Viral Marketing Research

Dumb Ways To Die - November 2012

In order to raise awareness for safety around train tracks Metro Melbourne released the advert "Dumb Ways To Die" which included a sound which included many different silly ways to die such as "setting fire to your hair" and "taking your helmet off in outer space". The comedic nature of the backing track along with the cartoon characters, which have died in the same ways as the song mentions, dancing at the chorus provides a light hearted way of conveying the serious message that Metro were trying to get across. As well as the advert Metro also released a very popular smart phone app, under the same name, which has been downloaded over 97,000 time. The game allows players to play as the characters from the video and try to successfully complete the task which each character is trying do which inevitably kills them. This viral campaign was largely successful and resulted in a dramatic drop in the number of people who were injured/killed due to train related incidents due to them being more aware of the dangers.




             

Power Rangers - March 2017

In March 2017 the final advert for the relaunch of the Power Rangers franchise was released causing hype among many fans.

However throughout the new trailer there was a Snapchat QR code (Snapcode) placed in the bottom right hand corner of the screen urging viewer to scan the code on Snapchat. When people scanned the Snapcode they were given a limited edition snapchat filter which they could use for one hour.

By using Snapchat, one of the most popular social media apps for teenagers (their main target audience) they were able to create a major buzz around the film and using the app is free so they didn't have spend any money on this marketing project.

Avengers Age of Ultron - 2015

In 2015 the Avengers returned and in the lead up to the may 1st release date the marketing team launched a viral marketing campaign which involved social media. They set up individual Twitter accounts for each character and tweeted as though the character was writing. The scheme was amajor success with the Tony stark twitter account becoming verified within hours. The Twitter pages were a very good marketing campaigns as it is free to set up a twitter account and it allows the film to create hype leading up to the release date for the main target audience as many teenagers and young adults have an account on the social media platform.