mashed potato brand who were looking to engage a Gen Z demographic in the US who they have had difficulty connecting previously.

To insert the brand into the ongoing food content craze on the app, we knew that we had to get innovative whilst also incorporating popular TikTok conventions that would help Idahoan Foods stand out and appear as organic as possible.

With the brief set to build awareness of Idahoan Foods on the platform, our solution was to create a two-part activation leveraging 14 influencers, which we found by utilizing our industry leading in-house TikTok analytics tool, Bytesights.

For the first activation, we combined two of TikTok’s most effective and magical viral ingredients: sounds and dances. Firstly, our in-house team created a custom sound to build Idahoan Foods’ brand image, and we coupled it up with a choreographed organic hashtag dance challenge where the #mashoutchallenge was born.

The challenge consisted of simple dance moves which included the famous 1960s ‘Mashed Potato Dance’, making it easy and accessible to all types of users. We guaranteed 2 million views for this segment of the activation, but we over delivered by nearly 4x with a mammoth 7.6 million views! Our custom sound even inspired 178 pieces of user-generated content and reached an incredible 50K plays overall. 

The goal for the second part of the activation was to showcase the product in a fun way so that users can begin to build positive brand connotations. We knew the best way to do this was to trust those who spend 24/7 creating content in the app and know their audiences' likes and dislikes better than anyone. So, we gave our influencers creative freedom to align their videos with their personal brand and audiences, essentially “making it their own.” 

The overall results from the campaign were outstanding. We were able to drive awareness by surpassing guaranteed views by over 700%, garnering an impressive 14,000,000 million views across the campaign. 

What’s more, our influencers videos hit a 20.13% engagement rate, well over the successful industry benchmark of 14% for TikTok, and as a bonus, the Idahoan Foods TikTok account drove 3,700 followers following the end of the campaign. 9

Fashion content soared earlier this year and it doesn’t look like it’s slowing down anytime soon. We saw Dior host the first live virtual catwalk on TikTok paving the way for the future of luxury fashion, TikTok hosted their #TikTokFashionMonth in September, and household fashion brands started to recognize this and allocate real budgets to the app. 

Vestiaire Collective is an example of a luxury fashion marketplace that approached Fanbytes by Brainlabs to build a presence on the platform and explore TikTok as a channel of growth amidst these exciting changes. Vestiaire Collective is a leading global platform for pre-loved luxury fashion items. Their goal was to drive awareness around their new ‘direct shipping’ feature to a targeted US Gen Z audience and d rive cost-effective app installs, benchmarked against Instagram.

With this brief in mind, we took a creative approach that combined an organic influencer activation and paid ads. Paired with our data-driven influencer selection process utilizing our in-house Bytesights tool, we briefed our 8 influencers to create compelling creatives that incorporated highly-effective CTA’s to drive installs and ensure a high conversion rate. 

Whilst we asked the influencers to position themselves as buyers, showcasing how they styled Vestiaire Collective items, the creatives varied from influencer to influencer. We wanted to enable them enough creative freedom to ensure it remained organic to their feed so it appeared less of an ad created exclusively to sell, effectively working with them and not against them. In doing so, we drove a huge 1,000+ organic installs and a 17.5% ad conversion rate. 

In order to deliver a cost-effective CPI, we also did a lot of A/B testing and took the best-performing creatives and doubled them up as paid ads. Our ads drove a further 4,000+ installs and most notably, we reduced the clients CPI by 50% when compared to other channels, making TikTok more effective for Vestiaire Collective than Instagram and YouTube.

The overall results were far from average. We drove twice the amount of guaranteed views with a massive 1,307,200 views across the campaign and Vestiaire Collective were so astounded with the outcome that they decided to run a 2nd US campaign which delivered 2.6M views whilst maintaining a similar CPI. What’s more, we’ve since become Vestiaire Collective’s official TikTok partner, helping them conquer new territories like the UK and EU whilst achieving record-breaking CPI’s of £0.40 in the process. 

• What is Influencer Marketing? – The Ultimate Guide for 2024
• TikTok Marketing 101: How to Market Your Brand on One of the Most ...
• The Top 5 TikTok Marketing Questions You Were Too Embarrassed To A...

These days, it’s rare to see a song receive ultimate fame without going through TikTok first. However, this doesn’t mean that TikTok promises every song viral success. At Fanbytes by Brainlabs, we have collaborated with 2,000+ artists from all over the world and know a thing or two about how to marry songs and influencers to concoct the perfect recipe for roaring success.

‘Wrap Me In Plastic’, a song by Chromance and Marcus Layton, is an example of a song that took the TikTok world by storm after working with us to create a tailored approach. It had already gained some traction among st the cosplay community and surpassing 100k videos on TikTok at a steady rate. We were tasked with really supercharging the song globally on the platform - in particular across the US, UK, Russia, Brazil & Germany.

To do this, we delivered a TikTok dance, something that felt organic and authentic to TikTok, and activated across three key phases. We selected highly engaged influencer @itsahlyssa to produce a new catchy choreographed dance that aligned with the song and asked her to shed it out amongst her following. Afterwards, we enlisted several other influencers to continue the trend, making it feel like a real organic trending moment.

Subsequently, we realized that a remixed version of the song was gaining traction on the platform which gave birth to the organic #photogenicchallenge that drove a staggering 85.6 million views. Other than this, we saw @imjoeyreed go viral from a dance he created leveraging the remixed version and gaining 19.7 million views and 1.7 million likes. After discussing with our client, we agreed that we should be reactive and collectively decided that our second activation should tap into the popularity of this dance. 

Appropriately, for the second activation in the UK, Russia, Germany & Brazil, we selected influencers to perform @imjoeyreed’s dance in obscure locations to inspire mass participation.

The results from this campaign completely blasted through the targets. Our first activation guaranteed 250k influencers, and we delivered by 9x more with 2.1 million+ views and a humongous 18.41% engagement rate. This wasn’t all - we inspired 25k+ user-generated content in the first two weeks. 

Our second activation in Russia, Brazil, Germany & UK guaranteed 1.45 million views, and we delivered 6x more with 9.2M+ views. We also saw 1.5M+ new users make videos on the sound since the start of the activation and achieved a huge engagement rate of 20%. 

These activations enabled us to fulfil the brief of ‘ driving further awareness and engagement of the song on TikTok’ as there are now 822.8k videos on the original sound and 6.8 million videos on the remixed version. Our activation strategy helped us drive sustained growth and engagement, allowing ‘Wrap Me In Plastic’ to cement itself within the TikTok community and experience a real trending moment. 

Every successful TikTok marketing case study has common threads, all of which can be found through the 3 E’s: expertise, experience and efficiency. There are some real gems to take from these case studies but if you’d like to know more about how to deliver a disruptive brand activation on the app, get in touch with us today.

Author bio 

Shelly Chadha

Shelly is the Content Manager at Fanbytes by Brainlabs, an award-winning influencer marketing agency that is dedicated to bringing you the latest Gen Z insights. Fanbytes by Brainlabs has helped top brands such as Universal, Missguided, Mcdonalds & youGov win the hearts of young people on social media. She heads up Fanbytes' content strategy, and her insights can be seen in top marketing publications such as The Drum & Talking Influence.

The 5 Hottest Core Aesthetic Trends and What They Mean for Brands

Remember the Indie Sleaze, Gorpcore, and Clean Girl aesthetics that took 2023 by storm...

TikTok Marketing Report 2024 – Key Trends, Statistics, and...

Consider this striking statistic: 71% of TikTok users decide whether to continue watching...

How to Create a Social Media Campaign

Social media campaigns can easily go viral…or at the least, generate impressive and...

The Best SEO Tips Right in Your Inbox - Subscribe Now!

Six attributes of viral content (with a case study example).

When it comes to content, there are two primary categories: informational pieces with great longevity and staying power, and explosive pieces which take off quickly (but also become old news quickly). This is obviously an oversimplification of sorts, as the two categories aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive, and there are gradients in between the two extremes, but it provides a starting point for classifying content. There’s definitely something to be said for the glamour of glitzy pieces which blow up the internet, with the hope that the extra traffic and attention will generate greater brand awareness.

It’s nearly impossible to say for sure whether a piece of content will go viral, or to manufacture virality. But as a next-best-thing, we’ve identified six attributes of viral content: timing, humour, accessibility, storytelling, consumability, and shareability. These attributes are then illustrated with the aid of a case study of one of our recent blog posts, “ Top 6 Ways to Bend-Proof Your iPhone 6 .” Anecdotes are italicized. Let’s get started!

Creating great content is only half the battle. The phrase “right place, right time?” In this case it’s more like “right topic, right time,” but still. Another extremely important element is the timing: is the topic something that has been/is/will be generating a lot of buzz? Does it appeal to a wide audience? Is it relevant to the present?

If we look at public interest in a topic surrounding the time that it’s really popular, we get something that looks like an inverted U. (Each individual scenario will have different nuances, of course, such as plateaus, steeper or shallower rises, tapered downslopes, etc.) Grabbing hold of a topic as interest is rising best positions the content for widespread attention. Towards the peak of the curve, there’s a lot of noise to contend with. (Jumping on the bandwagon with regurgitated content as interest wanes just looks like you’ve missed the boat.)

Around the days of the iPhone 6 launch, audience attention on anything related to the device was already at an all-time high. Then #BendGate, or the fiasco of discovering that the iPhone 6 bends, happened. Our article “Top 6 Ways to Bend-Proof Your iPhone 6” came out right at the start of the frenzy, thereby catching the first attribute of perfect timing and ensuring a greater proportion of potential eyes on the content.

