“It’s the simple joys,” now-viral sensation Candice Payne recently said, and Internet users—along with marketers—agree.
On Thursday, Payne recorded a Facebook Live video that captured viewers’ attention in a massive way. It features Payne showing off a “Star Wars” Chewbacca mask that roars when its mouth opens. After explaining that she bought it at Kohl’s as a birthday gift to herself, she laughs hysterically for the remainder of the video:
It has received more than 135 million views at time of publication—and is the highest-viewed Facebook Live video. Previously, the most-viewed Facebook Live video was Buzzfeed’s video about an exploding watermelon, which grabbed more than 10.7 million views.
Payne’s video also racked up more than 3 million shares and 2.4 million “likes” on Facebook, and it was shared across social media platforms including Reddit, YouTube and Twitter.
The original Chewbacca got involved, too. Geek Wire reported:
Payne even got the attention of the man who roars behind the Chewbacca mask for real. Actor Peter Mayhew, who tweets under @TheWookieRoars, said the video was a lovely birthday present for him, as he turned 72 on Friday.
Kohl’s response garners praise—and customers
On Saturday, Kohl’s seized the opportunity of growing online chatter—and increasing headlines—generated by Payne’s video, and it sent a team to her house to shower Payne and her family with gifts.
Candace made the Internet’s day, so we wanted to make hers. Chewbacca masks for the whole fam (plus a little extra)! http://pic.twitter.com/6qst1LZc5Y
— Kohl’s (@Kohls) May 21, 2016
“We don’t want you to have to stress about having to share your Chewbacca mask, so we ‘confinsctated’ masks for everybody,“ the Kohl’s representative told Payne, a clear reference to her difficulty pronouncing the word "confiscated” in the video that went viral.
RELATED: Produce content that boosts lead gen, brand awareness and reputation.
GeekWire further explained:
Kohl’s didn’t waste any time seizing on the publicity, showing up at Payne’s house with a team carrying Star Wars merchandise — including masks for Payne’s kids. They also gave Payne, who was wearing a Star Wars At-At T-shirt, $2,500 in gift cards and 10,000 rewards points as a birthday gift.
Kohl’s posted the video—called “The happiest Chewbacca”—on its Facebook page:
Candace made the Internet’s day, so we wanted to make hers. Chewbacca masks for the whole fam (plus a little extra)! http://pic.twitter.com/6qst1LZc5Y
— Kohl’s (@Kohls) May 21, 2016
On Facebook, the video has garnered nearly 30 million views at time of publication. It grabbed more than 483,000 shares and roughly 692,000 “likes.” Users also showered Kohl’s social media team with praise for the video and promises to shop at its stores:
The video got similar love on Twitter, receiving roughly 2,100 retweets and 3,400 “likes”:
Users applauded Kohl’s efforts to embrace the viral ambassador:
Candace didn’t want to share her Chewbacca mask. So we showed up to make sure she didn’t have to! #AllTheGoodStuffhttps://t.co/8gvLaj9VeF
— Kohl’s (@Kohls) May 21, 2016
Users applauded Kohl’s efforts to embrace the viral ambassador:
@Kohls I love this! My kids and I loved her video. Her laugh is the best. It’s awesome you included her family to share the joy!
— Rachel V (@Veuvefamily) May 21, 2016
@Kohls Just amazing! You guys totally rock!
— Sara Simon (@RomraCarterham) May 22, 2016
@Kohls Yes, it’s goodwill marketing and all that, but ya done good, Kohl’s. Nice to see that family get #AllTheGoodStuff
— Laura Zera (@laurazera) May 21, 2016
@Kohls wish I could find one of those masks … They’re a hot commodity!
— josh (@joshc) May 22, 2016
@Kohls, I started following you because of all the nice stuff you gave to that mom :)
— Heather Perol (@artistalady) May 22, 2016
Kohl’s social media team spent the weekend responding to social media users’ love with individual tweets and Facebook replies.
Viral sensation boosts sales and brand exposure
It’s a case of viral marketing gone right—and a departure from Kohl’s recent stance on digital marketing efforts.
Last week, after reporting an 87 percent drop in sales, its chief exec, Kevin Mansell, said the company would reevaluate its marketing efforts.
“We are relooking at all of our marketing vehicles to see where we can drive more business to the stores as well as ensuring our value message is particularly strong,” Mansell said. “[We’re] definitely not satisfied with the results so far and we’ll take action to remain top of mind with the families that we serve.”
Thanks to Payne (and The Force), Kohl’s message and sales are now powering up.
The mask is out of stock on Kohl’s website, and many social media users report that their local stores are also sold out.
“We have received an overwhelming amount of interest in [the mask] since Candace posted her funny and lighthearted video,” a spokeswoman from Kohl’s told CNBC.
USA Today reported that by Sunday afternoon, the mask had sold out on Walmart.com and Target.com as well. Individual sellers are offering it on Amazon; the going rate ranges from $90 to more than $200.
The mask is also sold out on the Toys R Us website. On Friday, a spokeswoman for the retailer told CNBC that the chain had “seen popularity of [the mask] increase tremendously among our consumers both in store and online.”
“In the last day or so, we’ve seen popularity of Star Wars: The Force Awakens Chewbacca Electronic Mask increase tremendously among our consumers both in-store and online,“ a spokeswoman for Toys R Us told CNBC.
from Ragan.com http://ift.tt/1YRPnfz via web video marketing
from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1OSGq5q
No comments:
Post a Comment