Batelco Inspired

We all know that www.adage.com is my homepage, so let’s not pretend that a good dose of Monday morning viral video watching doesn’t get my week off on the right foot. And this morning, I can’t lie: watching the Batelco viral video that makes the cityscape a virtual playground for grown-ups made me sort of wish that I could skateboard into work this morning. If I could skateboard at all.

A year in the making, Batelco releases its video upon its entrance to the global marketplace. Not even promoting what they do (telecom), the video has been a hit on their Facebook page and is stealing viral viewing share from others. What is it about viral videos that we love? Perhaps it’s the creativity behind it, that allows us for 4-minutes at a time to escape our mundane world. Perhaps it’s the pleasure of seeing people banning together, doing extreme activities or something just so fun that makes us laugh and see endless opportunities in the world. Or perhaps it’s all just timing…

Last week, in discussing a couple of potential viral videos with a friend, he showed me the book he was reading: Real Time Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott. This is a must buy for anyone in the new marketing era, because it really is all about timing. Yes, people love creativity. Yes, people love seeing cool things. But, what’s underneath the psyche is the timing of it. How applicable is it to life right now? No, let me rephrase that: How applicable is it to life in the future?
Always be on the cusp of the trend, on the forefront. So that when you release your video, it IS the wave that others ride on after you. What are you waiting for? Go viral!

(video from http://memmachine.viralvideochart.com)

Batelco Ad Launches After Year In Making, But Was It Worth Wait?