As I scrolled through my Facebook feed, I couldn’t help but notice the many shared links by friends of an initially unfamiliar video titled Kony 2012. At first I tried to ignore these videos and move to other social networks that I use; yet again I was bombarded with the same video with multiple positive comments going along the lines of “Inspirational” and “thank you for modifying my perception of a single person’s ability to change the world”. This 30 minute campaign video was developed by the charitable organization Invisible Children with the goal of stopping Joseph Kony, the Uganda child slavery general. The video received an impressive 50 million views and 6 million shares in its first 3 days of being uploaded on Youtube! I thought to myself, how did Invisible Children manage such a feat? I believe the surprising and touching nature of the campaign was the fuel behind garnering millions of supporters. Also, it does help that influential icons such as Oprah Winfrey, Justin Bieber and Angelina Jolie expressed their support to the public.
A related post called “Kony 2012: A marketing phenomenon” I found on a blog site listed a few noteworthy marketing strategies behind the campaign’s success.
- The embellishments:
– Various use of visual imagery of the world that express the importance of the issue
– A sequence of inspirational videos showing progress in the campaign
- The deadline:
– This further emphasizes the urgency of the matter
- A single face:
– Focusing on one person gives direction to supporters and a goal
Kony 2012 is a truly moving and successful campaign and it provides evidence that social networks can be used for other meaningful purposes rather than simply sharing frivolous happenings in your life.
Here is a link to the campaign video: