coronavirus — Blog — When Going Viral

Actor Kevin Bacon announcing the #IStayHomeFor challenge

Over the last five weeks the entire United States and in particular New York has been battling against an invisible enemy in the coronavirus and unfortunately has been losing thousands of lives along the way. Government officials, along with the incredibly brave healthcare workers on the frontlines have been trying to fight back against this invisible enemy. As the battle continues there's also been some really interesting viral campaigns that have launched to help support the fight.

Recently we documented how the coronavirus has essentially been the virus that went viral around the world. As a result of how fast and widespread this virus has become it's now well recognized that the only way to truly defend against coronavirus is for family, friends and people to implement social distancing in their lives. This means people are unable to see one another and interact with one another unless they are a minimum 6 feet apart from one another. This implementation of a mandated social distancing policy resulted in a variety of campaigns getting started online to help people acclimate and embrace themselves into this new never before experienced policy and lifestyle.

In particular the one campaign that seems to have gone most viral over the last couple weeks is the #IStayHomeFor challenge that originated on March 18th with the help of the famous actor Kevin Bacon. On March 18th Kevin Bacon posted a short 1 minute video to his instagram explaining clearly what the #IStayHomeFor challenge is and why others should partake.

The premise behind the challenge is to allow for people around the world to express who they care deeply about in their lives that they want to avoid getting infected with coronavirus by embracing social distancing. The results that have unfolded from the #IStayHomeFor challenge is certainly a When Going Viral Works moment for a variety of positive reasons. Below are some of the reasons why this campaign has been so successful in going viral while also covering the key metrics being measured to determine this campaign's success.

Reasons for Virality:

Emotional Content: As the #IStayHomeFor campaign began to catch on in virality the emotional posts that were being published online about their loved ones began pouring in. People were communicating different emotional stories about their loved ones, such as diseases they were suffering from that weakened their immune system. Their weakened immune system put those same loved ones more at risk to pass away from coronavirus if they caught it. Others were posting on social media photos of their parents and grandparents who were over the age of 60 years old which naturally put them at risk due to the coronavirus having a more deadly impact on older people. People around the world were all of a sudden learning new information about others in their network that they never knew before. It created a feeling and sensation that everyone was on the same team and in this fight together. All of this built up emotion created an overflow of strong shareable content that people were continuously engaging in on social media.

Timing: When Kevin Bacon made his #IStayHomeFor post on March 18th it was at a pivotal moment when the shift in seriousness was taking place towards the coronavirus. March 18th was exactly one week after the World Health Organization labeled the coronavirus a global pandemic and here in America the general public started to be on high alert about the virus. American citizens were taking notice of the outbreak of coronavirus in places like Spain and Italy and the major lockdowns those countries were going through. Americans were seeing how social distancing was taking effect in those countries and how this was essentially the only defense countries could have against the coronavirus. As they say timing is oftentimes everything in life and that is especially true for “When Going Viral Works” moments. Back in 2015 with my former Hoverboard company PhunkeeDuck our viral timing was impeccable as we ignited the Hoverboard movement at a time when no one had a clue what a Hoverboard was and we partnered with Kendall Jenner to inform the world about these incredible devices. The timing alignment of the #IStayHomeFor challenge in America was perfect as American's needed a reason to adopt social distancing and what better reason than to help save someone's life during a global pandemic. This combination of US citizens needing a reason to adopt the social distancing policy along with its close proximity in date to when coronavirus was labeled a global pandemic I believe also contributed to its viral effectiveness.

Measurements of Success:

Past Benchmarks: When measuring the success of different viral campaigns usually teams will put in place some goals and benchmarks ahead of the campaign's launch. Certain metrics such as hockey stick growth or adoption of the campaign by people via engagement will be closely monitored. Although I'm sure Kevin Bacon didn't establish any goals or metrics ahead of his Instagram post there's definitely a few things worth noting on the measurement and attribution front about his post. First would be the effectiveness of his post from an engagement and growth standpoint. In the prior 10 instagram posts on Kevin Bacon's profile ahead of the #IStayHomeFor post he was averaging approximately 755 comments. His #IStayHomeFor instagram post received over 2,900 comments! That kind of huge jump in engagement of 286% is a great leading indicator of the potential virality his campaign was going to have.

