In this issue, we will explore the topic of viral marketing. How to create a message and spread a message capturing the attention of your audience.
But before we dive into that, let’s start with a fun riddle to test your marketing knowledge. Can you guess the answer?
Riddle of the day:
What is a type of marketing technique that involves creating a short and catchy phrase summarizing your initiative?
Hint: It rhymes with “maggot wine”.
Figure it out? Keep reading to find out!
What is Viral Marketing?
A marketing technique involving in the creation of messages that capture attention and encourages a share. The goal is to create a buzz and reach a wide number of people in a short period of time.
It can help you achieve some of the marketing objectives:
- Increasing brand awareness and reach
- Generating word-of-mouth and referrals
- Enhancing customer engagement and loyalty
- Driving traffic and conversions
- Boosting sales and revenue
With that in mind, it can take various forms:
- Creation of catchy content, such as a video, image, meme, or story in an entertaining, informative, or emotional way
- Launching an engaging campaign, contest, challenge, or giveaway that encourages organic engagement.
- Leveraging influencers, celebrities, or experts who can endorse or promote your brand, product, or service to their followers or fans
- Highlighting user-generated content or testimonials who can showcase how they use or benefit from your brand, product, or service
To create a successful viral marketing message, you need to:
- Define your message’s purpose, goal, and target audience
- Identify your message’s key value proposition and unique selling point
- Craft your message in a clear, concise, and compelling way
- Choose the right channel, format, and timing for your message
- Monitor, measure, and optimize your message’s performance and feedback
To illustrate how viral marketing works in practice, we’ve managed to find one documented example of brands from MENA that have leveraged this technique to achieve remarkable results.
Case study: Careem Bus
Careem is a leading ride-hailing app in the MENA region that operates in 14 countries and serves over 33 million customers. Careem has created several viral marketing messages that have generated a lot of buzz and engagement among its customers and fans.
One of its most successful viral marketing messages was the Careem Bus campaign that was launched in 2018. The campaign involved launching a new service called Careem Bus that offered affordable and convenient transportation for commuters in Cairo. The campaign created a catchy video that featured a popular Egyptian singer called Mahmoud El Esseily who sang a song about the benefits of using Careem Bus. The song was catchy, funny, and relatable to the Egyptian audience who faced daily challenges with traffic, pollution, and overcrowding.
The campaign was a huge hit at the time of its release among customers who loved the video that showcased the new service. It also generated a lot of user-generated content, word-of-mouth, and referrals from customers who sang along, shared their experiences, and invited their friends and family.
The campaign achieved impressive results for Careem, such as:
- Increasing its brand awareness and reach in Egypt
- Generating over 10 million views on YouTube
- Enhancing its customer satisfaction and loyalty rates
We’ve finally managed to find a failure. Although we must admit it had nothing to do with their campaign! Careem Bus is no longer in operation in any country. The service was launched in 2018 in Cairo, Egypt, and later expanded to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. However, the service was discontinued in 2020 due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the lack of demand for mass transportation. Careem’s CEO Mudassir Sheikha announced the decision to kill the Careem Bus business in a note to employees in May 2020. The app may still be available on Google Play Store, but it is not functional or updated. Careem still offers other services such as ride-hailing, food delivery, and payments in the MENA region.
We’ve also tried searching up the video on the internet, unfortunately, it seems that it has been removed or deleted from YouTube and other platforms. We couldn’t find it anywhere online. Maybe Careem decided to take it down after they discontinued the Careem Bus service in 2020, if you have a copy we’d be happy if you could share it. Below are some videos for similar services offered by competing brands, SWVL has a similar approach to the video created for Careem Bus.
Answer to the riddle:
Did you guess the answer to the riddle? If you said tagline, you are correct! A tagline is a type of marketing technique that involves creating a short, catchy, and memorable phrase or slogan that summarizes your brand, product, or service.
We hope you enjoyed this issue of MENA Review, and learned something new about viral marketing. If you have any questions, comments, or feedback, please feel free to contact us at info@mena-review.com. We would love to hear from you!
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