The internet with the help of word of mouth have facilitated many viral videos, images and phenomenon worldwide and it is no surprise that Jamaica happens to have its fair share of viral trends. Most of these phenomena have taken us by surprise, they are so remarkable, it had to spread throughout the population. Legendary marketer Seth Godin refers to things of these nature as an Idea Virus. Many times, whenever these “Idea Virus” spread, it can propel brands to fortune and/or fame for free. But why do they spread? Is there a formula? What are some classic examples of contemporary idea virus in Jamaica? Well, below I will present a few cases on Jamaica’s very own idea viruses, why some spread and why some did not.
CASE # 1- Technology Gadgets
Selfie Sticks, Smart Watches and even Power Banks are good examples of gadgets and wearable tech that have spread across Jamaica like a virus. Back in 2015/2016 when these items were starting to take the world by storm, Jamaica got an introduction from the birthplace of some of the latest technology trends, The Facebook Blackberry Black Market Groups. This was the year I started a Gadget and Wearable Tech Business called "Technology Sell Service" and offered some of these items on sale. I remembered the Samsung smartwatch was being sold by LIME, a major player in the tech space, however, the cost was over $90,000 JMD which was outside of the ordinary tech enthusiast budget in Jamaica. I offered a $2,000 JMD android based smartwatch at a cost of $5,000 JMD in the (Blackberry Black Market Facebook groups) and sales skyrocket. At the time, there weren't many competitors and my price became industry standard for those smartwatches after it really took off in the groups. These Facebook groups are usually the first to try new things and offer them to the public and it wasn't long before I had a lot of competitors, of course, I cashed out way before they entered. A similar tale happened for the selfie sticks and power banks, however, I was one of those early competitors in the market. NB: There may be companies or individuals that offered these items, however, they weren't on a large enough scale to make the idea virus spread as fast as it did in 2015/2016. The selfie stick was a great idea virus because it was challenging to use it in public without other people seeing it and falling in love with this new trend. Its use was enough marketing to make it take off. In 2016 I later created a bow tie that glowed in the dark (FireFly) and a cushion that glowed in the dark (Pachetta Woolsack), however, my promotion wasn’t as strong on Facebook and IG as it was in the 2015/2016 period with my other products. The tie got some amount of media attention on radio, morning shows on tv and even the newspapers, however, the sales were still very poor. It wasn't a big success like my smartwatch and power bank sales. My company was shifting from retailing items to making technology and our first two products failed miserably even with media attention for one of them.
LESSON #1 – The “CREW” you are offering your product/service to is very crucial.
The media attention did not help my sales much because the crew I was serving wasn't paying much attention to the TV and Media space. I may have had a better experience if I went to parties and dance with those bow ties. This was the same period when Glow in the Dark shoes was a big hit in the market space. Hence, the shoes did well in a time when the “glow in the dark clothing” concept was new while my bow tie failed because of positioning and the CREW I was targeting at the time. The smartwatch and other gadgets I sold such as the power bank, selfie stick and wireless headsets all went well because I could easily find my target audience on Facebook and Instagram.
CASE #2 – The Music industry or Comedy Buss?
This topic excites me a lot because I am sure most you should be better able to relate to this one. There are some music/idea virus that took the Jamaican market faster than how ChickV spread among Jamaica. I remembered Cliff Twang’s “Nobody can Cross it”, Gully Bop's “Every gal a mad ova me”, Chosenn's Bawl out (Jesus name) and even more recently Laa Lee's “Watz on sale, Watz on sale”. These songs took me by surprise when I first heard it because they had a different chemical in their mixture and I just had to share it with my friends. I had a great laugh and it was authentic in its very nature despite some of them getting a little tweaked such as Cliff Twang’s “nobody can cross it”. What is amazing here is that they all had an “authentic, comedic, spontaneous and rhythmic” feel to it. These songs were bold, different and even controversial at times, yet they possess the right ingredients to go viral. They spread amongst music lovers and non-music lovers alike. They weren't comedy buss, they were just pure old entertainment, one of the foundations in which music was built on.
LESSON: FAD – Some songs/idea viruses are fads, they are here to entertain.
The key lessons here are that some songs/idea viruses are fads, they are here to entertain and nothing is wrong with that. It’s the same in CASE #2 and it is in CASE #1, especially with the selfie stick. Millennials consume content at a high rate which means fads will also rise and decline at an alarmingly faster rate than it has been years before. For any brand to stay relevant, they would need to innovate and keep putting out new content that will create the value millennials are looking for while keeping them entertained. Content that is relevant and entertaining has a higher engagement rate on social media and hence, being shared more often. It is exciting however to note, that some of the same entertainers I mentioned above have moved on to create other hits that were/is being enjoyed by the Jamaican population. Hence, once you understand that idea viruses have phases and can be short-lived just like a fad, it will keep you from becoming complacent just as how the music and fashion industry understood this for ages. Blackberry got complacent and android took over, now I am seeing an increase in iPhone usage among the Jamaican population which indicates something is brewing.
Other notable songs and phenomena came from Dexta Daps’s “bring it to the owner”, Ishawna’s “Equal rights, The Macaroni video and even Zj Sparks enthusiastic “Yesss Goodie, steam fish and ockra body” comment during her live stream while watching Jamaica during the Miss Universe Pageant. But what other brands are making a wave around their products/services?
CASE #3- BIG BRANDS
Big brands have always had some amount of influence and it usually gets crazy when they take it a bit further and get more creative. Eg. Digicel offered the option to borrow phone credit by dialing a few numbers; this new feature literally saved a few lives and it created a lot of buzz in the industry. Assumingly, they target the right audience (lower-class prepaid customers) and maintain this feature even as of this writing. Flow, on the other hand, created a similar option for its customer base to borrow phone credit, however, they killed the idea virus before it could carefully spread with a lot of buzz as they would have hoped for. Back then, in order to borrow credit from Flow, you would need to do it through their Mobile App, which would require some amount of data or Wi-Fi, which of-course wasn't free. They later went on to change it so customers can borrow via dialing to keep up with customer’s requests and possibly their frustration. Flow has a history of being creative hence, it was strange they would have missed such a vital part of their initiative, after all, it was LIME that introduces the Jamaica and Caribbean at large to their first DVB-H Mobile TV Phones (LIME MOBILE TV) with some amazing deals so customers could watch Vybz Kartel's “Teachers PET” on it.
LESSON: Freebies
People love the concept of free and most of these idea viruses above has little to no cost to the bulk of their consumer. While I am not necessarily advocating to make everything free, I understand the concept of KNOWLEDGE being inversely related to RISK. Hence, giving things away free, on a trial, or as a demo will reduce the RISK of people trying your product/service because they have more KNOWLEDGE of you. Some times these freebies may just be there to entice the customer like Digicel’s free black and white TV or their free radio with a cell phone purchase more than a decade ago when they were fresh to the Jamaican market.
Other notable brands with promotions/idea viruses are KFC with their current Crazy Tuesday deal and Big Deal and JN Way with the way how they carefully select millennials to be their ambassadors in different colleges across Jamaica so they can spread the word with their “CREW”. There are plenty of examples I may have missed or I may have missed additional lessons in the cases above, either way, please feel free to comment and let me know of your thoughts. Oh, By the way, this information here is free, by spreading it, you will be spreading an idea virus.
-Visit www.hubmark.co for more insights on how you may grow you business
-Visit www.hubmark.co for more insights on how you may grow you business
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