“We want a campaign that goes viral”

Most PR professionals have heard these words from clients at some point in their careers when presented with a brief. Without consideration for other KPIs or business goals, virality becomes the North Star objective, the golden goose metric. But virality isn’t necessarily a marker of success in PR, and nothing has demonstrated that more clearly than the recent Olympic games.

Officials introduced breaking, also known as breakdancing, at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Argentina where the events' viewership exceeded 1 million. This performance confirmed the sports' appeal to a younger generation, along with interest from an older generation who would want to watch it too. As such, the breaking was officially added to the Olympic program in December 2021, and set to debut at the 2024 Paris Games.

Three years of anticipation was built up, encouraging fans to see the best of the best in this dance form. However, a standalone performance became the talk of not only the breaking competition, but the entire games. That performance was by Rachael Gunn, known on stage as Raygun.

She quickly became a viral sensation after her attempt at a medal was mocked online, with videos, gifs, and impersonations quickly flooding all social media platforms and TV shows.

But what can this outcome teach us about the notion of “going viral” being a key objective for campaigns in PRs?

1. Virality does not equal longevity

Many viral moments are a flash in the pan: think chocolate strawberries, “no Chick-fil-A sauce?” and the Hawk Tuah girl. These moments have a huge burst of activity, visibility and engagement, but the flame quickly burns out and is replaced by the next big thing. To quote Hugh Grant’s character in Notting Hill: “Today's newspapers will be lining tomorrow's wastepaper bin”.

While a campaign’s “viral moment” can put a brand into the spotlight, the unpredictable nature of virality, often driven by current events or a single moment/video, rarely contributes to lasting brand loyalty or continued engagement. This is partially because virality typically prioritises shock value or novelty over meaningful interactions with target audiences. Viral trends are in fact viral for engaging the masses, instead of prospective consumers relevant to the brand. This then makes it difficult for campaigns built solely for the purpose of going viral to sustain interest beyond the initial surge of excitement, because they lack meaningful or targeted brand messaging or calls to action which resonate.

In the case of Raygun, while her viral moment did bring attention to the sport of breaking, it wasn’t the intended attention, and the performance failed to create lasting value. In fact, breaking has since been removed from the 2028 games in Los Angeles. Many social media users now have the perception that breaking isn’t a skilled sport and that “even they could do it” after seeing her performance, in turn devaluing the efforts and training of those who have honed their skills in the dance style.

Instead, effective PR campaigns should focus on the wider business objectives first. For traditional PR metrics you could looking to campaigns that aim for sustained engagement, brand awareness and positive sentiment. For Digital PR activity, consider increasing brand visibility online, strengthening SERP positions, and putting out relevant and authoritative content. The overall aim here should be to build the brand and expand the reach to new consumers that will convert.

1. Rolling the dice with sentiment

Due to the unpredictability of viral moments, it is important for PR professionals and brands to understand that when they release something with the intention of grabbing the attention of everyone and anyone, they put their work, and the reputation of the brand, in the firing line for negative feedback.

PR at its core has always been about reputation. In fact, it is clearly defined as the professional maintenance of a favourable public image by a company or other organisation or a famous person. If a campaign goes viral for the wrong reasons, it can damage the brand’s reputation much more than the visibility and spread are able to helps it, clearly demonstrating the risks of prioritising virality over substance.

Did this newfound fame benefit Rachael Gunn? No. Raygun has been subject to a lot of online hate. Speaking recently with the Daily Mail she said: “I didn't realise that that would also open the door to so much hate which has frankly been pretty devastating.”

Although the infamous phrase states that 'there is no such thing as bad publicity,' virality can be risky. Public opinion is an uncontrollable factor, meaning the client/brand would be susceptible to negative sentiment from a subversive campaign.

If a campaign is perceived as tone-deaf, offensive, or inauthentic, it can lead to backlash from the public. Also, the speed at which viral content spreads means that any negative reaction can quickly escalate, making it difficult for the brand or crisis comms team to control the narrative. So, instead of achieving the desired positive attention that a campaign should generate, you risk alienating the target audience and ruining the brand’s trustworthiness. As the internet is “forever” – a permanent record - you could create long-term harm to the reputation of a business which will far outweigh any short-term gains from going viral in the first instance.

This doesn’t mean being completely risk averse. PR campaigns should still be newsworthy and the “so what?” should be a consideration during ideation. However, it’s vital to have full awareness of any potential backlash to an idea, as well as knowing if the client is the right person to be talking about the subject at hand. Also consider if the idea will resonate with the intended audience.

3. Going viral doesn’t equal award wins

If you ever look through award nominations relevant to the PR industry, such as the PR Moment awards, rarely—if ever—will you see a campaign nominated because it 'went viral.' Instead, the nominated campaigns are there because they’ve achieved fantastic results that matter to the business. This could be organic traffic, ROI, or even raising awareness of a difficult topic.

Looking at the judges’ comments of the 2024 PR Moment award winners gives more clarity:

• “A brilliantly executed, multi-market campaign, with very little spend against it. Tangible results that drove impact for real people.”

• “Wonderfully funny, clever and fun with such an important message. I think this campaign was executed perfectly.”

• “This was a very strategic campaign - multiple layers of activity to drive a core message and influence desired change. Incredible to impact policy!”

Going viral was not mentioned as a winning factor in any of the categories. Instead, the common theme among the winners was impact, importance, and influence, which highlights that the focus of PR activity should not be to be seen, but to be heard and understood.

Coming back to Raygun, did she take home the gold medal for breaking? No. She scored zero points in the competition. If social media mentions were a metric, she would have topped the gold medal table, but as for an Olympic medal she walked away empty handed.

Successful campaigns are usually those that engage with the audience on a personal level, addressing real issues, providing genuine value or educating them. Authenticity and relevance are typically the key factors in award-winning campaigns. The best campaign foster trust and build stronger connections between the brand and those that see them. They are not just about getting noticed, but contributing favourably to the brand’s reputation in the public eye.

All of this is not to say that a campaign that goes viral is a bad thing or is likely to negatively impact a brand, of course. But PR professionals shouldn’t propose ideas if their only purpose is “to go viral”. Nor should brands make it the focus of their briefs.