Cherry Chocolate Rain – A Viral Video Case Study

November 29, 2007 by
Filed under: General, Reviews 

A new video was just released on Youtube from the wildly popular Tay Zonday, who is a local Minnesotan resident. His first video (Chocolate Rain) was an accidental internet success when it was made wildly popular from the 4Chan forums, and ultimately led him to be one of last summers largest internet memes. The video grew so popular (11.5 million views at the time of this post), that it now has been featured by national TV networks, as well as giant ringtone networks. Tay Zonday is taking his Chocolate Rain publicity to the next step now, because Dr. Pepper has just funded him to make a viral video supporting their new product (Diet Cherry Rain Dr. Pepper).

Cherry Chocolate Rain on Youtube (Opens in a new window)

The video is less than 24 hours old, and already has over 250,000 views, and over 20 awards. I expect this number to be outdated very quickly, and that the number will easily reach the millions. I have made this post because not many people have a chance to see a case study of the “before and after” of an upcoming viral video. Viral videos are very hard to come by, and usually occur randomly or by accident (Like chocolate rain), but I have to congratulate Dr. Pepper for making a viral video that promotes their product. If Dr. Pepper made a 30 second “commercial” about the drink, I highly doubt it would get over 5000 views. Youtube viral marketing brings a new marketing plan to big business companies, because now they not only have to make great products, but they have to deliver the message in a funny or clever way.For all of you out there with video experience, or want to get in on the action, NOW IS THE TIME. All of the big time videos on Youtube have spoofs of them, and mooch all of that amazing traffic from the main page. Vanilla Snow is a highly popular (1.5 million views) viral video spoof of Tay Zonday’s original Chocolate Rain. Much like Dr. Pepper, the creator of Vanilla Snow found a funny (viral) way to market a product (His Peppergod Talkshow).So in a quick summary, here are some (not so easy) ways to increase website traffic and make money online with a successful viral video:

  1. Create a video that is funny/humorous
  2. Make a spoof/parody video of a video that is going viral (Strawberry Vanilla Fog anyone?)
  3. Create a controversial video
  4. Keep it short. ~30 seconds is best
  5. Make it gross (Chris Crocker making out with his brother… disgusting… but has millions of views)
  6. Have music (nothing punk/hard rock)
  7. Be the first (if you can)!!!

Please note that I do not make viral videos for a living, so my information is just as good as yours. I just post about what I generally see in popular videos, and if you follow my tips, chances are much greater that you will succeed. If any of you do make a parody/spoof of Cherry Chocolate Rain, let me know as I would love to see it. Even something as simple as duplicating the video but replacing Tay’s head with a big logo that says “SELL OUT” might receive a couple hundred thousand visitors. For a few hours of video cropping, some of you could double your yearly traffic. =)

Another viral video that came out yesterday is incredibly funny/gross, and already has hit the Digg frontpage and broke 500,000 views. I expect this one to be receiving at least a few million hits, although it would be near impossible (I hope) to make a spoof of this. It is still one of the funniest videos I have seen in a long time, and well worth a look.

Barf Bags Dont Work at 0 Gs on Break.com (Opens in a new window)

Comments

One Comment on Cherry Chocolate Rain – A Viral Video Case Study

  1. MoneyMoose on Thu, 29th Nov 2007 4:36 pm

    2. Videos are becoming increasingly popular what with more people getting online and using it instead of a television. I know I spend more time on the computer than watching TV.

    If only I had an idea…

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