Engaged Reach: A Viral Video Case Study

Our Viral Reach Database captured well over 250 unique placements for the Kobe video. The brand appeared to be responsible for posting just over a dozen of  placements, so the remaining 250+ the campaign placements were community-driven. Of these, 60% were copies of the original video and 40% were derivative videos, ranging from reenactments of the stunt, to parodies of the clip, to a truth squad of viewers determined to reveal the video as a fake. The large number of viral placements reflects the clip's overall audience appeal.

The original and viral placements of the Hyperdunk Campaign accumulated more than 16 million views in aggregate. The original Kobe clips posted by Nike generated less than 40% of the overall reach. The viral placements increased the campaign reach by over 200%. 

All told, the Nike Hyperdunk viral video campaign attracted over 35,000 comments. Based on a term frequency analysis, the audience reacted strongly to the campaign. Many of the comments we collected reflect admiration (“best,” “must-see”), skepticism (“fake,” “real,” “stunt”), and note the product placement of both the Aston and the Hyperdunk shoes (“Aston,” “car,” “Nike,” “shoes”).

The engagement curve for the Hyperdunk video demonstrates a number of viral  phenomena. First, the clip's initial attention score indicates significant audience abandonment during the clip's opening. However, as Kobe takes flight, the engagement curve spikes significantly, indicating substantial rewind behavior as viewers re-watch the stunt (most likely to try to see if it was real or not). Finally, the downward slope at the end of the clip indicates moderate concluding abandonment as users realize the fun is over and click away from the video.

By combining the True Reach™ analysis with the audience interaction data from the Engagement Curve, Visible Measures can estimate the campaign's aggregate viewing time, which in this case represents total brand exposure. This campaign featured a highly compelling video that inspired massive viral activity. As a result, the estimated engaged reach of this campaign was a whopping 375,000 hours of total viewing time. For perspective, the original 54 second clip above drove well over 40 viewing years in aggregate! Perhaps this proves that one recipe for viral video success involves combining a major sports celebrity with an exotic car and an apparent near-death experience.