Today’s marketing mantra is ‘make it shareable’, but by now we all know that not everything is equally shared.
When it comes to video advertising there are some ads that people sit back and enjoy but feel no desire to share, and others that immediately push that mental ‘share’ button. It is a subtle but important distinction.
The growing importance of social can be attributed to both its direct effects and the amplification of content in other media channels. The Warc 100 analysis of award-winning campaigns finds that, “Social media has increased its lead as the most-used media channel, with more than 80% of the Warc 100 campaigns using social in some way.”
Millward Brown recently analysed social data for 75 viral events across 16 brands from 2012 to 2015, and found that brand campaigns were the strongest conversation driver, beating out celebrities and new stories.
However, the Digital Behavioral Analytics study also found that not all campaigns are created equal when it comes to generating conversations.
For instance, two campaigns for the same, leading brand stimulated very different levels of conversation. In pre-testing, campaign A had very high brand-linked memorability, and it was very efficient at driving increases in search and conversation for the brand. Campaign B had much poorer branding and was much more passively enjoyed, resulting in a far less efficient impact on digital behaviours.
Findings like these lend credibility to my observation that some ads are so compelling that people want to share them with others, while other ads may be equally enjoyable but stimulate little desire to share. So what makes the essential difference between the two?
Based on a review of Millward Brown’s own research and that of other companies and academics, I would boil it down to three key motivators:
| Motivators | Example |
| Self-enhancement | This will make me look cool, smart or reflects my values. |
| Inspiration | Wow! That is stunning, moving, fascinating and I want my friends to feel the same. |
| Utility | Check this out, it’s just what you need and will solve that problem. |
While these are probably the three most important motivators, I am sure there are others; furthermore, there are additional qualities necessary for a video to be considered share worthy, for instance: news value and the expectation that the video has not yet been seen by the recipient. So what do you think makes a video shareable? What ads have you shared recently?
