Hey girl... AdGrad internship project goes viral
Search “how to go viral” and Google’s algorithms will deliver over 185,000,000 search results. Despite all of the resources available, going viral doesn’t just happen by following a formula. A funny cat video can go viral just as quickly as The Man You Wish Your Man Could Smell Like.
In late October, Texas AdGrads interning at Austin-based advertising agency SicolaMartin experienced what it’s like to have something go viral first-hand when their semester-long intern project garnered national news coverage.
The intern project tasked the summer and fall intern teams, which included ten AdGrads and their peers from Texas State University – San Marcos, with working closely with one of the agency’s pro bono clients, Texas School for the Deaf (TSD).
“Community service is part of the Martian [SicolaMartin employees] DNA,” said Kelli Huff, the agency’s director of human resources. “True to Martian fashion, we get everyone involved.”
The intern teams were responsible for creating and implementing a strategic marketing plan for the Spooky Skedaddle 5K and Festival, a charity event to support the school. Working closely with their mentors over five months, the interns outlined, pitched and implemented their plan.
Using a last-minute burst of inspiration, they created Ryan Gosling-inspired ‘Hey girl’ memes designed to draw attention to the event by playing off of Gosling’s extended presence in Austin while filming his latest movie.
“Since Ryan has been in Austin for several weeks, and people are avidly trying to track him down on a consistent basis, we thought it would be a fun way to attract attention to the event,” said account service intern Lindsey Kuhn.
Much to their surprise, Gosling, along with co-stars Rooney Mara and Michael Fassbender, showed up at the October 27 evening event with their film crew in tow. Star-struck, SicolaMartin’s interns took to social media to share their excitement with friends, and fans of TSD’s Language for All campaign.
A few days later, E! News picked up on the chatter and published an article on Gosling’s appearance. The Washington Post, ABC News, Today Show, and Huffington Post, among others, quickly followed suit.
Several of the articles cited new business development intern Ghada Soufan’s Twitter feed. “It was crazy and kind of surreal to see my name and Twitter handle posted on major publications' websites,” she said. “It felt so great to have Spooky Skedaddle go viral because of the coverage the event and Texas School for the Deaf received… it exceeded any expectations we previously had.”
Having a solid social media presence before the event helped tell the brand’s story when the press came calling. The event’s hashtag, #spooky5k, linked the tweets together and to TSD’s Language for All campaign, which helped achieve recognition for the event.
“Had we not had a specific hashtag, social media strategy, and the right campaign leading up to Spooky Skedaddle, the viral nature of the tweets would not have been half as effective as they ended up being,” said Soufan.
Their work also picked up accolades within the agency, as the fall interns were recently awarded SicolaMartin’s Gold Suit, an honor given for creative excellence.
“I tell the interns when they get here each semester that I want to see them sweat a little,” said SicolaMartin intern coordinator Sarah Coker. “I hope that they get the chance to be stressed out at least once about the project we give them so that they can learn how to work under real-world client pressures and come out on the other end with work they can be proud of.”
“This group was up against some tough constraints and timelines, and they never wimped out,” she continued. “I will expect more out of the next group of interns because of what this group has proved they can handle.”
The Texas AdGrads who worked on the event include undergraduate students Kathryn Aydelotte, Alyssa Doffing, Wynne LaBounta, Akua Sencherey, Ghada Soufan, Megan Trumeter, and Becky Wong, as well as graduate students Lindsey Kuhn, Jimmy Wade and Kellyn Wieland.
To learn more about the Spooky Skedaddle visit www.spookyskedaddle.org, and to learn more about SicolaMartin’s intern program visit http://www.sicolamartin.com/about/internships/