I recently posted about a recent viral/blogger outreach campaign launched by Mythic Entertainment. The campaign included sending packages and Valentines to prominent gaming bloggers, and inviting them to decipher the clues to the contents of an upcoming game upgrade. Whether or not you know the difference between a High Elf and a Dark Elf, or if you have no clue what the Blighted Isle may be blighted with, there are still marketing lessons you should pull from this blogger outreach campaign.
1. Mythic knows their audience.
They know that, as online gamers, their target audience:
- spends a significant amount of time online
- gets much of their news from blogs,
- is ravenously hungry for sneak peeks into product launches
- enjoys a good puzzle.
ASK YOURSELF: What kinds of traits describe your target audience?
2. Mythic is aware of their ambassadors.
Hobby bloggers - those that blog about their passions and hobbies - frequently become unofficial ambassadors for a product or brand. They write about unique features they like, what sets products apart, and helpful customer service. Mythic is not only aware of this phenomenon, they know which bloggers are the most vocal about their products/services, and which ones have a significant audience of readers. Then they targeted them for this campaign.
ASK YOURSELF: Do you know who is blogging about your business? Whose blogs does your audience visit for news (and entertainment, for that matter)?
3. Mythic is clever.
I can only imagine the brainstorming session that took place to come up with this blogger outreach campaign. "OK - we're releasing a new class we're going to call Choppa - what kind of a clue can we give bloggers about that?" "OK - Valentine's Day is coming up. What kind of a Valentine do you send someone who likes to kill things online?" They also paid attention to what rumors were already circulating, and thought up "care packages" that could key into them. They took the time to create a message that would get their audience talking.
ASK YOURSELF: If you're working on a major product release, what key points do you want to highlight or communicate to your audience? If you're working with a new designer, what keywords or concepts about that person could you play with as clues?
Now I've laid the groundwork - I'd love to hear your thoughts on marketing lessons from this viral campaign. I'd also like to hear about other viral campaigns you've seen successfully launched - how did the marketing team make it work? Please join the discussion by leaving a comment below.
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