Creating content that people connect with involves providing some sort of value. With viral content, the value provided is usually a bit less tangible, a bit more fleeting: amusement, laughter, delight. Humour works particularly well because – in addition to laughter being the best medicine – it builds positive brand associations, puts a smile on the viewer’s face, and (if it passes the threshold of being enough to elicit a reaction) induces sharing.

Think about the last time you saw something that made you laugh, or the last time you had a funny experience. Did you feel inclined to share the story with someone else?

The primary mission of our post was to amuse people. From the overly exaggerated bend in the iPhone in the header image to the goofy accompanying text, we played the role of the class clown and weren’t afraid to make fun of ourselves and have some fun in the process.

3. Accessibility

Another important aspect to consider is whether the audience can relate to the piece of content. Is it something that solves a problem they encounter in their daily lives? Does it describe a common experience they’re familiar with? In our increasingly isolated and digitized world, there’s more and more of a desire to seek commonalities. (This is also why articles like “You Know You Grew Up In [blank] When…” or “Ways That Traveling Has Ruined You For Life” etc. tend to do so well, provided they also possess the high-quality component – they describe shared experiences that the reader can relate to.

Our post with ideas on how to bend-proof an iPhone 6 made use of things that anyone can have access to: low-key snapshots. Couch cushions. Kleenex boxes. Rulers and scotch tape. It’s funny because it’s so silly, but it’s also relatable, because who doesn’t have these things?

4. Storytelling

What’s the best way to make content more ingestible? By formatting it as a story. People are naturally curious and want to know: what happens next? How did this take place? Why is this the case? Storytelling is one of the first things we’re exposed to as children, so it’s something that’s subconsciously ingrained.

We started out our story by providing a roadmap. Right in the title we provide the small spoiler (or teaser, if you prefer) that there will be six parts to the story. This sets up anticipation for what’s to come. It also happened to perfectly set up the contrast between the high-quality photo of the Nuvango-cased iPhone in the last image and the phone-quality photos of the ridiculous ways to protect iPhones leading up to that point .

5. Consumability

Although the research on it isn’t extensive (yet), there have been studies indicating that we tend to skim things on the internet (and increasingly elsewhere too) rather than read them deeply. [ The New Yorker .] With all the extra noise, the competition for audience attention is becoming increasingly fierce.

Making content both concise and precise helps readers consume it more efficiently and effectively. (Imagine for a second that all the information presented in this post were just formatted as paragraph after paragraph of only text instead of a numbered list interspersed with images. Not nearly as easy to digest, right?)

The format of our post lended itself to being easily munchable: a numbered subtitle, followed by a brief and amusing caption, followed by an image. Each section is a separate snackable chapter.

6. Shareability

The nature of the piece is also something to consider. Is the subject something that lends itself to sharing? Is the way that the piece is put together something that people want to share? We live in a friendly-competitive culture where we want to be in-the-know on a topic, where we want to be the ones to know first , the ones to introduce our friends to something that’s fun, quirky, or interesting.

In addition to the aforementioned attributes and the need to pass the threshold of interest and elicit a reaction, what is the degree of shareability of the content? Does it make the reader go, “hey, I need to show this to so-and-so”? Is it the type of story that readers can bring up in a friendly gathering? “Hey, did you see that article on [blank]?”

Will making sure that your content has all six of these attributes guarantee that it’ll go viral? No, not necessarily. Ultimately, virality isn’t something that can be entirely manufactured or predicted with 100% accuracy. With that said, possessing these characteristics will certainly go a long way in terms of equipping the piece of content with the foundations for potential success.

• Panelist area
• Become a panelist

7 examples of viral marketing that have made the rounds on the web!

Viral marketing is based on the massive propagation of content produced by a brand. It is a method that lends itself well to sporting events, just like ambush marketing . Moreover, it effectively promotes consumer goods and strengthens branding . But what exactly is this process? And above all, what are the most outstanding examples of viral marketing ? Here is a clear definition of the concept and 7 recognized cases of inventive brands to generate even more virality!

Discover our solutions for generating positive word-of-mouth

What is Viral marketing?

• Dollar Shave Club

Only for our subscribers: exclusive analyses and marketing advice

"I thought the blog was good. But the newsletter is even better!"

Viral marketing refers to the phenomenon of spreading information through customers. It is of paramount importance for brands. Indeed, the public plays a key role in sharing positive messages about companies. Finally, the objective is clear to commercial actors: to stimulate and capitalize on word-of-mouth .

We are talking about a practice that was present even before the arrival of the Internet, although it has changed everything. In today’s circumstances, viral marketing campaigns can quickly reach a larger and more qualified clientele . ( Van der Lans et al. 2010 )

To do this, brands must play on four factors that are critical to viral marketing success:

• contents , as getting the attention of customers simplifies their memory of the marketing message
• the structure of the social networks solicited because of their significant impact on campaign performance ( Bampo et al. 2008 )
• the behavior of the receivers of the message, but also their propensity to propagate the intentions of the brands
• and think about “ seeding ” strategies to encourage a faster adherence of customers to brand values ( Stonedahl et al. 2010 ; Hinz et al. 2011 )

Applying viral marketing well: examples, research, and segmentation

As you can see, this marketing process is based on the virality of the content disseminated. Thus, the specialists in influence marketing do everything to set up widely spread campaigns. For this, there are several ways to create the ultimate content :

• conduct secondary research to understand the customer’s behavior better
• work on its target marketing to identify and target opinion leaders .
• or be inspired by methods that have worked in the past. Indeed, the latter is more likely to influence word-of-mouth around your brand positively.

We will dig into this last point in this article through several examples of viral marketing. Our selection contains 7 case studies of content distributed over the last decade .

7 outstanding examples of viral marketing

We now propose you watch and analyze several examples of viral marketing. Here are the cases of Dove, Old Spice, Volvo, Heineken, Red Bull, Nike, and Dollar Shave Club . They are known for their online virality and have contributed to the history of digital marketing.

Dove – Beauty Sketches

Let’s kick off the festivities with an ad dealing with self-acceptance . As part of its overall self-esteem project, Dove began a campaign in 2013 called “Beauty Sketches.” The video “You’re more beautiful than you think” now has over 70 million views on YouTube!

We want to highlight this example of viral marketing because it combines all the ingredients of a successful campaign . First of all, its cinematography captures the viewer’s attention. But also, the testimonies seem authentic, which simplifies our ability to identify with the actors of the ad. Finally, it sends a very positive message to customers who have a complex about their physical features. Doing so encourages them to share the brand’s values: brilliant! As a result, Dove creates a strong bond with this audience.

The campaign in question is available below.

Old Spice – The Man Your Man Could Smell Like

Now, look at Old Spice, an American men’s grooming company. With its “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign, the brand quickly became known for its boldness. Below, you will find the most famous ad of this operation: a 30-second commercial with some 61 million views.

The main strength of these different videos is the delivery of the message embodied by the actor Isaiah Mustafa. Moreover, its marketing target seems clear, and its staging is offbeat. Finally, its short format makes it suitable for massive sharing on social networks. The Old Spice campaign will meet great success with the arrival of the actor Terry Crews. These ads are an example of viral marketing to research for a good understanding of customer behavior .

Volvo – The Epic Split

Viral marketing is one thing. But creating a legendary ad is not for everyone. In 2013, Volvo released “The Epic Split”: the brand opted for nonconformity and creativity . This spot’s strange but fascinating character is undoubtedly why it has 116 million views 9 years after its publication! Its impact is such that it is now one of the most easily recognizable memes on the Internet.

Volvo became an example of viral marketing by using Jean-Claude Van Damme in a bold idea. The brand was also one step ahead of its competitors. Indeed, it was understood that it was time to generate virality on the Internet before focusing on television. Thus, positioning yourself on an alternative channel can be a good way to differentiate yourself.

Contact IntoTheMinds to strengthen your differentiation strategy

Heineken – The Cliché

Now, let’s go to Brazil to research the case of one of the best examples of viral marketing. Through its campaign “The cliché,” the beer brand Heineken plays with prejudices based on gender. In this case, it plays on the emotions of the viewer . Indeed, the short film (to be viewed below) surprises its audience by inverting the typical clichés between men and women. Thus, it is not the men who “free” themselves to watch soccer without their companion, but the opposite!

Why did the company opt for this marketing message? Because it has targeted its audience well, it gets closer to the customer by soliciting his emotions. At the same time, Heineken takes the opportunity to reinforce its branding . Thanks to the advertising format, it recalls its exclusive partnership with the UEFA Champions League, a prestigious sporting event.

Red Bull, an example of viral marketing through sport

Let’s stay on the theme of sports, particularly extreme sports. And who is better than Red Bull to illustrate this theme? Indeed, the Austrian brand is known all over the world for its massive investments in sports . Today, Red Bull sports its name:

• in its sporting events (Cliff Diving World Series, Flugtag, and so on)
• through its shareholding in soccer (RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg)
• through its Formula 1 team (Red Bull Racing)
• and in other projects of stratospheric scale

However, the company gave a lesson in viral marketing in 2012 with Red Bull Stratos . The campaign then involved Felix Baumgartner in a never-before-seen free-fall project. The operation was successful: the skydiver even broke the sound barrier! Nothing is impossible in the eyes of the brand. That is the motto it would like to transmit to the public . The whole spirit of this message is felt in its commercials, as shown in this example of viral marketing released in 2013:

Nike – Write The Future

Nike has used great means to prepare for the World Cup in South Africa global event. In this context, the brand released “Write The Future” in 2010. The spot tells the societal consequences of a soccer match, emphasizing the heroism of the players.

Just like the viral marketing examples of Volvo and Red Bull, Nike sees things in a big way. In just 3 minutes, the short film features world stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Kobe Bryant, and Roger Federer. In short, the company is partnering with big influencers by proxy to embellish its awareness . So, it’s not only a lesson in viral marketing but also in influence marketing !

Dollar Shave Club accelerates its growth through viral marketing

Finally, let’s conclude this article by mentioning the example of viral marketing embodied by Dollar Shave Club and its co-founder Michael Dubin. In 2012, the brand saw its first investors inject $1 million into its business. In the wake of this, Michael Dubin took the opportunity to put himself on stage in an offbeat way. He praises the benefits of his razor blades in a humorous but sharp tone. And it must be said, the success is immediate !

Despite a lesser brand awareness, the video “Our Blades Are F***ing Great” still has 28 million views. Indeed, the company recorded 12,000 orders within 2 days of the video’s publication. Dollar Shave Club will continue to grow until Unilever acquires it in 2016 for $1 billion.

• Advertising
• Differentiation strategy

Post your opinion

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Don't forget to check your spam folder .

You didn't receive the link?

Pour offrir les meilleures expériences, nous utilisons des technologies telles que les cookies pour stocker et/ou accéder aux informations des appareils. Le fait de consentir à ces technologies nous permettra de traiter des données telles que le comportement de navigation ou les ID uniques sur ce site. Le fait de ne pas consentir ou de retirer son consentement peut avoir un effet négatif sur certaines caractéristiques et fonctions.

• This is an Ad-Free website
• Learn AI Jobs skills
• Blockchain Courses
• Digital Jobs Offers

Very often, we hear about the technique of viral marketing , but what does it mean? It is a type of unconventional marketing used to transmit to a large number of users a video or other content that suddenly begins to invade the web and social networks. It can be defined as a form of word of mouth behind which there is the will of the creators of the advertising message for it to be spread on a large scale like a virus.

A successful viral marketing strategy , therefore, involves the creation of a product, an advertisement, or a campaign with viral content that, thanks to various factors, generates enormous interest.

Usually, the reasons for such success are never accidental but rather stem from well-defined communication strategies planned down to the last detail. Of course, sometimes a pinch of luck can also help, but it is not enough.

In the following article, I will help you understand the most important aspects of viral marketing by talking to you:

• of the definition of viral marketing ;
• of the advantages of viral marketing ;
• analytical tools to understand how to trigger shares;
• of successful examples and viral campaigns.

If you want to learn how to develop winning online sales strategies through the creation of viral content, don’t miss the course to become a web marketing specialist . This professional figure can make a difference in a successful business through the development of viral marketing strategies implemented at the right time.

What is viral marketing?

Viral marketing is based on digital and non-digital marketing techniques that cause a message, story, or product to spread to other websites or users. This triggers a word-of-mouth mechanism that exponentially increases the perception and visibility of the advertised message or product.

So how does viral marketing work ? A successful viral marketing strategy consists of generating interest in the potential sale of a product or brand through the creation of messages or content, aiming to cross-sell the same.

The speed with which a message is conveyed is mainly linked to social networks, which play a key role in viral marketing strategies of this kind.

The most popular example is the creation of dynamic, surprising, and spectacular videos on YouTube and TikTok, which in turn are shared on Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms.

Companies, particularly web agencies, have fostered the concept of encouraging users to actively share content themselves. By doing so, without realizing it, they become the main protagonists of the message.

The reasons why a piece of content goes viral are quite simple, such as the ease with which it can be shared and consequently spread. Although this strategy can be interpreted as a double-edged sword, consider that an essential factor in the success of this type of campaign is for users to take control of the spread of the message .

Therefore, the risk that content can be manipulated and exploited is very high. It is therefore necessary to be able to deal with any unforeseen events, identify critical points, and provide solutions that can safeguard the image and credibility of the brand.

How to trigger shares

A successful viral marketing campaign is very simple to implement. It is important to trigger shares on a video, for example, by devising an effective action plan to spread it as widely as possible. In certain instances, the element of virality is ignited purely by happenstance.

A piece of content begins to generate interest and is shared compulsively when a private user starts circulating it in every corner of the internet, suddenly making it go viral. You can consider this concept as an answer to the question, “ What is viral? “.

When it comes to content produced by a company or brand, the viral marketing approach revolves around two primary actions in its dispersal strategy :

1. In the first case, users are typically drawn to a piece of content or video based on the number of views, particularly if it has been shared within their social circle.

2. In the second, on the other hand, the participation of a brand remains hidden but is only revealed at a later stage.

If a brand decides to apply viral marketing techniques without exposing itself, it must do so with extreme caution. The campaign may fail because the user interprets it as a purpose-designed strategy and may feel betrayed or deceived.

Maximise Your Mobile Impact: download the free guide and discover how to make the most of mobile marketing opportunities

Benefits of viral marketing

Like any successful viral marketing strategy , this unconventional form of marketing has several advantages, such as:

• Limited budget . viral marketing campaigns are characterized by the fact that users are a significant part of the work, drastically reducing dispersion costs. In this case, it becomes almost superfluous to purchase advertising space within the media.
• Great results . a viral video on the internet has the ability to reach a huge target audience, even internationally, without any investment or effort. By virtue of this, a small company or even a freelancer could achieve remarkable results far beyond their expectations.
• It is non-invasive . When the user decides to participate in the creation of content for viral marketing, he does not see it as something invasive; on the contrary, he feels so involved that he wants to share that message or story with the widest number of people. In fact, brand perception and interactions are undoubtedly better than with traditional forms of advertising.
• It helps build your brand . If incredible content is created in terms of creativity, the user themselves will share it. By doing so, you create a direct and personal connection with your company. This is done with the support of social media and analytical tools that can identify the target audience and the type of content with a high sharing rate.

Do you want to know you online marketing skills? Take the Test

Quick and easy sharing

It may seem obvious, but for a successful viral marketing strategy, content must be optimized to be shared quickly and easily. Only by facilitating the sharing of content on social media will you increase the chances of virality. In fact, by exploiting all social channels, you can best promote your message by identifying the most suitable one for the type of content.

For example, if the object to be shared is an image, use Facebook, Twitter, or Snapchat. Or, if you are trying to encourage a video to go viral, in that case, the best tools will be YouTube (teasers, short videos) and Instagram (stories, GIFs).

This is certainly a skillful move, facilitating the dissemination of the content in the most linear and consistent way possible. In addition to making sharing easier, the performance of the campaign can be analyzed using the following techniques:

• offer different methods of sharing;
• provide a free product or service;
• find the common interests of your core audience;
• ask questions or polls that generate views, interactions, and comments;
• measure the campaign by the number of users identified;
• Make your content accessible at all times.

Data Analysis

Creating an effective viral marketing strategy requires a lot of work and can be difficult, but not impossible. To start off on the right foot, it is useful to use tools that will allow you to build your campaign effectively . The first step is to know which strategies have been most successful and which ones have had negative feedback in the past.

To reach a certain audience, it is crucial to understand which group of people you are addressing . At this point, by monitoring social media analytics tools for your target audience, you can identify the content that has achieved the best level of performance.

What data should be analyzed for promotion strategies on social networks? Definitely to be monitored are:

• the rate of user involvement;
• hashtags or trend topics;
• the level of traffic and performance of a keyword;
• impressions (or views) on the page;
• the number of clicks on the content (post, video, image);
• the number of reaches (number of unique users who saw the post);
• interactions on social media;
• demographic data

Analytical Tools

To create content for use in viral marketing , it is necessary to understand the main analytical tools. To monitor users and understand what is happening on the web , it is important to follow these three steps from the beginning:

• Analyzing how a piece of content went viral and finding out why;
• update its use of social media trying to exploit its full potential;
• follow every social event (culture, entertainment, sport, politics) even if your hobbies are different.

Listed below are three types of tools useful for both viral marketing and the acquisition of new users.

Download Free Google GA4 Guide

NewsWhip is an excellent tool for monitoring viral news. In fact, the tool tracks the stories that are most shared and that have engaged users the most on Facebook and Twitter. It is very effective as it allows filtering by geography (Italy, Great Britain, the United States, etc.), by category (entertainment, sports, etc.), and even by subcategory (football, basketball, tennis, etc.).

Among the tools to be used in virtual marketing , NewsWhip is useful because it analyzes the most shared content on social networks, but above all, it classifies the sharing rate according to the speed with which users interacted with that particular story.

In fact, the faster the public engages with that news, the higher the number of likes, tweets, or any other form of connection on social media will be.

Kingsumo is one of the most effective tools for successful viral marketing campaigns . Created by the successful company App Sumo, it is possible to integrate it with WordPress.

It is mainly based on the use of contests and promotional messages for users.

This platform is suitable for those who want to increase or double the number of contacts on their mailing list so as to create a certain following through the creation of a single campaign.

It offers a temporary free plan, although it has some data limitations. The cost of the subscription may be expensive.

If you consider the development of a traditional marketing campaign, it is easy to see that KingSumo is a very powerful tool because:

• is easy to set up (unlike other time-consuming tools);
• influence the user more, stimulating them to participate and share your giveaway campaign;
• ensures greater virality;
• allows the creation of unlimited campaigns at zero cost.

People can share the link to your campaign on all major social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram) via their personal account (User ID). By doing so, you have the opportunity to create and propose other campaigns to users based on their feedback.