Week over Week Growth: People interested in creating viral campaigns also want to look at how much week over week growth takes place with whatever it is they're launching. In the case of the #IStayHomeFor challenge you've continued to see the campaign grow and sustain itself over the last four weeks since Kevin Bacon's initial post. On April 8th New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo helped fuel the #IStayHomeFor challenge by joining this challenge and essentially nominating all New Yorkers to join in this challenge when he announced the state’s participation at his daily news conference. This news conference of Governor Cuomo's has been receiving millions of viewers each day and has contributed to a wave of new #IStayHomeFor posts people have published since. His promotion of the campaign also resulted in various publications and networks covering the Governor's participation in the challenge which is fueling the campaigns week over week growth. Back in 2015 with PhunkeeDuck we experienced this same kind of fueling of viral week over week growth. For instance after Kendall Jenner promoted PhunkeeDuck online, then came Jamie Foxx, and then Wiz Khalifa, and then Business Insider and PLENTY MORE!

Graph from University of Alabama showing flattening of the coronavirus curve

Anecdotal Evidence: When measuring virality there is also anecdotal evidence that can support the case of how quickly something has gone viral. When thinking about the anecdotal evidence that would substantiate the #IStayHomeFor challenge the goal to be measuring that against is people actually staying home, not going out and the eventual flattening of the curve of coronavirus infections. The hope was that if people stayed home, as a country the US could flatten the curve of coronavirus infections, hospitalization, and deaths. Over the last 10 days evidence is now emerging that the US is flattening the curve of total coronavirus infections, and hospitalizations which is great news. There's been a major commitment from the general public to abide by social distancing and this has contributed tremendously to our defense against this deadly virus. This anecdotal evidence really shines a light on how successful the #IStayHomeFor challenge has been from Kevin Bacon's initial post almost four weeks ago.

During this surreal and scary time that the entire world is going through it's great to see these WHEN GOING VIRAL WORKS moments taking place to help save lives. Medical authorities around the world can categorically say that social distancing right now is our best defense against the coronavirus and to see a campaign like the #IStayHomeFor challenge help save tens of thousands of lives (if not more) is extremely encouraging, especially at a time when everyone really could use some good news. We hope some of the lessons learned from the #IStayHomeFor challenge and the measurement tactics for gauging the effectiveness of viral campaigns can assist business people around the world in creating upcoming viral campaigns in the future.

Coronavirus, The Virus That Went Viral - When Going Viral SUCKS!

Coronavirus spreads from Asia to North America

The concept of a virus going viral seems a bit odd on the surface. Almost like a paradoxical statement that I never imagined I would have to cover. However, the extent to which the coronavirus (COVID-19) has gone viral for all the wrong reasons and taken the world by storm believe it or not has some lessons to be learned by marketers and business people everywhere.

Since mid-December, different portions of the world have been completely gripped by the negative implications of the coronavirus and this WHEN GOING VIRAL SUCKS moment. What first started in China slowly migrated to western nations across Europe and North America. As the virus moved west it continued impacting billions of people around the world and eventually turned into a health pandemic. This health pandemic has now caused a global financial crisis with experts struggling to find where and when the light at the end of the tunnel is.

The coronavirus is certainly a WHEN GOING VIRAL SUCKS moment for obvious reasons. For one, billions of people are feeling isolated and bored due to social distancing. Second, millions of people are going to lose their jobs as their employer closes its doors or slashes staffing headcount to try and frantically keep their books balanced given the dramatic slowdown their companies are seeing. Everyone is upset this health crisis took place and no one is happy about the repercussions we are currently facing as a result of it.

When thinking about some of the reasons this health pandemic has gone viral it’s easy to simply just think the reason relates to the hundreds of countries and billions of people the virus has impacted. That's true, but what about the reasons and moments that are underpinning this virality? For marketers out there trying to create viral campaigns or entrepreneurs trying to start viral businesses, I think there are deeper lessons to be learned which can be taken away from this WHEN GOING VIRAL SUCKS story.

