Sometimes “Viral” Comes From Unexpected Places
June 26, 2008 – 9:29 pm | by Daryl TayEveryone wants something “viral” these days. But the thing is you never really know when something is viral and truly will catch on.
Let me say it’s been two days after the HP TouchSmart PC Blogger’s Nite, and the song for the TouchSmart “Do You Wanna Touch?” has still been ringing in my head. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Check out this 1:29 video.
I’m going to be a little bit candid here. Of all companies, would you have expected one like HP to come up with something this catchy? Melvin blogged about it from Berlin and I hadn’t experienced it first hand and wasn’t convinced how “catchy” or “viral” it was until the blogger’s nite and how everyone is still talking about it:
And Claudia’s post aptly titled “Do You Want To Touch?” (with a nifty video).
I have to say, speaking as a social media blogger, that I give HP Singapore full credit for going all out with their blogger outreach programme. The first time they did it I wasn’t invited, but still gave them some praise, the second time they did it I was a part of it (full disclosure: I work with the PR firm that handles HP’s digital strategy and helped conceptualise and organise the event), and the second time I could really see first hand how the HP execs were willing to engage freely with bloggers. There was no “we are executives in the real world and you are bloggers” mentality.
My blog coverage with many many photos is up over on my personal blog if you’re interested. The one thing I wish could be better was to credit the band that did it, or make it available for download. Tying this in to my thoughts on social media in the local music scene, the right social media/digital tie up could just really make your song take off like wildfire. Do you like the song? Let me know!
Tags: blogger outreach, do you wanna touch, hp touchsmart pc singapore, hpberlin2008, social media, viral, word of mouth
5 Responses to “Sometimes “Viral” Comes From Unexpected Places”
By liana on Jun 26, 2008 | Reply
Glad that you like the song, Daryl, which is by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. I agree that our global team (and agency) did a great job with this song selection - the right infectious tune delivering the right message
I don’t have all the details, but I do know that there are limitations to what we can do with the song - licensing, royalties, duration etc. But point taken that perhaps there’s more that we can do here and we’ll continue to explore. Do keep the comments and feedback coming so we can learn and improve in our outreach and slowly but surely start changing perceptions that HP can’t come up with “something this catchy”
By Melvin Yuan on Jun 27, 2008 | Reply
Good title! Ain’t that what viral is all about sometimes? The chance discovery of something unexpected… unexpectedly entertaining …fun…catchy.
A bit more about my first experience with the song in Berlin - this was Live; and the band had the drums, sax, trumpet etc… and what I enjoyed most was - they belted out the song on a loudhailer… in a rather wild, brash way. I tried to capture a bit of the action here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz-5Wp148mk
Loved it!
Glad you were part of this… looking back, I think it all started when you blogged about the HP Mini event we did… and emails followed… and isn’t that what social media is all about?
By nonchann on Jun 27, 2008 | Reply
I love the changes that HP is undergoing!! The ending tagline says it all! Everything looks good, the interface looks smooth. I can’t wait to touch one myself and verify that it works as well as it looks. I wonder how it will work with design softwares…digital artist will dig the fact that they can add a “touch” element now as they work. This is really exciting stuff, I wonder if Apple or any other company can top that. Even if they do, HP can lay claim to the fact that they are the first.
By Daryl Tay on Jun 28, 2008 | Reply
@Liana: Yeah I guess legal is a huge issue still! But yes, great choice with the song
@Melvin: As Jaffe said all the time, you can’t “make” viral! Yup indeed. It was in fact from the HP Mini event that I started reading about it.
@nonchann: Yeah I must say the TouchSmart interface is pretty cool! I don’t know how good it’ll be for the “professional” artists like you in terms of competing with an Apple design product, but it’s a pretty good lifestyle computer for the rest of the world