Buzzsumo is a very effective online tool that can identify the most popular content that has generated the most interest among users on the web or on a specific site.

As a viral marketing tool , it is probably the best, and it is possible to divide its main functionalities into four macro categories:

• scour the web in order to find the most interesting content that has gained the most shares on social media. To do this, however, I recommend you take advantage of the support of Google Keyword Planner , an integrated Google service from which you can select the most searched keywords on the web that are obviously consistent with your company’s image;
• evaluates competing keywords based on ranking, i.e., the level of the positioning of a site or domain on search engines assigned by Google, which deems it more authoritative than others. The higher the ranking level, the harder it will be to get closer to competitors. Actually, it is a great advantage because thanks to this data, one can plan different keywords and identify those with a lower competitive edge, so as to be able to achieve more realistic results;
• rank your selected keywords or topic according to the number of shares or interactions on all social channels. This way, if you have indicated a keyword that perfectly describes your brand, you can gain a more detailed insight into the interests of your target audience and the type of platform used;
• groups together and provides a list of the most important “Influencers” related to your industry. These very active figures on the web are mainly bloggers, journalists, or YouTubers. Thanks to their popularity and number of followers, they can generate a lot of interest in a particular topic or post. Through this tool, therefore, you will be able to understand which topics generate the most discussion and engage your audience the most.

Examples of viral marketing

Before we get to the famous viral marketing examples , we need to remember a few main components. As I mentioned at the beginning, in some cases, the exponential virality of a campaign happened by pure chance, perhaps by word of mouth or a certain historical or social event that happened recently.

However, if you are not going to tempt fate and rely on luck but want to plan a well-defined campaign, remember to apply these best practices:

• tries to offer interesting content related to current events based on the latest trends;
• communicate something that helps develop specific imagery in the user, who will be stimulated to associate that specific content with your brand;
• focus a lot on the emotional factor , as you are more likely to engage your audience, who will be more inclined to share your message.
• create polls or ask questions about something useful. In fact, people tend to participate more actively if it is a topic of general interest, stimulating in them a sense of belonging;
• develops a story by trying to embed the message and the company within a broader narrative (e.g. video interviews or direct testimonies of real people that arouse empathy).

Look at all the Courses in Digital Marketing

DIGITAL MARKETING ONLINE COURSES

Successful Viral Campaigns

Among the best-known case studies in viral marketing are experiential marketing strategies that focus not so much on the end consumer as on their experiences. The aim is to excite while always keeping in mind the coherence between the brand and the message it wants to communicate.

Consider that one cannot talk about a viral campaign without mentioning one of the most famous brands in the world: Coca-Cola. The perfect combination of viral and experiential is a well-known commercial for the brand, “The Happiness Cashier.”

At an ATM with the company logo, passersby were allowed to withdraw 100 euros without a card. The sum, however, had to be shared with another brand or person. For example, it could be used to buy basic necessities for a needy person or donated to charity, thus selling not a product but the experience of happiness caused by a benevolent gesture.

With the aim of enhancing actions that affect both the people who perform them and the recipients, Coca-Cola has succeeded in making a strong impact on its users by focusing not on direct product promotion but on emotions.

As you read on, you will learn more about the concept of viral marketing through three other well-known viral examples, such as:

• Always #LikeAGirl;
• Airbnb #WeAccept;
• Good morning Motta.

Always #LikeAGirl

Always , part of the multinational P&G, is one of the most renowned brands in the field of feminine hygiene products. The company’s goal was to build loyalty and become an educational model for their target group, mainly women and girls.

A short 60-second spot was created on YouTube using the hashtag #LikeAGirl . The protagonists are little girls who are each asked to perform an action, such as throwing a baseball or running fast. Like a girl, but with the movements of a young child, they prove at all costs that they can do it.

The commercial highlights two points: the stereotype of the female world as inferior to the male world and the difficult period of change a girl has to go through when becoming a woman.

The spot was broadcast during the Super Bowl, and the Hashtag #LikeAGirl became TrendTopic within a few hours, generating hundreds of thousands of tweets mainly from the female audience.

The campaign achieved unprecedented success. Followers on Twitter tripled within three months, the YouTube video reached 90 million views, subscriptions to Always’s YouTube channel increased by 4339%, and the female target audience increased by 50%. In addition, a study reported that 70% of women and 60% of men said the commercial had changed their perception of the phrase “like a girl.

AirBnb #WeAccept

Airbnb has over the years become the most influential business model in digital marketing, which many companies take as their benchmark.

The company created a commercial, whose protagonists are people of different ethnicities, using the hashtag #WeAccept to disseminate a social ideal.

Phrases against racism, discrimination, homophobia, and sexism appear in the video. The theme of travel is the thread that unites the community of AirBnB customers and the people ready to break down the thick cultural barriers.

The ad immediately went viral and generated thousands of interactions and comments on social media. The reason is that it was aired at a very sensitive time in history, exactly one month after the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States.

Curiously, the Hashtag #NotMyPresident, which was created the day after Trump’s victory, achieved a huge increase in tweets in the following months after the release of the ad and the Hashtag #WeAccept.

Good morning, Motta

An example of viral marketing in Italy is the commercial for Buondì , the snack of the famous Italian brand Motta. The advertisement went viral as soon as it was aired, triggering laughter but also a series of controversies because it was considered provocative in its content.

The protagonist of the commercial is a middle-class child who turns to her mother in a grotesque and ironic tone and says, “Mummy, I would like a light but very tempting breakfast that can combine my desire for lightness and gluttony” . The mother’s response is no less and reads: “No way, dear, may an asteroid hit me if it exists” . What happens next is surely known to all.

The company’s objective was to break free from the traditional canon of commercials aimed at families, which had always used politically correct language and imagery. Motta then decided to hire Saatchi & Saatchi, a web agency of international importance, to implement a dangerous but impactful marketing strategy aimed at rejuvenating and capturing a younger target.

In truth, many families launched themselves against the company, considering this commercial to be harmful. According to Saatchi & Saatchi’s statements, the criticism was part of a pre-planned and studied strategy, with the knowledge that it would provoke much discussion and at the same time provoke massive shares on the web, increasing visibility and brand perception.

Conclusions and Strategic Consulting

Now that you know the secrets of viral marketing , thanks to case studies on successful viral campaigns, you can start building and expanding your online business effectively.

Keep in mind that to make content go viral, a little bit of luck is certainly needed, but if there is a sound strategy behind it that keeps the target audience in mind and also appeals to emotion, success for the brand is assured.

To build a winning campaign for your business, book a free, customized strategic consultation with an industry expert.

Contact us for more information on popular marketing strategies and how to apply them

REQUEST FOR MORE INFORMATION

START YOUR CAREER

DOWNLOAD YOUR EBOOK

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Submit Comment

• Start free trial

Start selling with Shopify today

Start your free trial with Shopify today—then use these resources to guide you through every step of the process.

TikTok Success Stories: 9 Small Businesses That Went Viral

Want to be the next brand to go viral on TikTok? Here are nine inspiring TikTok success stories to help you take your small business to the next level.

For many small businesses, social media is the best way to grow an audience and reach new customers—and TikTok is quickly becoming a favorite! Savvy entrepreneurs will find a lot to love about the video-sharing platform, and for some, it's been huge in taking their business to the next level. 

TikTok success stories are now abundant on the app, and those success stories are excellent models to help growing businesses succeed on TikTok.

Why is TikTok so good for small businesses?

Inspiring tiktok success stories, dasha derkach, enchanted scrunch.

• Andrea Osstifin, Peachy BBs Slime

Sana and Will Saleh, Lala Hijabs

Chioma ngwudo, ceecee’s closet nyc, kyle hinds, noble leather co..

• Natalie Rogers, Klassy Network

Matthew Crosthwaite, Ya Boy Chamoy

Pierce woodward, brand pierre, jamal hejazi, candy funhouse, turning your brand into a tiktok success story.

There are several reasons why TikTok is so great for small businesses . Firstly, the app’s unique discovery algorithm learns what you like over time—meaning that the more you engage with its content through the For You page (watch, like, share, comment), the more of that content you will see.

This is fantastic for small businesses because the app will most likely share your content with people who are going to be interested in your brand and content. Regardless of how many followers you have or how new your business is, every TikTok video has the ability to go viral. 

Connect with shoppers on TikTok

Shopify comes with powerful tools to help you tell your brand story and create TikTok in-feed ads in minutes. Make sales on TikTok and manage all your orders, returns, and payments from Shopify.

If you want to reach a younger demographic, TikTok should be made a priority in your social media strategy. While Boomers and Millennials historically lean towards Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, Gen Z are the original adopters and most prominent TikTok users. They value authenticity and creativity and are more likely to support small business accounts that foster community and speak their language.

While many businesses use TikTok in their marketing, a handful of some TikTok case studies have really taken off, thanks to the app. These nine success stories are all examples of how TikTok can make all the difference to your social media strategy. 

Founder Dasha Derkach began her business, Enchanted Scrunch , a year ago because she wanted to provide a bigger, better variety of scrunchie designs. After initially promoting through Instagram, she started posting on TikTok.

“It was two months later, [the video] got 15k views, and I got 10 orders that first day! From then on, I got more and more views over time, reaching even 3 million views on a video.” 

 Since then, TikTok has become Dasha’s main marketing tool, and around 90% of her overall sales are now made through the video-sharing platform, with a further 10% coming from Instagram and Pinterest.

“It has significantly boosted our sales. Before TikTok, we got around two orders a week, then once we started around 100 a week, now we also do TikTok Lives nearly every day and get almost 500 orders a week!”

