Viral Video pays off for Toyota

Some clients ask what is the point of a viral video. From now on, I'm sending them a link my husband sent me to this video produced by Toyota for it's Sienna Minivan. The video "Swagger Wagon" is a textbook case of a successful video campaign that was never meant to air on television but rather YouTube. The video is the first in a series of 8 videos featuring funny mocumentary vignettes about a suburban couple and their kids. The fictitious couple are also tied into a their own YouTube channel.

The video's are getting millions of hits. And companies are quickly learning that money follows eyeballs. Companies are realizing the value of quality online videos and they are sinking some serious money into producing high end advertisements shrouded in a creative entertaining videos. The Toyota campaign must have cost a couple million dollars to produce. I think it proves companies with dwindling budgets see the value in online videos and shows how viral video concepts are becoming a larger advertising and marketing budgets.

-Dawn O'Connell, Executive Producer