It’s hard to imagine any ‘socially active people’ who has not tweeted or posted a link of a video this year. Sharing content, be it in video format or otherwise, has been part of our lives. This is the time of the year when everyone is putting together ‘The best of 2012’ listings, so I will pick a few that I have come across and ‘share’ it with you, adding a few of my thoughts along the way.

I read the ’20 most viral ads’ compiled by Adweek the other day. First of all, I am not a big fan of the jargon ‘viral ads’. I think the notion of creating conversations with people (consumers) these days has made ‘viral’ being one of the key success factor in any form of communications anyway. In a sense, everything should be ‘viral’ these days. The listing has also only captured videos that were most shared, in this case they are pretty much all on one single platform – youtube. Nevertheless, there are a few gems in it and here are some of my observations:

• The ‘technique’ of making a video ‘viral’ is beginning to repeat itself. The domino-chain-of-reaction type of action continues to amaze. However, there is a danger that this technique will become old school very quickly. Don’t forget the classic success of the ‘cog’ TVC from Honda was produced back in 2003, and arguably that film was inspired by Peter Fischli and David Weiss’s video ‘The Way Things Go’ which was produced back in 1987. So the key is to find fresh angle to engage and in my opinion, make sure that the execution really does add to the value of the brand. (reference: Red Bull – ‘Klug’ (Clever): The Athlete Machine)
• Authenticity is one of the most important element of content that worth people to share. We begin to see ‘fleshmob’ starting to feel much more designed and staged. The spontaneous effect is diluted and very soon we all will see through it and lose interests. (reference: Banco Sabadell – Som Sabadell)
• The idea of judging the effectiveness of video content on its own is hugely misleading. Unless we are in a creative award whereby we are purely looking at a single media of the specific entry. Best campaign effects come from the synergy created by online and offline and everything in between.
• Simplicity continues to be the winning factor. If something is genuinely interesting, 5 sec is all it needs. We also need to make sure there is ‘meaning’ behind the ‘making. People have not stopped communicating. What’s changed is we are getting better and better at filtering. It’s only the valuable stuff that will spread between people, igniting conversations among those who trust each other. (reference: P&G – Thank You Mama – Best Job 2012)
• Video content is becoming more sophisticated with much higher production value. This is both driven by the fact that producing high quality videos is much easier to achieve cost effectively these days. With the popularity of mobile device with HD quality video capability, it makes sense to optimize that for the benefit of bringing out the brand message. The downside of it is there is a tendency to use technology for the sake of it and forget about the ‘story’. (reference: GoPro HERO3)

I have embedded a few of my favourites here:

Red Bull – ‘Klug’ (Clever): The Athlete Machine

TNT Belgium – A Dramatic Surprise

P&G – Thank You Mama – Best Job 2012

Here are the titles of the full list of 20 videos:

• Safe Internet Banking – Amazing mind reader reveals his ‘gift’
• Air New Zealand Safety Video – An Unexpected Briefing
• Banco Sabadell – Som Sabadell (We are Sabadell)
• Red Bull – ‘Klug’ (Clever): The Athlete Machine
• NIKE FOOTBALL – My Time is Now
• ‪Sesame Street – Share It Maybe
• Nike Football: Mercurial Vapor VIII: Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Rafa Nadal
• Coke Zero – Unlock the 007 in you
• GoPro HERO3
• Google Project Glass – One day
• PBS Digital Studios – Garden of Your Mind
• Volkswagen – The Bark Side, 2012 Volkswagen Game Day Commercial Teaser
• ‪OK Go‪ – Needing/Getting – Music Video
• Metro Trains – Dumb Ways to Die
• 2 year old William Stokkebroe dancing the jive
• P&G – Thank You Mama – Best Job 2012
• DC SHOES: Ken Block present Gymkhana FIVE: Ultimate Urban Playground
• Abercrombie & Fitch – “Call Me Maybe”
• TNT Belgium – A Dramatic Surprise
• KONY 2012

I would like to hear from you the most talked about video content in your local market. Please comment here, send me a link or send a tweet @louiechow. I will include your suggestions in the next update for everyone to compare.