Marketing is an art of appealing to the subconscious, a skill when mastered, unveils the way to success with remarkable ease. The orchestration of marketing involves a multitude of considerations when presenting a product to a specific consumer base. At its core, marketing is the strategic advancement of product sales, executed with ingenuity and originality. Embedded deeply within our societal framework, marketing is influenced by a complex interplay of geographical, socio-political, and economic factors. These elements collectively dictate the manner in which a product or service should be positioned. Equally critical is the identification of the target audience for the marketing efforts. Addressing these pivotal inquiries is foundational from the very outset of any marketing endeavor.

Often, when the factors mentioned above are carefully considered, creativity is ignited, leading to remarkable outcomes that drive sales to impressive levels. A pivotal element known as a “marketing strategy” significantly influences the progression of a marketing subset termed “marketing campaigns.” These campaigns serve as methodologies employed by companies to enhance the visibility of their products or services, many of which are familiar to us and often result in our active engagement culminating in product purchases.

Examples of Timeless Classics

Here are some delightful examples of marketing done right. Some great marketing campaigns that have touched the heart of India.

Cadbury’s “Kuch Meetha Ho Jaye”
Amul’s “The Taste of India”
Coca-Cola’s “Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola”
Fevicol’s “Fevicol ka Jod”
Vodafone’s “ZooZoo”
Maggi’s “2 Minute Noodles”
Tanishq’s “Jewels of Royalty”
Pepsi’s “Yeh Dil Maange More”Dabur’s “Vatika”
Titan’s “Tanishq Mia
“Case Study: Lay’s Viral Campaign

Lay’s in India had started an innovative campaign for their product called ‘Smile Deke Dekho’, where the focus was on the universality of smiles as a language that transcends diverse emotions and flavors, breaking conventional barriers to forge connections. It was an extensive influencer outreach campaign, wherein the company associated each influencer’s unique smile with corresponding flavor variants from the product range.

This endeavor culminated in the creation of personalized Lay’s chip packs, showcasing the captivating smiles of the influencers. Unleashing a storm across social media platforms, these packs sparked an overwhelming wave of narratives and anecdotes, with posting and reposting their interpretations of the smile with Lay’s chips.

Viral Marketing Strategies for Brands to Experiment with

Marketing campaigns that intend to transcend channels such as social media platforms, online communities, and word-of-mouth to create a viral effect, leading to exponential growth in brand awareness, engagement, and ultimately, sales are called Viral Marketing Campaigns. Here are the different types:

1. Creative and Shareable Content
Creative, humorous and shareable content has the potential to spread rapidly across social media platforms, generating organic user engagement and building brand loyalty. Like the Milind Soman campaign for Old Spice.

2. User-Generated Content Campaigns
These campaigns not only promote authentic interactions between the brand and its customers but also tap into the power of peer recommendations, as people trust content created by their peers. GoPro, a manufacturer of action cameras, became a prime example by encouraging users to share their thrilling videos of extreme sports and adventures.

3. Contests and Challenges
Contests and challenges are excellent ways to drive engagement, foster a sense of community, and motivate participants to spread the message by nominating others, leading to a viral chain reaction. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is a classic example where individuals dumped buckets of ice water over their heads to raise awareness and funds for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) research.

4. Influencer Collaborations
Influencer marketing involves partnering with individuals who have a significant online following to promote products or services. Brands like Westside effectively use influencer partnerships to showcase their stylish clothes.

5. Emotional Appeal and Social Causes
Emotional campaigns create a connection between the brand and its audience, encouraging them to share the content to spread the message and contribute to a meaningful cause. The Shiksha Campaign for the education of girl child in India by PNG, struck a chord.

6. Timely and Trendy Content
Staying updated with trends and events can give brands the opportunity to ride the wave of existing conversations. The Amul Butter Girl campaigns are an excellent example of a brand capitalizing on a real-time event.

Viral marketing strategies have the potential to provide business with unprecedented exposure and engagement. By creating shareable content, leveraging user-generated content, organizing contests, collaborating with influencers, tapping into emotions and social causes and staying up-to-date with trends, brands can harness the power of viral marketing to achieve their marketing goals. However, it’s important to note that while viral campaigns can yield impressive results, they require careful planning, creativity and a deep understanding of the target audience to truly make an impact.