PR and marketing pros are always looking for case studies and proven strategies to guide their own client strategy development. If something has worked, you might as well put your own twist on it and see if you can make it work as well.

The fact of the matter is that sometimes there is a very basic explanation as to why something catches on. It’s fun.

Plain and simple.

TweetBomb is a great example. There are a lot of people that would probably pay to have 6,100 followers on Twitter. Each day, the guys behind TweetBomb pick a random person to “bomb.” At 3:33 p.m. each day, all TweetBomb followers are supposed to send a reply to the lucky individual that let’s them know they’ve been “TweetBombed.” The reply also includes the #tweetbomb hashtag to see how many people participate.

If you want the full story on the origins of TweetBomb and to find out more behind the founders, check out this post.

The point being that we all need to remember that a significant reason we all like to interact and engage with each other online is because it’s fun. It makes life interesting.

Another good example is the “25 Random Things” meme that has snowballed across Facebook. The concept is as simple as it gets. Write 25 random things about yourself, post it as a note in Facebook and tag 25 of your friends asking them to do the same. In other words, it’s the new electronic chain letter.

TIME, the NY Times along with hordes of bloggers have been caught up in the mix and spreading the word. TIME reports that an estimated
5 million of these notes have been posted. Repeat, 5 million.

Yes, from the outside it seems a bit absurd (I have yet to do it myself) but it makes complete sense in consideration of the following basic principals of communication:

A) When others open up and share information about themselves, we feel compelled and motivated to do the same.

B) Even though we may initially resist on the outside, we all love a sense of community and belonging on the inside.

C) We all love honesty, transparency and authenticity. It takes us straight to the heart of the matter.

So the next time you and your team are banging heads during a brainstorm, don’t forget to recall the basics and keep in mind that often the core of any successful marketing/PR approach is a good ole touch of fun.

Happy Friday,
Scott