How I Got 60 Million Views on a Branded Video
I created and posted a video recently called “Explaining Canada Day to America” for a popular chicken restaurant chain. People generally hate ads, however my video has surpassed 60+ Million views on all platforms.
So, how did I do it?
I was approached by Neil Mohan at Edelman Digital Toronto (a marketing agency) who asked me if I had any video planned for Canada Day. I had written a script for a Canada Day video. It was a rant style inspired by the old Molson Canadian “My Name Is Joe” commercials. I knew it would do fairly well. The plan was to release it the week leading up to Canada Day on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
“How would you feel about partnering with a popular chicken restaurant chain for the video?” the Neil asked.
My first thought was (as I’m sure your’s would be), what a terrible idea.
Kentucky is in America.
What does that have to do with Canada Day??
Neil then explained the little known fact that Colonel Sanders actually lived in Canada from 1965 until his death in 1980.
Being a fan of challenges, I was intrigued.
Neil then said what they’d be willing to pay.
Being a holder of a mortgage and various bills, I was in.
“Influencer Marketing”… I hate this term.
It sounds like something that the mafia came up with.
“From now on, everybody on the east side buys their latte’s from Jimmy. We’d hate to have to ‘influence’ you any more than this. Capiche?”
I get it though. People with large online followings can certainly influence the buying decisions of their followers.
I don’t consider myself an “Influencer”. “Influencers” are people like Kylie Jenner and Cameron Dallas. Young and good-looking.
They certainly have their talents and abilities, so I do not mean this disparagingly. It’s just that their youth and looks allow them to simply take a picture of themselves enjoying a drink/shirt/event/patio furniture and even I, at my advanced age, will want to purchase that drink/shirt/event/patio furniture.
So, I get it but that’s certainly not me.
I’m a middle-aged suburban Dad.
I can’t influence people simply by placing my face along side a product… however, I can entertain people and make them feel good about drinks/shirts/events/patio furniture by creating content that makes them smile.
I’m kind of the opposite of a Cameron Dallas or Kylie Jenner but with the same outcome. Rather than trying to be like me by associating with certain products or services, they think “well, if that mildly entertaining old slob can have that stuff, so can I”.
The trick, I think, is to always put content first.
The drinks/shirts/events/patio furniture (the Brand) come second to content and are almost incidental.
I’m a Content Creator first.
I purposefully create content that I hope my audience will enjoy.
The Brand needs to be carefully placed into the Content Creator’s world.
So, how do you get tens of millions of people to watch a chicken ad?
You make it entertaining first.
You make the chicken part almost incidental.
To clarify, the Brand isn’t incidental… but rather it meshes with the content and does not compete with it.
Edelman Digital, specifically Neil Mohan, understood this clearly. The script was massaged carefully to reflect the Brand’s message while still clearly respecting the original intent and staying true to the concept.
Fair collaboration between me and Neil (Edelman Digital) was essential.
I wish all agencies had Neil Mohans.
Sadly, I know they don’t.
I’ve worked with a lot of them and they really, really don’t.
Shareablee (www.shareablee.com) notes that my video was the Top Branded Post on Facebook in the world (video or photo) for a 30 day period based on Views and Actions (Likes, Reactions, Comments, Shares).
I posted the ‘Explaining Canada Day to America’ video on the evening of June 27th before Canada Day (July 1st).
It already had the advantage of Canadian pride. Any nation loves to feel good about itself. It provided some bragging points for Canada given directly to our much larger neighbour, America.
I firmly believe that most successful online videos are used as self-expression. e.g. “That’s so me/Dad/Aunt Jean/you”
This video was the perfect tool for that and Edelman Digital, and by extension the Brand, knew that for its best chance for success they needed to simply have the Brand “be” there in some unobtrusive manner that wouldn’t muddy the waters and get in the way of the content itself.
The Brand is mentioned three times.
I’m sitting in a huge chicken bucket chair.
However, that was still incidental enough that it didn’t get in the way of the content.
People shared it because it didn’t feel like an ad. People still approach me on the street and ask where I got the chair without realizing it was an ad.
The Brand is top of mind for them when recalling the video, but they still need to be told it was an ad.
That’s the goal with Branded Content. That’s what gets millions of views.
Brands need to learn to match themselves up with appropriate Content Creators/Influencers and then get out of the way.
The Content Creator shouldn’t get placed into the Brand’s world.
The Brand needs to be carefully placed into the Content Creator’s world.
Most Content Creators work hard every day to build their audience.
Most Content Creators would not risk all of that hard work for one pay cheque.
Brands need to find the right Content Creators and then trust them.
If Brands can match themselves with the right Content Creator and then simply let the Content Creator do what they do while putting an arm around the Brand, everyone wins.
“How much did you pay to boost the video?”
I didn’t. The video was already at 30 Million views before the Edelman Digital decided to put money into boosting it on Facebook. In the end, the paid boost resulted in a fraction more Views.
Organic Shares resulted in millions more Views.
Boosting that video didn’t make it successful.
Being entertaining and highly sharable as a form of self-expression did.
The Brand’s total direct costs for this video were approximately less than 10% of a national TV commercial production… NOT including purchasing air time.
People don’t like Sharing ads. It makes them feel like they’re being used.
Calls to Action and copy-heavy videos will almost never go viral.
The online public spends their day being bombarded by bad news and sales pitches.
Branded Content that’s done well offers them some respite.
Branded Content that they can use as self-expression offers them convenience.
Branded Content that puts entertainment as the priority can go viral.
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