Is There a Real Pattern Behind Viral Event Marketing in a Fragmented Information Environment?

First, we need to understand what the so-called "viral playbook" is. This "viral playbook" is based on human nature, involving new tactics and formats. (Li Qian, "300 Days of Brand Thinking") So note the concept of "human nature foundation." Marketers must have a comprehensive understanding of human nature, as marketing is the study of human nature, and then delve into small but deep applications. Once you master this, your planned events might just become the next viral sensation. To give you a deeper understanding of viral events, let's look at a few examples and learn how those viral events leveraged human nature to create excellent contagious spread mechanisms.

[Chanel Arcade Pop-up 2018]

Why would Chanel, a luxury brand adored by fashionable women worldwide, choose an "arcade" theme for a pop-up event that doesn't seem to align with its brand positioning?

In fact, Chanel's pop-up tapped into the "bad girl" dream behind its user base. No matter how dignified and elegant a woman may appear, there might be a little rebel inside. Although it's a candid observation, it's a genuine human trait. Chanel's pop-up seized this human characteristic, and through exquisite offline venue design and precise game planning, successfully brought the concept of a "virtual arcade" to life. This allowed its target consumers to play freely, apply makeup to their heart's content, and fulfill their inner desire to be a little rebel. This is a need that users genuinely have but dare not or cannot express. When a brand you love provides a platform to legitimately and openly realize your unspoken wishes, that's the brilliance of the brand and the reason consumers stay loyal. So Chanel's arcade-themed pop-up successfully went viral on social media and Instagram.

All the game controls were set with Chanel's popular products. Not everyone has experienced playing games while holding a lipstick.

The most popular was the claw machine filled with cosmetics—definitely a shout-out to Chanel.

The makeup experience zone on the second floor let you put on a "bad girl" look before gaming—absolutely awesome.

[Yirendai Dream Experience Officer—Lending Dreams into Reality]

As we know, financial products are hard for consumers to deeply accept and trust. But Yirendai successfully broke through traditional perceptions with the Dream Experience Officer marketing campaign, fostering brand value recognition and product trust. How did the Dream Experience Officer achieve this? Yirendai smartly tapped into the human psychology of dissatisfaction with the status quo and the desire to realize dreams and achieve financial freedom. Through the novel and engaging Dream Experience Officer activity, they helped consumers take the first brave step toward their dreams, directly hitting the most emotional side of the target audience and maximizing emotional appeal. As Adrian Slywotzky mentioned in "Demand: Creating What People Love Before They Know They Want It," magical products = product function x emotional appeal. We need to use emotional appeal to give products more magic.

Activity Content:

• Invite borrowing users to upload their dream stories, compete with other users, and ultimately select "quality dreams" to award the highest prize of full principal and interest waiver.

Activity Data: In 46 days, 110,000 users' dream stories were collected, and 10,000 users received over 200 million yuan in dream start-up funds.

• By analyzing users' borrowing purposes, the "Dream Experience Officer" targeted four major scenarios: entrepreneurship, car purchase, travel, and marriage, using contrasting creative expressions to stimulate the audience's desire for dreams.
• Strengthening emotional appeal cannot rely solely on online efforts; offline deep scenario experiences can further stimulate users' product experience behavior. So Yirendai tailored a "Dream House" pop-up store for users, integrating immersive full-scenario experience marketing, seamlessly connecting the massive online traffic and igniting offline activities.