Gangnam Style to the Harlem Shake: Potential of Viral Videos for Business

On December 21^st, 2012, PSY’s Gangnam Style hit a record breaking one billion views – the first video ever to cross the threshold. The video had other incredible statistics; it was seen at least one million times in 75 countries, had more than five million searches for the word “gangnam style” a day, generated over $8.1 million in advertising, 2.9 million downloads, and beat Justin Bieber’s “Baby” video to a pulp. Take a look at this graph by YouTube Trends:

Now that’s viral.

Fast-forward to 2013, The Harlem Shake is taking over the digital media landscape. Did you know that this trend actually came from a small group of long-boarders trying to gain recognition? The Sunny Coast Skate was the first to upload this dance video in an office with a motorcycle helmet. Since then, there have been more than 12,000 “Harlem Shake” videos with 44 million views and 4,000 variations are being uploaded per day.  This trend took viral attention up a notch by making it practical for the public to participate. We couldn’t resist it either. Check out Appleton Creative’s Harlem Shake video on YouTube!

Who said that social media marketing could never become viral? Not us. Digital viral attention is free advertising that spreads like wildfire and creates an experience with the brand. It is in the realm of possibility for your business as well.

Want to make a fun and entertaining video for your company? Call us. Appleton Creative is an award-winning, full-service advertising agency located in Orlando, Florida. Appleton works with local, national and international clients to provide marketing strategies through print, web, social media and video production – all in house. At Appleton, we want to learn about your business, empower your marketing team and be your creative resource. Your marketing goals are worth a conversation: contact us at 407-246-0092 or info@appletoncreative.com.

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