In the year since launching Enchanted Scrunch on TikTok, Dasha’s oversized and unique scrunchie brand is now a six-figure company with over 170k followers.

Andrea O., Peachy BBs Slime

Slime shops are everywhere on TikTok, but few have blown up like Peachy BBs. With the main account boasting 4.7 million followers (and a side account with over a million), Andrea and her small team have mastered the art of the TikTok slime account.

This has been especially true ever since Kim and North Kardashian started sharing videos of Andrea’s slimes on her Instagram! That’s PR that most small businesses dream of.

Like many people, Sana and Will Saleh started Lala Hijabs after losing their jobs during the pandemic—and like everyone else in quarantine, decided to join TikTok. The couple began designing cute tie-dyed hijabs just for fun and sharing them on the app—and before they knew it, they were blowing up.

“When people began asking where we got [the hijabs] from, we decided to hype up the business before we even began forming it—and people loved it and anticipated the huge launch!”

Overnight and with one viral video, the Saleh’s gained over 50k followers and one million views, so the couple decided to use their life savings to launch Lala Hijabs – and use TikTok as their main source of marketing.  

The family-owned business posts lots of behind-the-scenes content as well as hijab tutorials and product launches, and since launching has now over 144k followers and 4.2 million likes, with 60% of its sales coming through the app. 

“Anytime we have a new launch or product to showcase, the first place we show it is on TikTok—and absolutely LOVE the response we get from our audience. It grows our following and awareness for our brand every day.”

Self-made CEO, speaker, coach, headwrap connoisseur, and co-founder, NYC-based Chioma Ngwudo is on a mission to inspire and celebrate Black women and African culture through her fashion and beauty brand CeeCee’s Closet NYC .

Together with her sister and creative director Uchenna, the company designs all their unique, colorful African-inspired items in partnership with artisan creators in Nigeria. From head wraps to waist beads and body care products, CeeCee’s Closet NYC are making African fashion and beauty accessible—all while placing equity at the forefront of their business model. 

 Chioma predominantly uses her TikTok account to educate and showcase—especially with products not as widely available in the United States, such as African exfoliating nets and skin care products created specifically for Black and Brown skin. As of writing, CeeCee’s Closet NYC has over 158k followers and almost 4 million likes.

“I believe with social media we’ve seen a real resurgence and interest in African cultures and things that are associated with the African experience and diaspora,” Chioma told Browned 2 Perfection Agency back in January. “Social media has been a huge tool for us. We’ve been expanding more on TikTok and Pinterest. Also, we use email marketing and text lists to keep our customers up to date.”

With 1.5 million followers and counting, the self-proclaimed CEO of #LeatherTok, Kyle Hinds has created a successful brand creating handmade leather wallets and belts from his studio in Ontario, Canada.  

 Kyle started Noble Leather Co. in 2018 after discovering the leather aisle of an art supply store and learning his craft through YouTube videos. Since then, he has crafted countless leather items and uses his TikTok account to showcase his workmanship, leaning into trends such as ASMR and #OddlySatisfying to help his TikTok go viral on the app.

His most successful TikTok—the one that started it all—has almost 30 million views and shows Kyle making one of his famous belts from scratch in his studio. His videos regularly get over a million views each. 

Natalie Rogers, Klassy Network 

Founder Natalie Rogers started Klassy Network in 2019 when she wanted a stylish top to wear without a bra. She was unable to find any she liked with built-in padding, so she decided to make her own. Like many innovative small businesses, Natalie noticed a gap in the market—which was confirmed after her idea took off in 2020 when a video of her “halter brami” went viral on both TikTok and Instagram.

In the years since, Klassy Network has been bringing stylish bra tops, bodysuits, and bramis (a cross between a bra and a camisole) to women worldwide—many of whom discover her designs through her TikTok, which has almost half a million followers. Her Instagram has also been hugely important in scaling her business . But, a true TikTok success story, it’s the app where she’s seen the fastest growth.

Klassy Network is now a six-figure business. Natalie posts videos almost daily showcasing her “fun and functional” items through #GRWM (get ready with me) videos, behind-the-scenes insights into the company, and other inspirational content to inspire and empower women.

One of the many reasons why TikTok is becoming the go-to social channel for small businesses is that it’s great for introducing users to new foods and cultures. This is definitely the case for candy business Ya Boy Chamoy . 

The California-based business started as a hobby but took off after their videos began to go viral on TikTok. Matthew Crostwaite and his partner run the company, which now has over a million followers on the app, making and selling candy soaked in their special secret Mexican chamoy sauce—a recipe passed down from Matthew’s grandmother. 

 The combination of candy and chamoy is popular in Mexico—known as dulces enchilados—and the video-sharing platform has allowed the idea to be introduced to thousands outside of the Latin community and helped Ya Boy Chamoy to grow from a hobby to a successful e-commerce store .

One spoon changed Pierce Woodward’s entire life, and his creative up-cycling has helped him become a well-known TikTok success story. The teenager started his business making rings out of old metal spoons during quarantine and sharing his creations on TikTok for fun. 

His content caught the attention of more prominent influencers, whose interest in his rings helped Pierce gain an even bigger following. After opening up a store, his first ring drop sold out in two days, and subsequent drops now sell out in minutes. This was all driven by the teen’s savvy use of the platform to create engaging ring-making content and leverage larger influencers to grow his business.  

 The high school dropout has built Brand Pierre into a million-dollar business and uses TikTok as his main marketing source. The account has a cool 1.6 million followers, and now Pierre has moved on from spoon rings, scaling the business into something more sustainable and creating jewelry that he describes has “purpose, meaning, and intention.”

Jamal Hejazi, the founder of Candy Funhouse , is a fantastic TikTok success story. Hejazi wanted to create the world's best candy experience and took his brick-and-mortar store online in December 2020 to reach a more global customer base, using TikTok to get to them. Their first viral video showed a customer’s order being packed up for shipping and helped them gain 30k followers alone. 

“The first time we went viral as a company was through a fan's user-generated content doing a review on our company. We had a surge of visitors to the website and didn't know where it was coming from.”

While TikTok is international and videos can be enjoyed by people worldwide, individual accounts can still foster community. This is undoubtedly true in the case of Candy Funhouse, who have themed candy around local baseball teams and pop culture phenomenons.

 “Listening to our audience has been the key to growing our social media accounts. We participate in active social listening from our audience and create content that we, as candy lovers, would enjoy watching ourselves. We consider ourselves to be media and technology experts, and we use our social channels to channel our creativity and goals in those fields.”

Candy Funhouse’s young and dynamic team has helped establish Candy Funhouse as the frontrunner for all things candy on social media. TikTok has significantly boosted its traffic, sales, and brand awareness—their most popular candies tend to be the ones that go viral on the app. The store’s account now boasts 2.7 million followers.

“The key to turning TikTok into a business is to create an environment that is based around the content and experience, rather than a product. TikTok is a great platform for building a brand if you can capture the spirit of TikTok and steer away from the traditional forms of advertisement.”

Whether you're a candy company, create up-cycled jewelry, or have just opened a slime store, TikTok is a great space for small businesses wanting to improve brand awareness, foster community, and generate sales. The best TikTok small businesses know just how to use the app’s endless sounds, trends, and content ideas for virtually unlimited marketing experimentation and aren’t afraid to take risks and see what works.

Learn more: Best times to post on TikTok

Furthermore, small businesses on TikTok tend to blow up when entrepreneurs simply share their hobbies and processes on the app, creating content that is both authentic and engaging . The best way to learn how to do that is to spend time using TikTok. Watch videos, engage with creators and small businesses you admire, and take insight from the viral masters—all this will help you use TikTok to scale your business and take it to the next level. 

Download the Shopify TikTok App

• How to Make Money Online: A Guide in 2024
• How Does Alibaba Work? A Guide to Safe Product Sourcing and Dropshipping
• How to Make Your Link in Bio Pop with Linkpop
• How To Source Products To Sell Online
• 24 Free Shopify Apps to Help You Build, Manage, and Grow Your Store
• Start Selling in a Niche Market Today: 9 Examples
• Easily Register a Trademark: All You Need To Know
• The Best Shopify Ecommerce Themes for Your Online Store
• Google Shopping Feed Mastery- Get Products to Stand Out
• How to Turn a Customer Into a Subscriber

Keep up with the latest from Shopify

Get free ecommerce tips, inspiration, and resources delivered directly to your inbox.

By entering your email, you agree to receive marketing emails from Shopify.

popular posts

The point of sale for every sale.

Subscribe to our blog and get free ecommerce tips, inspiration, and resources delivered directly to your inbox.

Unsubscribe anytime. By entering your email, you agree to receive marketing emails from Shopify.

Latest from Shopify

Aug 29, 2024

Aug 28, 2024

Learn on the go. Try Shopify for free, and explore all the tools you need to start, run, and grow your business.

Try Shopify for free, no credit card required.

Browsing Category

Case Studies

Using a referral waitlist before lunch to get traction at low CAC

Prentus’ reward-based waiting list (20% Referral Rate)

Interview: Getting pre-sale signups before a festival launch with referral giveaways

B2B referral program with an interactive twist

ultimate.money: Getting 500K early adopters with a prelaunch waitlist

How Revolut grew 150x with referral marketing—a case study

Yac’s prelaunch campaign could change the way we work remotely – Case Study

The Paypal referral program: Getting to 100M users.

Lime Crime’s referral program and what beauty brands can learn from it.

