Wednesday, September 15, 2010

With a Little Help from Viral Friends

American alternative rock band Weezer is attempting to sell its latest album "Hurley" with a little help from internet viral friends. A lot of help, actually.

Appearing in brief cameos from YouTube's top "Most Subscribed" channels, Weezer has capitalized on their fame to actually get brief appearances for free. In fact, Top 5 Most Subscribed YouTuber RayWilliamJohnson, being a fan of the band, felt honored when they asked him to help out market the new album.

RayWilliamJohnson hosts a four to five-minute show entitled "Equals 3," which reviews at least three viral videos twice a week. Watching his show is pretty much equivalent to watching three viral videos (hence the name), with his funny, down-to-internet humor. His audience base has grown over the past months, hitting an average of three million views per video. Imagine that, Weezer getting through over three million people in less than five minutes.

The success of this viral marketing, however, is still subject to the number of albums Weezer will be able to sell, of course. In the past, rock band OK Go achieved viral status with their jaw-dropping videos but all that was not enough to push consumers to buy their album.


-Leo Rafael L. Quesada, Entry #14

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