We're continuing to be very busy wrapping up over $30k in awards over the last couple months, and we're approaching the last of many selection announcements around these RFBs
So...here's the latest bunch...
SportsPundit has made both selections now, they previously awarded Kirsten Lepore the $3,000 top award for their video RFB. They have now announced that Beau Chevassus earned $1,000 for second place with his submission. Sports Pundit was looking for a video with viral potential and Beau's submission was bumped up the list when the client found an additional {unsubmitted} video that Beau produced around his first submission. This second video was already getting hits on Vimeo and can be seen in its entirety on the GeniusRocket homepage. You can see both selected submissions below in order of selection:
Yes To Carrots came to the GeniusRocket community with some fairly specific ideas of what kind of video they wanted, and a very abbreviated timeline of under10 days. We here at GeniusRocket & the client were thrilled with both the number of and the quality of the entries. While we always try to ensure sufficient time to conceptualize and create professional entries--but to see that our community was able to answer this RFB so successfully in such a short amount of time was great!! You can see the winning selections below:
VisualCV came to GeniusRocket looking to expand their community...especially in the area of creative professionals, believing that creatives have a much greater need to display items (videos, animations, graphic designs, sketches, etc...) visually. In the end, after extensions and modifications, there were 13 unique submissions. The folks at VisualCV have selected David Jackson's CV--and had this to say about it:
"He's got a great VisualCV that combines awesome work product as well as a good overview of his skills and experience. It's a powerful combination."
David earned $750 for best overall CV and the additional 12 submitters will each receive $50 for participating!!
Thanks to everyone who participated in each of these RFBs, your submissions have continued to impress everyone here at GeniusRocket, and more importantly all of our clients! We're continuing to secure more work for ALL of you on the back of your submissions, so if you weren't selected this time keep looking for work and submitting!
We're still working with Aquafina & HubSpot on their selections, so please standby for those announcements in the coming week.
Thanks again, and congratulations to the selected creators! The GeniusRocket Team
There are several different questions that ad makers can ask themselves when trying to get users to forward their creations across these intertubes. Here are three:
Question #1: Is the ad insightful?
Despite very simple animation, this Motrin ad has garnered more than 160,000 views in just the past few days. Why? Because it knows its audience -- moms and young parents -- and targets them with funny and insightful commentary about their own lives. It's the sort of knowing, self-recognizing ad that people want to share with others, along with a note along the lines of, Isn't this so true?
Question #2: Does it reference something that is already a hit on YouTube?
EA Sports scored when it responded to a fan video that tried to demonstrate a glitch in its Tiger Woods PGA Tour video game. By referencing or responding to a popular video that is already on YouTube, creators and advertisers can leverage a built in, existing audience -- and companies can demonstrate that they are listening to their customers.
Question #3: Does the ad utilize elements that are common among viral videos?
We read somewhere that the reason television and Hollywood studios are in trouble is because, as it turns out, people would rather watch the neighbor's kid fall off a skate board that watch another formulaic sitcom. Some of the most popular videos on YouTube consist almost exclusively of amazing, did-you-see-that live action moments, an element that RayBan utilized for great effect in this ad, which has garnered nearly 4 million views in the year and a half since it was released:
Update: Also be sure to check out the large number of comments that the Motrin ad inspired on YouTube, as well as in the blogosphere. For an online ad, it's inspired a strong reaction, both positive and negative -- which is indicative of its commentary being insightful, rather than insipid. Not all brands are comfortable taking on controversy -- and it's hard to say if Motrin expected the controversy in advance -- but one thing is clear: being interesting elicits interest, especially in viral marketing.
Here at GeniusRocket, our digital strategists recently analyzed the top 50 viral videos of 2008; the top 50 viral ads of the year; and the Top 50 YouTube videos on a typical day.
While some of the findings were in line with conventional wisdom about viral advertising, other findings may seem surprising.
We wanted to share these results with our creative community and our clients, as they have some important implications for both advertisers and creators seeking to hit the MORE >
We've been very busy lately with over $30k in awards over the last month, so we're approaching a period filled with many announcements...we want to let you all know as soon as we know, because I'm sure you all are as excited as we are!
In today's hyper-competitive media landscape, advertisers want more than a good creative or a well-thought-out marketing campaign: they want to hit that holy grail of contemporary advertising -- the truly viral ad.
So how can GeniusRocket community members "bake in" virality to their RFB submissions? Last year, Dan Ackerman Greenberg of the The Comotion Group listed a few of his tips for marketers and creators on the "secret strategies" behind viral videos at TechCrunch:
Sometimes, when you're down in the trenches, focusing on the next RFB, you can forget how all of us here at GeniusRocket -- those of us here in the office and all of our creators across the globe -- are part of a much larger movement that is transforming the media and advertising landscape.
But two articles this week caught our eye, and reminded us of how far the advertising industry has traveled in the sixteen months since we first launched GeniusRocket.
Like many of you, we wouldn't complain if we never saw an ad for another candidate again. We can't turn on the TV without being bombarded by political appeals and attacks from all sides.
That said, it's been an exciting season for political videos on the web. While the ads that appear on TV may seem cookie-cut ("So and so will raise your taxes! So and so defends lobbyists!"), the web has seen some great examples of how new technology can humorously capture the zeitgeist to create MORE >
Hey all you early adopters! If you haven't found us yet, we wanted to let you know that GeniusRocket is now on Twitter.
Twitter is the fastest way to find out about the latest RFBs on GeniusRocket -- and we've also been posting some cool links from the social media advertising sphere.
We are thrilled about our new Aquafina FlavorSplash “Request for Brilliance.” And we know you will be too!
This is a really big opportunity for our creative community to show big brands what we can do, which will help us to land more assignments like this in the future. So to paraphrase from Jerry McGuire...help us, help you! Sign up, tell your friends to sign up, create a brilliant video, MORE >
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