5 Amazing Small Business Case Study Examples for Marketers

In the competitive landscape of small businesses, standing out requires more than just great products or services. It demands compelling stories that resonate with your target audience. Case studies, real-world examples of marketing your product or service, are powerful tools to build trust. Let’s explore nine inspiring small business case study examples that have harnessed the power of storytelling to achieve remarkable results.

Power of Case Studies

Before exploring these inspiring examples, understand the profound impact that well-crafted case studies can have:

• A compelling case study does more than showcase your product or service. It tells a story that resonates with your audience.
• It transforms abstract benefits into tangible results, helping potential customers visualize themselves achieving similar success.
• Case studies build trust and credibility by highlighting specific challenges, solutions, and outcomes.

When a small business shares how it successfully navigated a problem, it positions itself as an expert in the industry. This expertise is backed by real-world results, which makes your brand more trustworthy in the eyes of potential customers.

Small business case study examples are powerful social proof that your offerings deliver real value. According to a survey by the Content Marketing Institute:

“73% of marketers say that case studies are one of the most effective forms of content for influencing purchasing decisions.”

This is because they provide potential customers with evidence that your solution works and can help them achieve similar results.

Small Business Case Study Examples

Here are a few small business case study examples you can not miss to analyze:

Zapier is a prime example of how strategic SEO and content marketing can drive massive organic traffic and user growth. It faced the challenge of increasing its visibility in a crowded market to establish itself as a go-to platform for automation.

Through a meticulously planned SEO strategy, they set a precedent for how small businesses can leverage content and partnerships to fuel growth.

In its early days, Zapier faced a significant challenge. It was how to stand out in a rapidly growing market of productivity and automation tools. With numerous competitors offering similar services, it needed to find a way to differentiate itself and drive organic traffic.

The company recognized the importance of online presence and visibility to attract new users and grow its platform.

The challenge was clear. Zapier needed to boost its SEO efforts and increase website traffic to sustain growth and stay competitive.

To tackle this challenge, the company implemented an ambitious SEO strategy focused on long-tail keywords. These are often less competitive and more targeted.

The company created 25,000 unique landing pages, each optimized for specific long-tail keywords related to their services.

These pages were not just automated templates. They featured well-structured, human-written content that addressed the specific needs of potential users searching for those keywords.

Zapier also developed a comprehensive playbook for onboarding new apps and partners.

By involving their partners, the company generated a vast amount of content without overwhelming their in-house team. These partners wrote high-quality guest posts for their sites, including backlinks to Zapier, further strengthening Zapier’s SEO and increasing referral traffic.

This boosted its domain authority and helped attract new users by increasing the company’s visibility across various online platforms.

Zapier’s strategic SEO and content marketing efforts paid off tremendously. The creation of 25,000 optimized landing pages significantly increased organic traffic, making it easier for potential users to discover Zapier through search engines.

Collaborating with partners for content creation and link building further amplified their online presence, driving even more traffic to the website.

Today, Zapier is recognized as a leader in the automation industry, with a robust user base and a solid online presence, largely thanks to its strategic use of SEO and content partnerships.

Key Takeaways

• Leverage long-tail keywords to create targeted, relevant content that drives organic traffic.
• Create multiple landing pages with well-optimized, human-written content to improve search engine visibility.
• Collaborate with partners to scale content creation and build valuable backlinks.
• Outsource link-building efforts to trusted partners to increase domain authority and attract more users.
• Focus on SEO as a long-term strategy to establish and maintain a solid online presence.

“One more thing…”—a phrase famously used by Steve Jobs during Apple keynotes, signaling the introduction of a groundbreaking product or idea. This phrase perfectly encapsulates Apple’s approach to innovation and branding: consistently delivering something unexpected and transformative.

It’s a testament to Apple’s commitment to pushing boundaries and setting new standards in the industry. This philosophy is reflected in their products and their approach to overcoming challenges and driving success.

Apple’s journey from a struggling tech company to a global powerhouse is a powerful case study of how strategic innovation and branding can redefine an entire industry.

In its early years, Apple faced a series of significant challenges. The company was battling financial difficulties, lagging behind competitors like IBM and Microsoft, and struggling to establish a strong foothold in the highly competitive technology market.

One of the most pressing challenges was Apple’s inability to define its brand identity clearly and differentiate itself from other players in the industry. The company’s products, while innovative, were not achieving the desired market penetration, and Apple was at risk of becoming irrelevant in a rapidly evolving market.

Additionally, Apple faced the challenge of creating products that were not only innovative but also accessible and appealing to a broader consumer base. The company needed to balance its focus on design and technology with the need for mass-market appeal.

Apple also had to overcome internal challenges, including management instability and a lack of cohesive vision, hindering its ability to execute a unified strategy.

To address these challenges, Apple, under the leadership of Steve Jobs, implemented a multi-faceted strategy that focused on innovation, design, and brand reinvention.

Apple doubled down on its commitment to innovation, focusing on creating products that were not only technologically advanced but also user-friendly and beautifully designed.

The launch of the Macintosh in 1984, for instance, was a turning point that showcased Apple’s ability to combine cutting-edge technology with an intuitive user experience. The focus on innovation continued with the development of iconic products like the iPod, iPhone, and iPad, each revolutionizing its respective industry.

Recognizing the need for a solid and consistent brand identity, Apple undertook a significant rebranding effort. This included simplifying its logo, as previously mentioned. It involved redefining Apple’s image as a brand synonymous with innovation, creativity, and premium quality.

The “Think Different” campaign was instrumental in positioning Apple as a brand that stood for innovation and rebellion against the status quo. It resonated deeply with consumers and differentiated Apple from its competitors.

Apple strongly emphasized design and user experience, ensuring that every product performed well and looked and felt exceptional. This strategy extended to the Apple ecosystem, where seamless integration between devices created a unique and compelling user experience that competitors struggled to match.

Apple’s strategic decisions paid off handsomely, transforming the company from a struggling business into the most valuable company in the world. The focus on innovation and design resulted in products that captured market share and created entirely new markets.

The iPod revolutionized the music industry, the iPhone redefined mobile communication, and the iPad opened up new possibilities in personal computing.

The rebranding efforts and the “Think Different” campaign helped establish Apple as a premium brand with a loyal customer base. Apple’s products became status symbols, and the company cultivated a reputation for quality, reliability, and cutting-edge technology.

The Apple Stores further solidified this brand image, providing customers with an immersive, personalized experience that drove sales and brand loyalty.

Under Jobs’ leadership, Apple’s stock price soared, and the company’s market capitalization grew exponentially. Apple’s ability to consistently innovate and reinvent itself has ensured its continued success, making it a dominant force in the technology industry.

• Innovation is vital to staying ahead in a competitive market; consistently developing groundbreaking products can redefine entire industries.
• A strong, cohesive brand identity is essential for differentiating a company from its competitors and building customer loyalty.
• User experience and design are critical factors in product success; functional and aesthetically pleasing products create lasting consumer appeal.
• Retail strategy and direct customer engagement can enhance brand perception and drive sales.
• Leadership and vision are crucial for maintaining focus and executing a successful long-term strategy.

In 2009, Uber emerged with a bold vision: to transform the transportation industry by offering a convenient, reliable, and tech-driven alternative to traditional taxi services.

What began as a simple idea—connecting riders with drivers through a smartphone app—quickly became a global phenomenon that disrupted how people move in cities worldwide.

Uber’s journey from a small startup to a multi-billion-dollar company is a powerful example of how technology, innovative business models, and strategic execution can revolutionize an entire industry.

Uber’s rise from a startup to a multi-billion-dollar company is a compelling case study in leveraging technology, innovative business models, and strategic marketing to disrupt an entire industry.

When Uber was founded in 2009, the transportation industry was dominated by traditional taxi services, often criticized for being inefficient, expensive, and difficult to access. Customers frequently faced challenges such as long wait times, unclear pricing, and poor service.

Uber identified these pain points and recognized an opportunity to disrupt the market by providing a more convenient, reliable, and cost-effective solution.

However, the challenge was not just about creating a better service. It was about convincing both consumers and regulators to accept a completely new model of transportation that relied on private drivers and mobile technology.

To overcome these challenges, Uber implemented a multi-pronged strategy that combined technology, aggressive marketing, and strategic partnerships. Uber’s core innovation was its mobile app, which allowed users to book a ride with just a few taps on their smartphone.

The app provided real-time tracking of drivers, transparent pricing, and the convenience of cashless payments, addressing many issues plaguing traditional taxi services.

Uber also introduced dynamic pricing, known as “surge pricing,” which adjusted fares based on demand, ensuring that riders could always find a ride, even during peak times.

Uber’s business model was disruptive in that it didn’t own any vehicles or employ drivers in the traditional sense. Instead, Uber acted as a platform that connected independent drivers with passengers.

This allowed Uber to scale rapidly without the overhead costs associated with maintaining a fleet of vehicles.

The company offered incentives to drivers, such as flexible working hours and the potential to earn more than traditional taxi drivers, which helped attract many drivers to the platform.

In some regions, Uber introduced services like UberMOTO (motorcycle taxis) and UberAUTO (auto-rickshaws) to cater to local transportation preferences.

This flexibility allowed Uber to penetrate diverse markets and meet the unique demands of different customer segments.

Uber’s strategic approach to technology, business model innovation, and aggressive expansion paid off, making it one of the fastest-growing companies in history.

Within a few years, Uber had disrupted the global transportation industry, challenging the traditional taxi model and inspiring a wave of similar startups.

