“Dumb Ways to Die” How A Melbourne released campaign reach India
Wait, did you start singing as soon as you read that? I know I did while writing it. Within two weeks of the song release on Youtube, “Dumb Ways To Die” had 28 million views and the campaign had a huge and viral effect around the globe. A song published by the local PSA from the Melbourne Metro in November 2012, which warned people to exercise caution around trains by means of a cute and catchy song and animated video. Keeping all the dumb ways to die in mind, let’s talk bts marketing strategies around such successful digital campaigns.
So, how did this campaign released in Melbourne reach India?
My little cousin was obsessed with this song. He would listen to it till a point where we had to snatch the phone from his hands. At first I thought it was some nursery rhyme and you know how they are. They get to you and you unconsciously start singing them. When I found myself mumbling the song, I was intrigued. I wanted to find out what the animation of the song was like. So, like anyone, I googled the song which led me to the Youtube link and that is when I saw the millions of views on it. Hmm, I thought to myslef the kids must really love the rhyme until I saw the animation. It was fun but brutal and why are the kids watching it? That is when I realized it is a campaign created by the PSA in Melbourne.
Can you believe it? In Melbourne? Here I am watching it in India and it makes sense. Trains are all around us and it was a fun way to spread public safety awareness. Something I had never even thought of. Imagine creating a campaign that can be watched by kids at an early age to teach them about safety and by adults because we all make careless and dumb mistakes. Don’t we?
How and why was this so successful?
The song release did not stop on Youtube. After seeing millions of views, marketers knew this was grabbing eyeballs of people around the globe and for a good reason. They further kept building on it to keep their audience engaged .The song was released on Itunes and climbed the list of Top 20 songs in many countries. The “Dumb Ways to Die” video now has over 245 million views, a popular mobile game, a track on iTunes, and multiple YouTube parodies. There was even a sequel video released for many occasions. It’s safe to say this humorous and well-written piece went completely viral. It could be seen many social media platforms with the audience re-sharing and engaging with the content. The campaign has reach to a height where they have now launched the game Dumb Ways To Die Part 4 .
Let’s find out the learnings on how to make your campaigns go “VIRAL” through this one —
- Find out the core message you need to communicate -
Find out the problem that you are trying to solve and create a campaign around it with giving just enough and the right information in the most simplest way. The song has many versions that came out after the release of it’s first one in which they showed more dumb mistakes one can make. All videos with different content but ONE clear message — train-related deaths can be avoided if you keep yourself on alert.
2. Communicate the message in a quirky way that grabs attention of your audience -
It was surprising, funny and refreshing to see a Public Service Announcement come out in a way that “Dumb Ways to Die” did. All the PSA’s that I have seen in my life, I have ignored just by reading the words ‘PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT’. This series of songs brought out the a new wave of ideas in which there is a possibility to make your audience listen to even the most boring announcements and as a result people around the globe paid attention to it.
3. Bring out an aesthetic or design which is new but consistent -
Think out of the box. Brainstorm ways you can say the same thing with interesting visual content that you’ve never seen before. Cross out the first 5–7 ideas that come to your mind because those are the ones that are inspired by something you have seen or heard before. Stick to the company’s messaging and stay consistent. “Dumb Ways to Die” brings out two aspects of how to make your camapign interesting — Catchy song with a beautiful, colorful and clean visual presentation. No matter where I saw this animation, I will always be reminded of the 10,000 dumb ways there are to die but I will be careful enough to not make that mistake. Imagine having posters of these little cartoon characters on train stations or subway platforms without a single text on it now. Will it be impactful? 100% because the campaign is already viral, people know what it means and suddenly they will be reminded of it and now on alert.
In conclusion, find your problem, make it effective, think outside the box, relate it to the audience and think of smart ways to communicating. Try to think about an idea and see if you would pay attention to it first. Research, research and research if your idea is new or old or boring. Make sure it is a campaign that fits both traditional and digital way of advertising. Is your content shareable? Is your content engaging enough? I still believe ‘word of mouth’ is the biggest way of marketing. So, is my campaign good enough for it? As a marketer who targets all kinds of audiences for different products and services, your best audience is ‘YOU’.
