Gangnam Style: How did it go viral?
"Heyyy... sexy lady"
AND
"Op, op, op, op, Oppa Gangnam Style"
Do you guys remember this song phrase being sung everywhere??
I got to say typing this song lyrics right now, got it ringing clearly in my head. I am sure you guys have heard these lines "945984729" times. If not, at least I know I did. :P
There's a saying that if you don't know Gangnam Style, you're living under a rock. Gangnam Style became a world-wide sensation when it was introduced by K-Pop star Psy in 2012.
FACTS: "Do you know Gangnam Style music video has been viewed more than 2,148,483,647 times making it the MOST watched ever YouTube video"
Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-30288542
When I say the video broke the Internet, it practically did as Gangnam Style exceeded Youtube's videos limit. Not forgetting, a man even died while attempting to dance the Gangnam Style.
Let me get started with some tips on how to create this Oppa Gangnam Style Phenomenon...
#1. You need to identify the MESSENGER that are going to transform your plain ordinary message into a phenomena.
Psy, the star of Gangnam Style is part of a large record label, YG Entertainment in Korea. YG Entertainment has a huge platform with 2.5 million Youtube subscribers and also, a huge fan following on Twitter. With a large dedicated K-pop fan base, it comes to no surprise that Gangnam Style is able to seed a viral marketing campaign.
#2. You need a memorable and interesting MESSAGE
With Gangnam Style, it definitely caught my attention when I first heard it on Youtube. Gangnam Style music is catchy with a simple and repetitive rhythm. Even though the music video was silly, it did had many hilarious scene, which added to the video's overall appeal. Also, I am sure most of you have not forgotten the popular horse riding dance moves. ;) Gangnam Style is a good example of delivering a memorable message among all age groups as the video managed to attract millions of viewers. People all over the world were able to danced the dance and mouthed along to lyrics they don't even understand. A true phenomena!
Do you guys remember the elevator guy???
#3. You have to create a favorable ENVIRONMENT for your message to go viral. People will only pass the message when they have a strong affective response and it's not already something everyone knows about.
The Gangnam Style was able to stand out uniquely and distinctively that it made it 'THE VIDEO" that you would want to pass to your friends. The music video had created a huge ripple effect that has contributed to a high level of engagement among social media users, influencing a huge variety of culture across the world.
After Gangnam Style video was released to the public, its popularity stayed on viral (infectiously). Here are some examples:
- According to infographicjournal.com:
- On Twitter, Gangnam Style video has been tweeted about a total of 1,191,235 times.
- By 2012, the song has topped the music chart of more than 30 countries
- After the video was released, the popular dance became infectious with Gangnam Style flashmob taking over the world by storm. Not forgetting, the signature dances moves were also attempted by many notable political leaders such as, U.S. President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, who praised the global hit as a "force for world peace".
Have a look at the flashmob across the world and you will be surprised!
- Also, the video was easy to replicate that it has also helped contribute to a variety of Gangnam Style humorous parodies, which caught many attention on social media.
- Lastly, in my opinion Gangnam Style also created peer pressure or peer influence, which had contributed to its great success. This peer pressure had encourages people to watch the video in self-defense. For instance, "What? Have you not watched Gangnam Style??" You are Lame!!!"
Let's end this blog post with the Gangnam Style music video. ;) If you are not one of the 2,148,483,647 viewer *click click*
Please leave some comments below, what are your thoughts on viral marketing? :)
Reference List:
Kaplan, A. M. & Haenlein, M. (2011). Two hearts in three-quarter time: How to waltz the social media/ viral marketing dance. Business Horizons, 1(54), 253-263.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-30288542
http://www.thedrum.com/news/2012/10/30/case-study-how-gangnam-style-went-viral-campaign-yg-entertainment
http://infographicjournal.com/gangnam-style-the-social-media-impact-of-a-viral-video/
http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/digital-life-news/gangnam-style-gets-un-stamp-of-approval-20121010-27cbq.html