The company’s success was not without controversy, as it faced legal challenges, protests from taxi unions, and regulatory hurdles in many cities. However, Uber’s ability to adapt and navigate these challenges allowed it to continue growing.

By 2019, Uber had completed over 10 billion rides globally, and the company went public with a valuation of over $80 billion.

Today, Uber operates in more than 900 metropolitan areas worldwide and has expanded its offerings to include services like Uber Eats, Uber Freight, and autonomous vehicle research.

Uber’s journey from a small startup to a global leader is a testament to the power of innovation, technology, and bold business strategies.

• Leveraging technology can transform traditional industries by offering innovative, user-friendly solutions.
• A disruptive business model can enable rapid scaling and global expansion without the constraints of traditional operations.
• Aggressive marketing and strategic expansion are essential for establishing a solid presence in new markets.
• Adapting to local markets is crucial for success in diverse regions, allowing a company to meet specific customer needs and regulatory requirements.
• Navigating regulatory challenges is critical to sustaining growth and maintaining market leadership in a disruptive industry.

“Customer obsession over competitor focus”—this principle has driven Amazon’s growth from a small online bookstore into one of the most influential companies in the world.

Founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994, Amazon was born out of the simple yet ambitious vision to revolutionize the retail industry by harnessing the power of the internet.

Amazon has transformed how people shop and redefined what it means to be a global retailer. This case study explores how Amazon tackled its early challenges, developed game-changing strategies, and achieved remarkable outcomes to become a dominant force in the global economy.

When Amazon launched, the company faced significant challenges. The internet was still infancy, and online shopping was not a common practice. Consumers were wary of buying products online, concerned about security, and unfamiliar with the process.

Moreover, Amazon had to compete with established brick-and-mortar stores with solid brand loyalty and consumer trust. The challenge for Amazon was to convince people to buy books online and shift the entire shopping paradigm towards e-commerce.

As Amazon began to expand beyond books, the company needed to develop a robust logistics network capable of delivering a vast array of products quickly and efficiently, all while keeping costs low.

Amazon’s strategy to overcome these challenges was multi-faceted and centered around three core principles: customer obsession, innovation, and scalability. Jeff Bezos has always emphasized that Amazon primarily focuses on the customer.

From the outset, Amazon prioritized creating a seamless shopping experience by offering a vast selection of products, competitive pricing, and unparalleled convenience.

This customer-centric approach extended to innovations like customer reviews, personalized recommendations, and an easy-to-use interface, which built trust and encouraged repeat business.

Amazon invested heavily in technology to improve the shopping experience and streamline operations. The creation of the “1-Click” purchasing system and Amazon Prime, which offered fast and free shipping, were technological innovations that set Amazon apart from competitors.

Additionally, Amazon Web Services (AWS) was launched as a cloud computing platform, which became a significant revenue stream and powered the company’s vast operations.

Amazon’s strategy involved expanding beyond books into every retail category, from electronics to clothing to groceries.

Amazon also diversified its business by launching products like Kindle, Echo, and Fire TV and expanding into services such as Amazon Prime Video, further embedding itself into consumers’ lives.

Amazon’s strategic focus has yielded extraordinary results, making it a prime example in any collection of small business case study examples. The company rapidly evolved from a startup into one of the largest retailers in the world.

Amazon’s ability to scale operations efficiently has enabled it to dominate the e-commerce space, capturing nearly 40% of the U.S. online retail market as of 2021.

The success of Amazon Web Services (AWS) further exemplifies the company’s innovative spirit, positioning Amazon as a leader in cloud computing. AWS has become a cornerstone of Amazon’s profitability, generating billions in revenue and supporting countless businesses worldwide.

This success story is crucial when discussing small business case study examples, demonstrating how diversification and innovation can drive substantial growth.

The introduction of Amazon Prime has cultivated a loyal customer base, with over 200 million subscribers globally who depend on the service for everything from daily essentials to entertainment.

Amazon achieved a market capitalization that surpassed $1 trillion in 2018.

• Customer obsession is crucial for building a loyal customer base and driving long-term success.
• Continuous innovation in technology and services can differentiate a company from its competitors and create new revenue streams.
• Scalability and efficient logistics are vital in managing rapid growth and maintaining a competitive edge in the market.
• Market expansion and diversification allow businesses to reduce risk and capitalize on new opportunities.
• Strategic acquisitions and investments can accelerate growth and enable entry into new markets and industries.

5. Snapchat

“Embrace the moment”—this mantra encapsulates Snapchat’s unique social media and communication approach. Snapchat emerged as a groundbreaking platform founded in 2011 by Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, and Reggie Brown.

Unlike other social media platforms that focused on permanence, Snapchat introduced the concept of ephemeral messaging, allowing users to send photos and videos that would disappear after being viewed.

This innovative approach resonated with younger audiences and quickly set Snapchat apart in a crowded social media landscape.

This case study explores Snapchat’s journey, its challenges, strategies, and outcomes that solidified its place as a leader in the social media industry.

When Snapchat first launched, it faced significant challenges in a social media environment dominated by giants like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

The critical challenge was differentiating itself in a market where social media platforms competed for user attention through features emphasizing permanence, likes, and public sharing.

Snapchat must convince users, especially younger ones, to embrace a new communication method focused on fleeting moments rather than lasting memories.

Another major challenge was monetization. While Snapchat rapidly gained popularity, especially among millennials and Gen Z, turning that user base into a profitable business was not straightforward.

The platform needed to find innovative ways to generate revenue without compromising the user experience centered around privacy and the temporary nature of its content.

Furthermore, Snapchat had to continually innovate to stay relevant as competitors began to imitate its core features. Maintaining its distinct identity and user base in the face of increasing competition was a constant challenge.

Snapchat implemented vital strategies focused on innovation, user engagement, and monetization to overcome these challenges. Snapchat’s primary innovation was its focus on ephemeral content—photos and videos that disappeared after being viewed.

This concept was a significant departure from other social media platforms, where content was designed to be permanent.

Snapchat also introduced other unique features, such as Stories (a 24-hour timeline of photos and videos), Lenses (augmented reality filters), and Discover (a platform for branded content and news). These features helped differentiate Snapchat and attract a younger demographic that valued privacy and spontaneity.

Snapchat prioritized user engagement by constantly introducing new and playful features that kept the platform fresh and exciting. The app’s interface encouraged users to interact with friends more personally and creatively, fostering a strong sense of community and belonging.

The introduction of Snapstreaks, which tracked how many consecutive days two users communicated, further boosted user retention and engagement.

To address the challenge of monetization, Snapchat developed innovative advertising solutions that were integrated seamlessly into the user experience. The company introduced Snap Ads, full-screen vertical video ads between Stories, Sponsored Lenses, and Geofilters, allowing brands to create interactive user experiences.

Snapchat also leveraged its Discover platform to partner with media companies and offer premium content, generating additional revenue streams. These strategies allowed Snapchat to monetize its user base effectively while maintaining its core appeal.

Snapchat used a strategic approach to innovation, user engagement, and monetization. This paid off, making Snapchat one of the most popular social media platforms among younger audiences.

By 2023, Snapchat had over 375 million daily active users.

The majority of its user base comprises millennials and Gen Z, who are often elusive for other platforms to capture. Snapchat successfully turned its unique approach to content sharing into a lucrative business.

The company’s innovative advertising solutions and partnerships with brands and media outlets allowed it to generate substantial revenue. This helped to achieve profitability after several years of operating at a loss.

As of 2023, Snapchat’s parent company, Snap Inc., had a market capitalization of over $15 billion.

Features like AR Lenses and Snap Maps kept existing users engaged and attracted new ones, helping Snapchat maintain its competitive edge.

Despite the challenges posed by larger competitors, Snapchat has carved out a distinct niche in the social media landscape.

• Innovation in user experience can set a platform apart in a crowded market, especially by offering unique features that address specific user needs.
• Focusing on user engagement and updating the platform can help maintain a loyal user base.
• Creative monetization strategies that align with the platform’s core values can drive revenue without alienating users.
• Staying ahead of competitors through constant innovation is essential in fast-moving industries like social media.
• Understanding and targeting a specific demographic can lead to strong brand loyalty and long-term success.

Small business case study examples are about illustrating the transformative impact your business can have. These case studies not only showcase your expertise but also build trust and inspire action.

Let these examples guide you as you develop your case studies. Turn your client successes into compelling narratives that set you apart in the marketplace.

By following these small business case study examples, you can create compelling narratives that resonate with your target audience. Use SocialBu’s analytics to track the performance of your case study campaign and identify areas for improvement.

How do you write a case study for a small business?

What is a case study in business example, what are good examples of case studies, how do you write a business case for a study.

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

No credit card required!

Share this post

Related Posts

Latest posts.

Top 9 Important Facebook Metrics to Track in 2024

Social Media Target Audience: How to Find and Target Yours Effectively

Social Media Management Pricing: What’s Best in 2024

What Does a Social Media Scheduler Do? [Top 11 Tools]

Download our mobile app

• SocialBu for Startups
• Affiliate Program
• Schedule a Demo
• AI Assistant
• Collaborate
• Hootsuite Alternatives
• Buffer Alternatives
• Agorapulse Alternatives
• Later Alternatives
• Stacker Alternatives
• Tailwind Alternatives
• Social Pilot Alternatives
• Sendible Alternatives
• eClincher Alternatives
• Help Articles
• Generate Posts with AI
• AI Caption Generator
• Prompt Generator for Text2Img
• AI Blog Image Generator
• AI Quote Image Generator

© SocialBu 2023 | Terms | Privacy

2 months OFF

On yearly plans.

