The Secret to a Successful Branded Video Sequel

In this regular column, Mallory Russell, director of content for video advertising and analytics specialist Visible Measures, which has tracked over 17,000 campaigns and studied consumer behavior from three-trillion (yes, trillion) video views, takes a look at what makes sequels to popular online videos equally as successful. 

It’s difficult for a brand to create just one video that goes viral. But this year, we’ve already seen many brands follow up on their viral videos with successful sequel campaigns.

Budweiser’s Puppy Love [top of page], a sequel to Brotherhood, garnered more than 55.5 million views since January. P&G released its third version of its Proud Sponsor of Moms campaign for the Winter Olympics [above] that drove more than 24 million views overall. And Pepsi MAX’s Test Drive 2 [below], a follow up to Jeff Gordon Test Drive, generated more than 17.5 million views.

But not every sequel turns out to be as successful as the original. So what are brands like Budweiser, P&G, and Pepsi MAX among others, doing to create hit after viral video hit?

Leveraging Anticipation

Sequel campaigns often see an initial spike in viewership because of the popularity of the first campaign. To sustain viewership, brands need to harness that popularity and seed anticipation.

For example, Budweiser’s Brotherhood was a huge hit in the 2013 Super Bowl. When word got out that the brand’s 2014 campaign would be a follow-up spot starring the same man and horse, excitement started to build.

Building an Emotional Connection

Often what creates a viral hit is the ability of the creative assets to connect with consumers on an emotional level. A video that elicits heartbreak or joy or amazement, for instance, leaves an imprint on the consumer’s memory.

With Budweiser it’s the characters (a puppy and a horse) that play a big part in forming that emotional connection. But a brand can also use a formulaic approach to tap into those emotions, like P&G does in each Olympics with Proud Sponsor of Moms [Best Job, below]. While the characters change from year to year, the campaign’s story hits the same emotional note.  

Creating Newsworthiness

The ability to grab headlines always plays a role in the success of a branded video online. With a sequel campaign, that headline may be just that there is a sequel to an ultra-successful campaign. But for a sequel to really thrive and create recurring headlines, it needs to create a new hook and one-up its predecessor.

Using Storytelling

The most important thing that a sequel campaign can do to ensure success is to move forward the story of the first campaign. Pepsi MAX does this very well in its Test Drive 2 campaign by building on the debate that the first campaign caused – whether or not it was a staged stunt.

That campaign showed that effective storytelling is not as simple as using the same characters over and over again. The key is building on this story, like Pepsi MAX did or like Old Spice has done repeatedly in its campaigns with The Old Spice Guy.

While the character remained the same across campaigns, each video had him doing a new activity, in a new location, and wearing new costumes. Each ad had some twist, which kept it surprising and newsworthy. The result was that every Old Spice Guy campaign garnered somewhere between 17 million and 90 million views. While the first three steps are important, if a brand can continue to build on its story in new and exciting ways, then the views will follow.