Web Video And The Path To Viral Success

Viral Holiday Card If there’s one thing 2008 confirmed (apart from the obvious and apparent lack of control we have over our economic predicament), it’s that web video is here to stay. Chances are you are already watching your fair share of You Tube clips and downloading the occasional TV show.

And as the medium grows in popularity, and advances in technology make its implementation cheaper and easier to utilize, more and more people are seeking to integrate video into their online strategy. This month alone we have been commissioned to integrate, or produce, videos for four clients. And while straight video has immediate impact, we are going to see an increase in interactive video, that allows users the chance to effect their own outcomes, and chose their own scenarios. If you’re not familiar with interactive video check out this simple example we generated for our holiday card this year.

While this isn’t new (fans of the medium will all remember the Subservient Chicken), cheaper costs and faster download times, mean it too will play an increasingly important part in people’s web strategy. Why should you care? Well, the real Holy Grail for web-based marketers is of course the “viral” campaign. An interactive piece so entertaining and compelling that viewers are prompted to email it on to friends, generating an authentic “buzz” that helps propagate interest for a given brand. With media budgets shrinking by the day, who’s not in the market for some free brand buzz?