@Rubber_Republic

To get people to share your campaign, you need to give them a reason to share. Here are four main reasons why people will do this:

– They think it is super relevant to someone they know.
If you have a niche campaign, people will often share it with those that they think it will interest. This can be on an individual sharing basis – I email my Dad all things triathlon-related as he is a moderately obsessed Ironman even though I have no personal interest. It can also be on a group basis – I often share new football ads on my footy club’s facebook group page.

- They want others to feel the emotion that they experienced.
If someone finds content funny, sad, or if it evokes any emotion, then it has the potential to be shared. If your ad can tap into someones emotions then they will want to share the experience with friends. This is especially relevant with humour – if your content is genuinely funny, it can spread far! Although shock can also spread pretty far!

- They want to share knowledge.
When sharing to large groups (such as a Twitter stream) people crave social currency – things that make them more valuable to follow and that can generate new followers. By sharing content that is academically interesting or industry relevant, people elevate their reputation as a curator. This works as people want to be seen as the first to know (and share) things, and also those who want to prove they are aware of content (by sharing or discussing it).

- Sharing it will provide a direct benefit.
Although paying people for referrals does not seem the most sophisticated mechanism for sharing, it still holds worth as a method. Think of nearly every facebook app you use – where you can earn points/credits/farmville dolla$ for inviting your friends to join in.

These reasons for sharing should be thought about when planning your campaign’s creative. Which is most appropriate for you brand and the audience you would like to reach?

It is also worth remembering that people can only share content that they have seen – the initial seed is necessary if you want viral success no matter how good the content.

This September on Tuesday 21st, KittenCamp is coming to Goldbrick House in Bristol. It’s a friendly meet-up for web-loving ad industry type people to chat memes, drink a free beer and generally share some kitten love. For a taste of what was on show at the last Kitten Camp go here

If you want to register for a ticket for the Bristol Camp, do so via EventBrite

Date: Tuesday 21st September
Time: 6.30 onwards
Twitter: #KittenCamp
Venue: Goldbrick house 69 Park Street, Bristol, BS1 5PB

P.S For all you London Campers, don’t worry we won’t forget you, we will be at our regular spot in London too;

Date: Monday 20th September
Time: 6.30 onwards
Twitter: #KittenCamp
Venue: Barro Central, 6 Poland Street, Soho, London, W1F 8PS

If you want to register for a ticket for the London Camp, do so via EventBrite

Thank you ; – )

For anyone out there who has not yet heard of KittenCamp it’s probably not what you are thinking! It’s a monthly meet-up in London for web-loving ad industry type people to chat memes, drink beer and generally share some kitten goodness. Last week the Campers gathered at the Common Bar in Manchester’s Northern Quarter to watch Chris Quigley dress up as a giant cat (Jess out of Postman pat if anyone’s interested) and chat about some of the recent top memes.

Of course it wouldn’t be kitten camp without at least one kitten clip to supply the mandatory dose of cuteness so the show began with Slide Kitty, aaaahw!

Click here to view the embedded video.

One of my favorite clips was the recent Youtube sensation Double Rainbow Guy, whose rather intense emotional reaction to a double rainbow has generated over 7 million views and counting, coining the phrase ‘what does it mean’ and sparking a series of copycat spoof videos and remixes like the Double Rainbow Song (hilariously now available to buy on iTunes)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

And the YouTube award winning Rainbow Guy Film Trailer

Click here to view the embedded video.

Of course with all the recent world cup mania, love it or hate it the trumpeting racket/tune of the Vuvuzela became the unofficial soundtrack of the games. Kicking up a lot of noise with all the bloggers out there and generating a host of goodies on youtube like Gandalf Goes to the World Cup

Click here to view the embedded video.

Hitler and the Vuvuzela at the 2010 Fifa World Cup

Click here to view the embedded video.

and a new installment of the brilliant Will it Blend?

Click here to view the embedded video.

One of the most popular brand virals of the year and top of our New Media Age Viral Chart for weeks was the Old Spice Man ad.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This genius  series of short youtube clips took the internet by storm providing a prime example of the power of Viral Seeding. The Old Spice creative team bombarded twitter, facebook and other social networking and blogging sites inviting the audience to ask questions of Mustafa’s character. They then made real time video responses to viewer’s comments posting them as replies online. This was a fantastic way to generate audience engagement and interaction with the ads, creating a story about the lead character that can continue indefinitely in future campaigns and giving everyone a chuckle along the way.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Finally the last clip of the evening was Charlie the Unicorn 3, just because we start every Camp with a kitten and end with a unicorn, don’t ask me why that’s just how it goes. For a full list of all the clips visit the Rubber Republic blog.

Click here to view the embedded video.

After some more chats and drinks that were kindly sponsored by the Viral Ad Network we were joined by our guest speaker Victoria Stansfeld from Manchester City Football Club who lead the campers on a little journey through their online site and chatted about the social strategies of the football world.

Much merriment was had by all and many interesting things were learnt. Manky KittenCamp was a great success and we promise to be back some time soon!! We would like to say a big thank you to the tweet-loving @Rebeccawho who helped organise the event and the lovely people at the Common bar, thanks for spreading the kitten love!

P.S. you can now connect with KittenCamp on Facebook, come and join the party to hear updates on future events!

At yesterday’s VAN lunch the team discussed (in perhaps too much detail?) the merits of travelling unfeasible amounts of miles for the perfect lunchtime steak (including hiring stretch Hummers with on-board chefs). Maybe it’s just a coincidence, or perhaps it’s fate, but a link for Grillstock 2010 arrived in my inbox this morning.

Dubbed as “The UK’s first full-blown US-style barbecue competition & food show”, it’s taking place down at the harbourside in Bristol this weekend (17th & 18th July). To say I’m excited is an understatement

Just when you think Bristol can’t get any more culturally diverse or eclectic, they throw in the UK’s first chilli eating contest to keep you on your toes!

We love Bristol!

You can now follow the cyclists from Team HTC live on Google maps as they race through the different stages of the Tour.

Interesting to follow the whole team and see their tactics, or you can also click on a rider to see his speed, power, cadence and heart rate.

It would have been good to have kitted me out like that so everyone could see my progress on my recent cycle (London to Paris – nearly killed me! more here), although the speeds would not have been quite so impressive!

Check out the progress of Team HTC (HTC make the Google android phone btw) here

Big companies + fun = Awesome

Go try it now.

The viral charts that we put together for New Media Age have featured in this weeks magazine – on page 11

The top 5 entries of our Viral Brand Chart and our Viral UGC Chart are listed along with their views, tweets and facebook shares.

Also one of our directors, Chris Quigley, is speaking at NMA live on Friday on Viral Marketing De-mystified. You can book tickets to the event here.

Cheers then.

Got lots of love for this film. An infographical adventure around a whiteboard from the RSA. It summarises a talk by Dan Pink on ‘the hidden truths behind what really motivates us at home and in the workplace’.

Class