They're doing construction in my building, so he didn't hear me walking behind him. I was looking down and flipping through e-mails on my black cell phone, when he must have felt my presence. He glanced behind at me, and instantly stumbled forward while reaching for his belt.
Then he quickly composed himself and said, "Good morning." I replied with the same and didn't realize what had happened until a few seconds later.
He thought I was holding a gun.
Now, let's run this out to its inevitable conclusion. Because these policemen rightfully have their eyes out for suspicious things (someone carrying a gun). Yet, if you look around the college campus I work at, 99% of students are walking around, heading to class, head down, eyes on their phone. If this policeman got confused, somebody, somewhere, is going to try banning black cell phones for national security reasons.
As far as scaring a police officer, yeah, it felt pretty good.
September 27, 2010
How to Make Something Go Viral
This is probably one of the most popular questions I receive from my clients.
"How can we make something go viral?"
Well, you can't. You can't make something become insanely successful. That's why Hollywood makes so many bad movie every year. Because it's really hard to guess what the masses are going to love.
But the odds are it's not going to be some cheesy promotional video about your product...unless you're Old Spice. So, all you can do is go one of these two routes, and hope for the best.
#1. Be hilarious.
For something to become viral, it needs to have mass appeal. Not sophisticated humor. Not impress your buddy with how clever we are. Think physical comedy. Think someone falling down. Think 3 Stooges. Think "surprise".
#2. Be captivating.
Ok Go's music videos all go viral. And none are really funny. They're simply extremely elaborate. You can't take your eyes of them.
Your product isn't that compelling. Your market isn't that broad. So, you have to do a 1-off of your traditional market messaging to have any chance of going viral. And like Old Spice, brand it well so that your benefits come across while being either hilariously funny or genuinely captivating.
0 comments
"How can we make something go viral?"
Well, you can't. You can't make something become insanely successful. That's why Hollywood makes so many bad movie every year. Because it's really hard to guess what the masses are going to love.
But the odds are it's not going to be some cheesy promotional video about your product...unless you're Old Spice. So, all you can do is go one of these two routes, and hope for the best.
#1. Be hilarious.
For something to become viral, it needs to have mass appeal. Not sophisticated humor. Not impress your buddy with how clever we are. Think physical comedy. Think someone falling down. Think 3 Stooges. Think "surprise".
#2. Be captivating.
Ok Go's music videos all go viral. And none are really funny. They're simply extremely elaborate. You can't take your eyes of them.
Your product isn't that compelling. Your market isn't that broad. So, you have to do a 1-off of your traditional market messaging to have any chance of going viral. And like Old Spice, brand it well so that your benefits come across while being either hilariously funny or genuinely captivating.