Can YouTube bring brands back from the brink?
Posted: May 22, 2012 | 10:04 ET by Tessa Wegert
One of the hottest viral campaigns in Internet history is for one of the least glamorous products you could imagine.
If you haven't heard the story, which is quickly becoming the stuff of lore, here's the scoop: Dr. Bob, inventor of the Orabrush Tongue Cleaner, had tried just about everything to increase his product sales, all to no avail. As a last ditch effort he took his invention to a graduate school classroom and asked for help. Just as the class was about to draw to a close, one student raised his hand. He said he could promote the product for Dr. Bob online and bring the brand back from the brink.It's been three years since that student created a video demonstrating the product and posted it to YouTube, and the campaign shows no signs of ebbing. Sales are in the millions online alone, the Orabrush has been accepted into more than 3,500 Walmart stores, and the product's YouTube channel has generated some 47 million views.
Dr. Bob largely credits his YouTube Channel with his product's success, but the site isn't a magic bullet. You can't resuscitate a brand online without a strategy.
1. Give consumers something they can relate to: a problem, a solution, and a product demonstration.
2. Unless your brand is already a household name, shirk the obvious route and instead give your YouTube Channel a name the search engines will love (Orabrush chose "curebadbreath").
3. Highlight your YouTube Channel's "Subscribe" button to encourage sign-ups.
4. Update your videos often and keep the original in rotation.
Does YouTube have the power to transform a brand? Sure it does…as long as the brand is willing to work for it.
Tags: Interactive Strategist
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Tessa Wegert is a veteran media strategist with a background in media planning and buying, content development, ad copywriting, and campaign management. As a prominent industry writer she has been covering digital marketing and technology for leading newspapers and trade publications for over a decade. Connect with her on Twitter (@tessawegert) and LinkedIn.
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Tessa Wegert is a veteran media strategist with a background in media planning and buying, content development, ad copywriting, and campaign management. As a prominent industry writer she has been covering digital marketing and technology for leading newspapers and trade publications for over a decade. Connect with her on Twitter (@tessawegert) and LinkedIn. 
