Viral videos were once a spontaneous sensation on the internet, but have since become a marketing tactic that can be boiled down to a few key ingredients: goofiness and, usually, some kind of domesticated animal. But, oftentimes, viral videos will come out of parodies of other viral videos, which have found often been used for business marketing. This has proven especially true for Boston-based marketing consultant, Inbound, which produced its own parody based on a recent viral video.
A music video for Korean pop star Psy’s single “Gangnam Style” has amassed over 200 million views since its debut on July 15th, even becoming the number one song on iTunes. Much like Carly Rae Jepsen’s previous number one single, “Call Me Maybe” which spawned a massive series of viral videos that extended all the way to Olympic athletes and even President Barack Obama, “Gangnam Style” is sure to produce many parody videos.
For companies that use digital video marketing, they can benefit from creating their own parody of the video. Although it may be useful for spawning hits, companies should be sure to check that a parody video is right for their culture, image and marketing campaigns. Most businesses that do release these videos are already very casual and present themselves as such, giving room to create goofy videos. But, for businesses that are more professional in their appearance, a parody video will just seem out of place.
In such a case, it will benefit companies more to create well-crafted, high-quality promotional videos that reflect that professional appearance rather than something as crazy as a parody video of a pop culture event. In order to ensure these videos align with the company’s image, managers should partner with experienced digital advertising agencies to assist with their small business internet marketing.