This offer is for all plans until 15.08.2024. Hope to see you there :)

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

How Fake News Goes Viral: A Case Study

By Sapna Maheshwari

Eric Tucker, a 35-year-old co-founder of a marketing company in Austin, Tex., had just about 40 Twitter followers. But his recent tweet about paid protesters being bused to demonstrations against President-elect Donald J. Trump fueled a nationwide conspiracy theory — one that Mr. Trump joined in promoting. 

Mr. Tucker's post was shared at least 16,000 times on Twitter and more than 350,000 times on Facebook. The problem is that Mr. Tucker got it wrong. There were no such buses packed with paid protesters.

But that didn't matter.

While some fake news is produced purposefully by  teenagers in the Balkans  or  entrepreneurs in the United States  seeking to make money from advertising, false information can also arise from misinformed social media posts by regular people that are seized on and spread through a hyperpartisan blogosphere.

Here, The New York Times deconstructs how Mr. Tucker’s now-deleted declaration on Twitter the night after the election turned into a fake-news phenomenon. It is an example of how, in an ever-connected world where speed often takes precedence over truth, an observation by a private citizen can quickly become a talking point, even as it is being proved false.

Nov. 9, shortly after 8 p.m. Eastern

Mr. Tucker, who had taken photos of a large group of buses he saw near downtown Austin earlier in the day because he thought it was unusual, saw reports of protests against Mr. Trump in the city and decided the two were connected. He posted three of the images with the declaration: “Anti-Trump protestors in Austin today are not as organic as they seem. Here are the busses they came in. #fakeprotests #trump2016 #austin”

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and  log into  your Times account, or  subscribe  for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber?  Log in .

Want all of The Times?  Subscribe .

• Industry Updates
• Topical Spot
• Experts Speak
• Case Studies
• Campaign Spot
• Samosa Snippets
• Movie Marketing

Powered by :

Case Study: How Savana's viral Re. 1 campaign pushed its app store rankings

Savana’s #savanalimitless campaign offered products for just re. 1 for 30 minutes daily, with all proceeds supporting educational programs through teach for india. here's a case study on it..

Fashion platform Savana, with its latest initiative, the #SavanaLimitless campaign, combined retail and social responsibility. Aiming to support the education of under-resourced children in India, Savana introduced a strategy, offering its products for just Rs 1 for a brief 30-minute window each day. Partnering with Teach for India, this initiative redirected all proceeds towards educational programs.

Here's a case study on how it was done. 

Category Introduction

The women's fashion industry in India is undergoing a dynamic transformation, with a market size estimated at $20-22 billion in 2024 (source: Technavio , Statista ). This market is poised to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 9-10% in the coming years (source: McKinsey & Company , IBEF ), and by 2028, it is projected to reach around $30-35 billion, fueled by increasing consumer spending (source: Euromonitor International , Nielsen India ).

The shift towards online shopping has gained significant momentum, particularly in the post-pandemic era, with about 35-40% of women's fashion sales now occurring online (source: Forrester Research , BCG , RedSeer Consulting ). Millennials and Gen Z, aged between 18 and 35, are leading the charge, driving demand for fashionable and affordable apparel (source: KPMG India , Influencer.in ).

Brand Introduction

Savana is a fashion platform headquartered in London. Savana leverages innovative design, responsible practices, and an understanding of contemporary fashion to meet the needs of a diverse and discerning audience. 

In an initiative to give back to its community & support the education of under-resourced children, Savana launched a campaign that celebrated the spirit of giving back #SavanaLimitless. For 30 minutes every day, Savana's products were made available at just Rs 1, with all proceeds channelled directly towards educational programs in partnership with Teach for India. Each rupee spent had a significant impact, despite its monetary value, propelling their motto of #OneRupeeOneImpact.

Throughout the campaign, Savana engaged its audience through a series of social media posts, highlighting stories of children whose lives could be changed through education. The brand also collaborated with influential personalities like Uorfi Javed, Dharna Durga & Anushka Sen along with its community of creators to spread the message and encourage participation in this noble cause. The campaign spread through social media inviting organic reach & set a social media trend as well. Through this initiative, Savana not only offered value to its customers but also made a lasting impact on the future of countless children, demonstrating that even the smallest contribution can make a significant difference in someone's life.

The objective was to create brand awareness & high organic engagement via truly limitless campaign by giving back- to customers & the society as a whole. By turning everyday shopping into a force for social good, the campaign propelled Savana's motto of positively contributing towards society and sought to show how small, intentional contributions can create meaningful change and transform lives through education. Hence the campaign hashtag, #OneRupeeOneImpact. 

The brief for the team was to create a truly limitless campaign that struck the cord with customers and amplified the brand's efforts towards making a positive difference towards the education of under-resourced children in India within 48 hours, with the support of their entire community of 1000+ creators by turning shopping into a powerful act of giving. 

Creative Idea 

In a world where a single rupee often seems insignificant, Savana saw an opportunity to transform its value into something profound. The Limitless campaign leveraged the idea that while Rs 1 may not buy much today, it can spark a significant impact. By pricing products at just Rs 1 for a limited time each day, Savana turned this small coin into a powerful symbol of change. 

With the hashtag #OneRupeeOneImpact, the campaign invited customers to see their purchases in a new light. It wasn’t just about an unbeatable deal; it was about connecting each transaction to a greater purpose. The joy of shopping became intertwined with the satisfaction of knowing that every rupee spent was contributing to the education of underprivileged children. Savana aimed to give back to its customers & make each purchase a step towards creating lasting change.

Execution  

The entire team at Savana executed this campaign within 48 hours with the help of its close-knit community of over 1000+ creators.  A 30-minute daily window was implemented where all products were priced at just Rs. 1. This time-sensitive offer created excitement and drove high engagement during the promotional period. 

To enhance the campaign’s reach and impact, Savana strategically collaborated with both micro and macro influencers with creators like Dharna Durga, Uorfi Javed & many others at the forefront.

The brand also tapped into its dynamic community of over 1,000+  influencers. 

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dharna Durga (@dharnaaaaa)

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Uorfi (@urf7i)

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nancy Tyagi (@nancytyagi___)

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pratibha Girdhar (@thepratibhagirdhar)

The campaign inspired a wave of organic content, with participants creating enthusiastic reels to showcase their excitement. Groups of people, with multiple phones in hand, came together to film and share their experiences, blending the brand seamlessly into their creative content. The immense enthusiasm starting at the grassroots level itself further amplified the campaign's reach and engagement.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by 𝗞𝗵𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗶 | 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 💌 (@_khushi.kakkar_)

View this post on Instagram A post shared by 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗶 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗵 (@watchw0rld.wme)

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Deepali • Dance • UGC creator (@ddthisside)

On the second day, the unprecedented traffic caused the servers to crash. To ensure that everyone had a fair opportunity to participate, Savana extended the shopping window for 2 hours, allowing users to shop in intervals. 

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Savana (@savana)

For maximizing access and onboarding new consumers, the campaign limited purchases to one product per user. This approach ensured that more people could take advantage of the offer and facilitated broader distribution.

The campaign sparked nationwide excitement, with people waiting for the daily 30-minute window to buy products for just Rs. 1. This anticipation led to over 50 million views, 1.67 million Instagram likes, and more than 1 million app downloads, briefly crashing both the Savana app and the payment gateway. Within just three months of launching in India, the Savana app soared to the top spot on the App Store and seventh on the Play Store.

The success wasn’t solely due to strategic promotion; it was driven by a wave of organic reach. Thrilled participants flooded social media with stories and reels, sharing the adrenaline rush of snagging their favourite items. A viral trend emerged when one customer, after placing her order, called herself "God's Favorite," inspiring others to share their own experiences. Capitalizing on this trend, Savana has now introduced a "God's Favorite" t-shirt, further extending the campaign's impact.

This buzz not only engaged a wide audience but also led to INR 1 million being donated to Teach for India, showcasing the powerful impact of collective effort.

Rahul Dayama , Partner at Savana said, "What started as an effort to give back to our community- both the people who support us & those who need our support, became a widespread phenomenon on social media attracting incredible enthusiasm beyond our expectations. We were truly blown away by the response—so much so that those who managed to grab the deal started being called ‘God’s favourite.’ It was a wild ride for us, too, with traffic on our app soaring tenfold daily, even with all the preparations we made. We’re incredibly proud and grateful for the overwhelming support."

Share this article

If you liked this article share it with your friends. they will thank you later

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Ohio State nav bar

The Ohio State University

• BuckeyeLink
• Find People
• Search Ohio State

Patient Case Presentation

Our patient, Mr. Smith, is a 43 year old caucasian male who came in today with complaints of fatigue, anorexia, malaise, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and low grade fever for the past month, and recently has been alarmed by the discoloration of his skin and sclera turning yellow. He states that his urine has become dark and stool has become clay colored.

Past Medical History:  Blood transfusion in 1992 due to major blood loss in a motor vehicle accident, arthralgia, peripheral neuropathy, hospitalization due to drug overdose in 2010. Patient states that he is fully up to date on vaccination.

Social History : Patient is an injectable drug user for the past 12 years and is currently sexually active with multiple male partners and states he uses protection “sometimes”. His current occupation is a car mechanic.

Family History: Mother: history of hyperlipidemia and diabetes father died of myocardial infarction, no other siblings or family history available .

pictured: jaundice on an individual’s eye; “Jaundice.” Assignment Point , 5 Oct. 2017, www.assignmentpoint.com/science/medical/jaundice.html.