Ever wondered "how did Gangnam Style go viral"? We at 10 Yetis believe that we are the first agency to take an indepth look at how Psy, YG Entertainment and Gangnam Style became such an online viral hit. We even include the golden tips to securing a great viral campaign.
How Did Gangnam Style Go Viral? The Viral Marketing Playbook
1. How Did Gangnam Style Go Viral?
The Gangnam Viral-Marketing Style Playbook
@10Yetis www.10Yetis.co.uk +441452 348211 http://www.Facebook.com/10Yetis
2. Agenda
Caveats & Key People
Pre launch recipe
Execution of the campaign
Keeping it alive
Dying with Dignity
The Viral Recipe
Stats
Golden Rules For Going Viral
@10Yetis www.10Yetis.co.uk +441452 348211 http://www.Facebook.com/10Yetis
3. Caveats
First to review viral aspect of Gangnam Style in such
depth
We had to make a number of assumptions
Time may reveal a few errors in our assumptions!
If so, let us know!
@10Yetis, andy@10yetis.co.uk, Facebook.com/10Yetis
Key people: Psy (singer), YG Entertainment (Korean
record label), Scooter Braun (USA Music Manager)
@10Yetis www.10Yetis.co.uk +441452 348211 http://www.Facebook.com/10Yetis
4. Pre Launch Recipe
YG had a clear goal
Wanted a foothold in USA music industry
Set up USA Division in 2011 http://bit.ly/UGsXA6
Had developed a large platform on which to seed a
campaign
2.5m subscribers on YouTube channels
Unknown number in email database but likely to be millions
Multiple high profile Twitter profiles courtesy of artists under
management
Psy himself is established artist, American educated
Seeding platforms were ORGANICALLY grown – not gamed
Video was catchy, shareable, crossed social, economic and
language boundaries (humour, colourful etc)
Video had topical people alongside Psy. Dancing kid from
Korea’s Got Talent and two comedians/entertainers. Gave it
“home appeal’ in South Korea.
@10Yetis www.10Yetis.co.uk +441452 348211 http://www.Facebook.com/10Yetis
5. Execution of the Campaign
Teased the campaign to key media before launch
2x Tweets from @AllKPop teasing video
Placed video online and seeded via their own
established and engaged audiences
High impact first day – 500k of video views
Immediate number one in home charts (South
Korean)
This brought it to Western audiences via people who look
for Eastern trends to report on, e.g. Billboard.com
@10Yetis www.10Yetis.co.uk +441452 348211 http://www.Facebook.com/10Yetis
6. Keeping it Alive
Organic media pick up started to grow one month
after launch
Gizmodo first to run
Gawker pick up
Billboard made it mainstream (controversial write up caused
debate and a rise in awareness)
Celebrity tweets had minimal initial impact,
contrasts with previous explanation about reasons
for success
@10Yetis www.10Yetis.co.uk +441452 348211 http://www.Facebook.com/10Yetis
7. Keeping it Alive… cont 1
Huff Post ran a story, little visual impact on search
and tweet volumes but may have triggered CNN TV
piece - http://huff.to/UGJdkB & http://bit.ly/UGJJzh
CNN caused huge spike & this triggered YouTube
Trends to write story on Gangnam Style being
video of the month http://bit.ly/RI6spX
Triggered multiple broadcast news pick up, the
most high profile being (probably) SkyNews
Daily Mail demonstrated its ability to spot emerging
search trends and piggy back by writing 9 (nine)
articles about Psy/Gangnam Style
@10Yetis www.10Yetis.co.uk +441452 348211 http://www.Facebook.com/10Yetis
8. Keeping it Alive… cont 2
This is the time (relatively late stage) that Celeb
tweets came in e.g. Katy Perry (13k RTs)
Mainstream media got on board: Mashable, Time
Mag, Economist. I believe Washington Post piece
(http://wapo.st/VqRGUZ ) triggered Associated
Press article (http://bit.ly/TCJe9B) that got global
pick up.
Tweet and search volumes then slowed BUT, there
was clearly a plan!
Major news – Psy signed to Scooter Braun, Justin
Bieber’s manager! Major shot in the campaign
arm… http://bit.ly/VqS5GQ
@10Yetis www.10Yetis.co.uk +441452 348211 http://www.Facebook.com/10Yetis
9. Keeping it Alive… cont 3
Scooters influence and marketing database triggers
the biggest spike of the campaign
Scooter accelerated the campaign (see what I did
there) via: Britney tweets, Ellen TV show
appearances, MTV Award appearances and his
wider portfolio of artists promoting Psy via their
twitter platforms
Growth slowed and Scooter got Psy on NBC Today
show – Boom!
Guinness was the final push, as Gangnam video
breaks world records for views/likes
@10Yetis www.10Yetis.co.uk +441452 348211 http://www.Facebook.com/10Yetis
10. Dying With Dignity
As search and tweet volumes declined, media
appearance requests for Psy increased, showing
how many media were late to the story
Psy travelled around the world servicing media
requests and handled each one expertly
He has secured deals with several high profile
companies
YG Entertainment has strong foothold in USA and
great contact database (via Scooter Braun etc)
@10Yetis www.10Yetis.co.uk +441452 348211 http://www.Facebook.com/10Yetis
12. The 6 Golden Rules for “Going Viral”
1. Have a final goal in mind (likes, shares, sales leads, entering new territory)
2. Organically grow a large seeding platform of engaged followers (online and
database driven)
3. Create content that is engaging & shareable and crosses
social/economic/language boundaries
4. Tease to known fanatics and early adopters
5. Have a plan to reignite the campaign along the way (media)
6. Have an exit strategy/cease the campaign, leaving people wanting more
@10Yetis www.10Yetis.co.uk +441452 348211 http://www.Facebook.com/10Yetis
13. Thanks
I used the following services to help with this
work:
Topsy (pro), Twitter, Google News, Google Insight
for Search, Google Blog
Search, ViralVideoNetwork.com, AllKPop.com, YouT
ube and YouTubeTrends, Facebook
Any corrections, please send to
andy@10yetis.co.uk or @10Yetis or
www.Facebook.com/10Yetis
Useful resources:
Strategy: www.aSocialMediaAgency.com
Video: www.Online-Video-Company.co.uk
Seeding/Media: www.10Yetis.co.uk
@10Yetis www.10Yetis.co.uk +441452 348211 http://www.Facebook.com/10Yetis