As the year draws to a close, everyone feels the need to look back and reflect on what has happened. And we at Quirk are no different- this year saw the rise of Crowdsourcing with Idea Bounty, the recognition of the importance of ORM with BrandsEye and innovative SEO projects that won us an E-consultancy award.
But also in saying that, it’s been a long year and a detailed assessment of such important eMarketing events can wait until next year. Rather, let’s relax and check out one of the awesome aspects of eMarketing – Viral Marketing and the power of YouTube.
Top 5 Viral Video Searches in 2008 (according to Truveo):
- will.i.am’s “Yes, We Can” – Designed to boost the Obama campaign, this video had it all – celebrities, creativity, topicality, emotion and the ability to give you goose bumps. It going viral was really no surprise.
- Paris Hilton Responds to John McCain Ad – As much as we hate to admit it, Paris sells. Add in a hotly contested election, a bikini and Paris pretending to be able to read and you have the number two.
- Fred Goes Swimming - This clip is part of a series and takes users to a website advertising and selling Zipits – an IM and SMS gadget. Fred has a whole persona online in one of the year’s most successful viral campaigns.
- Kobe Jumps Over Car – Sports star Kobe Bryant jumps over an Aston Martin with a little help from his branded shoes in what looks like (and is designed to look like) a personal home movie. Viral Marketing at its sneakiest…
- Valentina Hasan Sings “Ken Lee” – This was one of those surprise virals that was just so funny people couldn’t help but send it on. Manners still watches it at least once a week.
Top 10 YouTube Videos of All Time (according to ReadWriteWeb):
This list offers the top videos of all time as of 2008 and amazingly, even number ten has had over sixty million views since it was uploaded.
- Avril Lavigne - Girlfriend – Rated as the number one-viewed YouTube video of all time, this one is steeped in controversy as savvy Avril fans have created a page-refresher that logs a view of the video every 15 seconds – pushing her into first place.
- Evolution of Dance – Was only recently pushed out of the number one position and is still YouTube’s most genuinely popular clip of all time.
- Lo que tú Quieras Oír (Spanish, means 'What you want to hear') – This one has garnered over 11 000 comments and even two video responses and is a new entry to the top 10 in 2008.
- Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love – Uploaded over a year ago, this video is still one of YouTube’s most popular music videos.
- Rihanna - Don't Stop The Music – The official version can no longer be viewed on YouTube, but there are many other options, including tributes and videos featuring the lyrics.
- Chris Brown - With You – This one features over 130 000 comments and in a variety of languages.
- Timbaland - Apologize (feat. One Republic) – Another one where the original video seems to have vanished, but YouTube is filled with remixes, covers and odes to the original.
- Jeff Dunham - Achmed the Dead Terrorist– this video comes with a comment from Jeff himself, telling you to go out and buy the DVD: “Sorry guys, I won't upload this anywhere or send it to you, go buy the DVD. Also, I do not accept friend requests. Don't bother sending them.” Not too smart in the exploding world of Social Media…
- Alicia Keys - No One – Another music video which shows that users expect to be able to watch their favourite artists on YouTube. A lesson for all musicians – make yourself available online!
- Hahaha – Added over two years ago, this video is still going strong and is solid proof that you just never know exactly what will go viral online.
More Top Fives of Mobile Searches Courtesy of AOL and WebProNews
Top Diet Searches:
- Flat Belly Diet
- Weight Watchers
- Jenny Craig
- South Beach Diet
- Three-Day Diet
Top Movies Searches:
- Juno
- High School Musical
- The Dark Knight
- Iron Man
- Indiana Jones
Top Mobile Search Terms:
- Dictionary
- Weather
- Games
- Maps
- Lyrics
