Your viral marketing stunts are cringe

As someone deeply ingrained in the branding sphere, I've always had a love-hate relationship with viral marketing stunts. While on occasion, these wild guerrilla tactics can be unexpectedly brilliant, oftentimes they feel desperate and disjointed, resulting in a sleazy stunt that reads as nothing more than a corporate shill.

Publicity stunt marketing covers a wide range of themes, from billboard ads to TV commercials, but most recently, it's the OOH campaigns that have caught my eye. A favourite among movie marketing execs, this real-world advertising trend has descended into a cheap, predictable marketing tactic to build some tepid online buzz.

The cringe stuff

While branding stunts can be a great way to directly reach audiences, setting and context are everything. Simply stuffing your IP into an everyday scenario in hopes that a few people whip their phones out and share it online does not maketh a successful viral campaign.

The Smile movie franchise is a great example of how this type of guerrilla marketing can quickly become stale, or in some cases, completely fail. During the promo for Smile 2, a pair of actors sporting spine-chilling grins were seen in the background of a baseball game. The creep factor was going strong until one of the actors flinched during a foul ball play, instantly shattering the illusion.

The outside world is unpredictable, which can be bad news for viral marketing campaigns. This became awkwardly apparent when the recent OOH promo stunt for the upcoming movie, Newborn, was cut short after orange-jumpsuit-clad actors were escorted out of a recent Detroit Pistons game.

Despite the unexpected end result, some fans praised the marketing tactic, claiming it was just as effective despite its awkward finale. "Getting kicked out and going viral was probably 100% part of their marketing strategy from the very beginning," one suggested. "They got kicked out for promotion, but at least they are going viral now on the media so I guess it’s still a win win situation lol," another added.

The good stuff

While viral OOH marketing stunts cover all genres, they lend especially well to the horror genre thanks to that added level of discomfort as reality and fiction blur. Back in 1999, the found footage horror movie The Blair Witch Project was working with a slim budget, forcing them to think outside the box when it came to marketing. The campaign saw interns perusing clubs and coffee shops, spreading the mysterious tale of the Blair Witch to innocent members of the public, while a disturbingly realistic missing poster featuring the film's main cast added an extra horrifying level of immersion.

More contemporary examples like Alien: Romulus' NYC facehugger invasion and Final Destination's fourth wall breaking billboard catastrophe prove the value of viral OOH marketing for iconic movie franchises. With established world-building and IPs to capitalise on, this oftentimes corny marketing trope becomes a praiseworthy act of fan service, transforming the movies' universe into a real-world immersive treat.

My favourite recent viral marketing stunt was the ingenious promotion for EXIT 8, a Japanese psychological horror film about a man trapped in an endless subway passageway. Fan favourite character 'The Walking Man' (played by Yamato Kochi) was spotted traversing various Manhattan subway stations. Those brave enough to confront him with the secret phrase “Turn Back” were gifted with a mysterious prize. Simple, eerie and wonderfully effective, it demonstrates the value of not over-engineering your viral marketing campaign.

How to win a viral marketing stunt

While I'd argue there are no strict rules for a successful marketing stunt, there are certainly recurring features that make a standout campaign. Firstly, it's all about originality. Rehashing the same viral 'trend' that has worked for other brands will likely alienate audiences – the internet is quick to move on, especially when it comes to viral moments. An OOH publicity stunt shouldn't be a cut-and-paste practice.

Feeding directly off of originality, intention also plays a huge part in a good marketing stunt. Consider what you want the OOH audience to feel. There's no point in shoving a few actors in a random setting if there's no story behind it. Immersion plays a huge part in captivating an audience, making them hungry for more of the world you've teased in the campaign stunt.

When approached correctly, guerrilla marketing stunts can be a valuable tool to reach audiences in ways that typical static marketing can't. Get it right, and social media will do the work for you. Get it wrong, and you've committed the ultimate sin. You've been caught being cringe by the internet.