Below is an analysis of the four reasons why the coronavirus has gotten as wild as it has, and some lessons learned that people can take away from them.

Meme comparing Corona Beer to Coronavirus

1. Catchy Relatable Name --> Whenever people around the world hear the word "Corona" they immediately think about the Mexican beer company Corona Beer. The COVID-19 virus has been consistently referred to as the Coronavirus. As a result, it was an easily relatable name for people to associate this scary virus with. The relatability of the name "Corona Beer" with "Coronavirus" then resulted in different comparisons being made between the two. For instance, think about the thousands of humorous memes that have been created and shared virally online with people promoting the spread of the virus. The relatability of this term “coronavirus” to one of the most popular consumer brands in the world can't be ignored. In the world of branding, coming up with a catchy name people can relate to is crucial, and so although the name of this virus has existed for decades in the medical field, the correlation to one of the most popular beers in the world I believe was a contributing factor to why this story initially went viral.

2. NBA Suspension Bombshell --> On March 12th, 2020 the NBA decided to suspend its season indefinitely after one of it's most talented players 7 foot center Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz had contracted the coronavirus. When this decision was made by commissioner Adam Silver, it literally felt like the entire United States froze in its tracks. Arguably the most popular sport during the months of November through June was all of a sudden suspended for a reason that no one ever could have seen coming. Immediately after this decision was made, it felt like everyone from the government, to the general public, immediately started taking this pandemic more seriously. All of a sudden something that people loved was taken away from them during one of the most competitive, evenly balanced and popular seasons of recent memory. For businesses the viral takeaway to be mindful of is the power of bombshell type moments. Bombshell updates can play a major role in anything going viral whether that's a new product release or a new product issue. When you inform your customers of major bombshell updates you need to be mindful of what the positive and negative ramifications of that news can have on your business.

3. Local / National News Media Coverage --> The Coronavirus has infiltrated the national and local news media at astonishing proportions. You can't turn on local or national news right now without the broadcast being at least 75% towards Coronavirus. This kind of coverage is fueling the viral spread of this story because people literally can't avoid it. Every television channel you turn on is covering the latest updates of the coronavirus and every newspaper page you flip is highlighting the same updates. This health crisis has also caused a financial crisis globally which is now forcing other niche business news stations such as CNBC to cover the story non-stop. The deep intertwining of this health crisis causing a sharp decline in the stock market now forces these specialized news stations to cover the coronavirus as well. Although people who know me well are familiar with my extreme LOVE/HATE relationship that I have with the mainstream news media covering silly and unimportant news stories, this kind of coverage of coronavirus has felt warranted and less biased than typical news broadcasts. When trying to launch a viral campaign it’s important to remember how important earned media and press coverage can contribute to the initial and sustained viral effect your campaign can have.

Concerned husband and wife about coronavirus

4. Emotional Alarms Triggered --> People care deeply about their health and when a virus is looming that could jeopardize your health the alarms in people's minds go off. People begin getting concerned that the virus can impact them, their loved ones and potentially result in casualties for people in their close network. If you've followed the "When Going Viral" blog you'll know how strongly we feel about how emotions can contribute to stories going viral. In this case the emotions people are feeling are emotions such as concern, sadness, unknown, surreal, as well as many others. These kinds of emotions are creating a fear factor inside of people that is causing a stimulating effect and resulting in people wanting to consume the coronavirus topic as much as possible. It feels like people won't stop talking about the coronavirus until any one of these emotions mentioned begin to feel at ease. For people in the marketing or business world, If you're trying to go viral you want to make sure either your product or campaign directly stimulates a strong emotion in people. If you're able to generate major emotional responses from people based on whatever it is you are doing you could have some of the pre-conditions needed to create a viral moment.

During these troubling, scary, and unprecedented times, our hope is that people will be able to dig deep, stick together and come out stronger than ever once this virus passes. Although this is a WHEN GOING VIRAL SUCKS story there are some other positive viral stories that are emerging in relation to coronavirus about people showing extreme acts of kindness and we are very excited to see this. We hope some of the lessons learned analyzed above can assist you in creating upcoming viral campaigns while also staying safe and healthy during the coronavirus pandemic.